His gaze hardens but he walks over and picks up the bags Zalea dropped. Then he reaches for two from my hands without asking, but I don’t let go.
“Give me these,” he says.
“I’m fine.”
“I’m sure.”
The edge in his voice is subtle, but I catch it, and it forces me to grip the bags even tighter, refusing to let him help. Zalea opens the building door, oblivious to the silent exchange happening inches behind her. Zale holds my stare, something unspoken passing between us, as if he’s warning me.
“Are we going in?” Zalea calls over her shoulder.
He steps inside after her, carrying her bags of groceries like he’s staking a claim, along with his suitcase.
“I’m not here to cause problems,” he says quietly as I follow. “I just want to see my sister and make sure she’s okay.”
“Good,” I reply. “Then we should be just fine.”
He shoots me a look over his shoulder, protective and suspicious, but I ignore it as we all cram into the elevator. Zalea fills the silence as she tells him about the art program, Florence, and her upcoming weekend trip.
When we finally reach our floor, Zalea unlocks the door and lets us in. His eyes jump around the space as we enter the apartment, assessing everything as he sets the grocery bags down on the kitchen counter.
“So,” Zale says, glancing at the couch in the living room. “Guess that’s mine.”
“You’re not even going to let me argue?” she asks.
“Nope.”
He drops onto the cushions like he belongs here, sitting in my living room, watching me like I’m on probation.
“How long are you here for?” I ask as I set the rest of the bags next to his on the counter.
He shrugs. “I haven’t decided yet.”
He looks at me from over the couch, challenging me to argue with him, but I stay quiet for Zalea’s sake. Whatever agreement he made with Griffin to be able to come here is their business. I trust Griffin’s judgement, but I just hope it doesn’t screw over the team's chances this year.
She laughs nervously. “We can at least get you proper blankets then.”
“I’m good.” His eyes shift to me again.
Having him here is going to test all of us, and I have a feeling Zale didn’t just fly to Italy to check in on his sister.
THIRTY
ZALEA | VARAZZE
I feelguilty leaving the boys in Florence this morning for my weekend trip to Varazze. Gabriel looks like he’s trying his best to look happy, but I can tell he’s not thrilled that I’m leaving, and probably even more annoyed that he’s stuck with my brother while I’m gone.
Zale, on the other hand, won’t stop grumbling about how he flew all the way here to see me, only for me to insist on leaving him with Gabriel.
“Are you sure you don’t want me to just drive you there?” Gabriel asks again.
It’s tempting, but I shake my head. “I’ll be fine, Gabriel. You don’t need to worry about me.”
He smiles, leans over the counter, and presses a kiss to my lips. Zale immediately begins to gag beside us and I pull back, laughing, while Gabriel shoots him an annoyed look.
“Look. I know this is your place and all, but please try to control yourselves when it comes to getting all kissy-touchy in front of me.”
“Nah,” Gabriel says, grinning as he bends forward to steal another kiss. “I think I’ll do what I want.”
