"Stay anyway."
My heart stutters.
"Nico—"
"Mommy!" Lily's voice cuts through the moment. "Princess Bun-Bun wants to meet the real rabbits! Can we go back to the garden? Please?"
I take a breath. Then another.
"In a minute, baby."
I look at Nico. At the intensity in his expression. At the way his fingers flex at his sides like he's physically restraining himself from reaching for me.
Stay anyway.
Like it's that simple. Like I can just choose to belong somewhere after years of being reminded I didn't belong anywhere.
"We'll talk about this later," I say quietly.
His jaw works. "We will."
It's not a question. It's a promise.
And somehow, that terrifies me more than anything else.
Nico
Kristen and Lily disappear.
Stay anyway.
Did I really say that? Out loud? To another human being?
"So?" Vittoria appears beside me like she materialized from thin air. One of these days, I'm going to put a bell on her. "Did she like it?"
I turn away from the window. "She liked it."
Vittoria's eyes narrow, studying my face like I'm a particularly confusing line of code. "And?"
"And I'm thanking you." The words feel strange in my mouth. Foreign. "For helping set it up."
Vittoria's hand flies to my forehead before I can react, her palm pressing against my skin. I jerk back.
"What the hell are you doing?"
"Checking for a fever." Her eyes go wide with exaggerated shock. "Holy shit. Nico Sartori is thanking people. What's next?Are you going to start hugging strangers? Volunteering at soup kitchens?"
"Vittoria—"
"No, no, this is important. I need to document this moment." She pulls out her phone, and I swat it away from my face. "The family needs to know. Lorenzo's going to lose his mind. Pietro might actually smile."
"You're hilarious."
"I know." She grins, tucking her phone back in her pocket. "Love did this, didn't it? Turned my cold, calculating brother into someone who says thank you without being waterboarded first."
My jaw clenches. "I'm not?—"
"You are." She waves her hand dismissively. "It's fine. It's good, actually. Maybe we should find someone for Bruno too. Get him to soften up. Become a little puppy like you."
