We start for the stairs.
Cat’s shoulder brushes mine, then her hand clamps around my forearm. “I can’t leave Belfast…”
“What? Why not? There’s nothing for you here anymore, Kitty Cat. Come with me, please. We can start over?—”
She presses a finger to my lips. “There’s something I have to show you first.” Her eyes shimmer with emotion.
“Okay.” The surrender is immediate. “Ale, wait,” I call out.
He spins around, one foot already on the steps.
With my hand firmly clasping Cat’s, I fix my gaze on Ale then on the rest of the cousin crew. “There’s something we still need to handle here in Belfast.”
“Matteo…” Alessandro growls.
“I promise as soon as it’s dealt with, we’ll be on the next flight to Manhattan.” I cock my head at Cat. “Right?”
She nods.
“Don’t make me regret this,” Ale grumbles. “Your mother is going to kill me when I get off that plane without you.”
“I’ll call them and explain before you do.”
“You better get this shit taken care of before our wedding,” Serena interjects. “It’s coming up in a few weeks already.”
“I know, Sere. Like you’d ever let me forget.”
Cat curls into my side, a rare moment of vulnerability. “Thank you,” she murmurs into my shirt.
“Anything for you, Kitty Cat.”
Before heading up the air stairs, Serena whirls toward us. “I knew it was a she,” and Antonio says, “Babe, you think literally everything is a she.”
Then Bella fires back, “That’s because competenceis a she,” and Raf adds, “Facts.”
A chuckle slips out and with Cat safely beside me, I heave out a breath like maybe the ground under us will hold.
Halfway up the stairs, Alessandro speaks without looking back. “Matteo.”
“Yeah?”
Turning, he tips his chin at Cat. “Don’t make me choose between you and the family again.”
I meet his eyes and don’t blink. “You won’t have to.”
Cat doesn’t say anything, but her fingers tighten around my palm. It’s quick like a promise she’s not ready to say out loud.
Then we stand there and watch as my cousins, my family, the people I love most in this world, duck into the jet’s warm, humming belly. The door seals, and I tuck Cat closer into my side. I’m ready for whatever comes next, as long as we’re together.
CHAPTER 43
FINALLY FREE
Caitríona
Our newest motel is the kind that pretends hard to be a hotel but doesn’t quite make the cut. But it’s a step up at least. The floral bedspread barely hides the tattered edges, and the thinning carpet hardly provides any cushion underfoot. But it’s quiet, peaceful and remote, and for tonight, it’s ours. Rain scrapes the window, steady as a clock.
Matteo leans against the dresser, arms folded, watching me like he’s trying to read me.
