“Oh, okay. I heard Harley talking about Gerald, but I thought she meant a dog,” Giada said.
“He may as well be. Damn thing acts like a dog,” Havoc said. He glanced at Harley again, then around her feet and up the stairs. “Where is he, anyway?”
“Hiding,” Harley said.
“Too much action inside here for him,” Analise said.
“Too much action inside here for him on any day. They’re never quiet,” Harley said, shooting a typical teenage glare at her little brother and sister.
“That’s the nature of the beast. Not much we can do about it while they’re young,” Analise said.
“Can I have Gerald?” Matteo asked. “I promise I’ll be quiet so he’ll like me.”
“Oh, no! He’s my friend,” Harley said. “But I can tell your mom where we got him.”
“Okay!” Matteo said excitedly. “I want one.”
“Maybe one day. We’ll see.”
“I want one now,” Matteo insisted.
“We don’t have a lot of extra room right now, so now is not a good time. But eventually when we have a bigger place we’ll talk about it then, okay?”
“Okay. Will you remind me to talk about it then?” Matteo asked.
“I will try to remember to remind you,” Giada said dutifully.
“Where are we going?” Leo asked, his eyes roving over the fancy clothes his mother was wearing, and all the adults, including Ronan, standing around. He was obviously wary of anything he wasn’t prepared for.
“I’m going to have dinner with Ronan.”
“I don’t want to leave,” Matteo said.
“Good. ‘Cause you’re staying here with us while Momma goes to enjoy a night out with an adult,” Havoc said.
“Yay!” Matteo shouted, running off toward the playroom again with Ruger and Lola hot on his heels, though Lola was running a little slower than before as she continued to apply chap stick to her lips.
“When are you coming home?” Leo asked.
“I’m not sure. We’ll be a few hours, at least,” Giada said. She took in the hesitancy in his demeanor and realized he was unsure of the whole situation. “Is that okay?”
Leo looked over at Ronan. “Are you going to stay with my mom to be sure she’s okay?”
“I am. She will not be out of my sight.”
“You promise?” Leo asked.
“I do. What did I promise you the first time we had dinner together?”
“That nobody would hurt Momma or me or Matteo ever again.”
“I swear that it’s true. Your mom will be safe, and so will you and Matteo,” Ronan said.
“Okay. I guess it’s okay, then,” Leo finally said. He hugged his mother, and surprisingly hugged Ronan, too, then calmly made his way back to the playroom where they could hear the other kids squealing and laughing.
Once he was out of the room, it was clear that Giada was feeling a little down now that it was clear how unsafe Leo was feeling.
“That’s a strong young man, right there,” Havoc said.
