When I turn into the kitchen, I see everyone. And I mean everyone. All of the guys. Kevin. Lucy. Even Juliet’s parents and her brother, all crowded around the space. I’ll definitely need to ask her when they got here.
Gino walks right up to Juliet, who’s talking with Vanessa at the island. He places a hand at Juliet’s lower back and then quickly pulls it away.
Now I have questions for both of them.
Before I can move any farther, Lucy steps in front of me and wraps me in a hug.
“Hi, Mateo,” she whispers. “It’sgood to see you home.”
“It’s good to be back,” I whisper.
When I look at her, her eyes are watery. “Please don’t cry. I can’t handle anyone crying right now.”
She releases me and glances over at Kevin, who’s holding Julian. “I’ll try my best. I bet you had the shock of your life yesterday, huh?”
“Yeah, I did,” I admit. “You know what they say. Nothing truly prepares you for being a parent. And not getting to prepare at all kind of—” I trail off with a sigh.
“Sucks,” she says gently. “You can say it. It sucks. And we all know that if you could’ve been there, you would have been. Every step of the way.”
She meets my eyes. “Vanessa did everything she could to keep you updated, even when you weren’t here. We all just wanted you safe. Now that you are, we can focus on healing from all of this.”
I nod. She gives me a soft smile and walks away.
Kevin walks over to me with Julian in his arms. At this point, everyone’s watching, hovering just close enough to show they want to come over without overwhelming me.
“I think this guy wants his dad,” Kevin says, handing Julian to me.
“Thanks,” I reply, taking him into my arms.
“It’s good to have you back,” Kevin says, giving my shoulder a firm tap.
I nod. We’ve had our disagreements, and that probably won’t ever change. But I know he’s been a father to Vanessa, and he’ll be a grandfather to Victoria and Julian. Whatever issues I’ve had with him need to stay in the past. He always did what he thought was right for Vanessa.
Before I can say anything else, he walks away.
Vanessa steps up beside me, Victoria balanced on her hip.She presses a glass into my hand. I glance at her. “So, is this some kind of homecoming party?”
She smiles. “Yes. And don’t look at me. This was all Juliet and Gino. I wasn’t allowed to help at all. Believe me, I tried.”
Gino clears his throat, and the room quiets. “Since the guest of honor is here, I think we can get started.”
Everyone turns toward him.
“I don’t want to get too sappy or take too long,” he continues. “We’ve got a lot of food to eat, and we all want to catch up. But it’s not lost on any of us how this could’ve ended.”
The room stays still.
“So I’ll keep it simple,” he says. “We’re happy you’re back. And we hope we never have to think about this again.”
He raises his glass, and everyone else follows.
I lean over and kiss the side of Vanessa’s head. She looks up at me and smiles.
Vanessaand I head home after lunch, both of us picking up on Gino’s subtle signal to leave. I know he wanted us to spend time with everyone, but he also understands that we need time together.
Once we’re inside the house, I decide to look around after everything Gino told me. I step into my office and stop short. It’s spotless, but it also feels like I was never gone.
“Hey, babe,” I call out, standing in the doorway. The space is organized exactly the way I left it, but it’s clear someone’s been using my desk. There’s more paperwork than I remember.
