“He didn’t say much when he was in the room, and what he said made it pretty clear that he didn’t.” I looked out the window, taking in the bodegas as they were opening up for the day.
Michael exhaled. “My brother isn’t used to someone like you.”
“What does that mean?” I turned and looked at the side of his face.
“Someone good. Genuinely good,” he said. “He probably doesn’t think he’s worthy of you.”
“He didn’t seem to think that before.”
“Yeah.” He shrugged. “I think you should give him some time. He’s the kind of person who sits there and tears apart every single scenario to see how he could have done it differently, and then does it again, until he’s convinced that the way he did it was the only way.”
“What does that have to do with me?”
Michael shot me a look. “Come on, Nora.”
“He had no choice,” I said. “My father had to die. I understand that now.”
“Maybe he doesn’t.” He turned down the street of the penthouse. “Giuseppe was your father, but he was also very important in Rocco’s life. In all of our lives, to an extent, but he welcomed Rocco like a son, like he was a triplet to Gabe and Dom.” He set the car in park in front of the valet and signaled for him to wait. “He did what needed to be done, yes, but that doesn’t mean it sat well with him. You know how I said Rocco wasn’t unaffected by all of the things he did? You’re witnessing it in real time.”
That made sense. “Do you think I can help?”
“Being alive and well is enough.” He turned off the car and got out, telling the valet something before opening the door for me.
I took his hand and climbed out of his truck. We were quiet as we headed to the elevator and quiet until we were almost at my parents’ floor. I felt like pushing the emergency button and drilling him about his brother, demanding that he tell me everything I needed to know to salvage this. The doors opened and the two of us stepped out. One of Mom’s guards stepped forward and smiled at me, then shook Michael’s hand.
“This is where my watch ends,” Michael said.
“Thank you for everything.” The tears that welled in my eyes made it hard to see him. “Everything.”
He pulled me into a hug and kissed the top of my head. “Anytime.”
“Will he come to me?” I asked when he pulled away. “If I give him time?”
“He’d be an idiot to stay away.”
43
LENORA
ONE MONTH LATER
“I seriously cannot believeyou bought it.” I laughed, shaking my head.
My mother had gone and purchased the little coffee shop she loved so much. She was originally going to give it to me as a wedding gift. She’d started the process even before everything went down. She said the second she saw my face light up when she mentioned buying it, she knew it was the right move. Of course, at the time, she thought this would be for me what her apartment in Naples had been for her. I’d had weeks to wrap my head around all of it, but this was the first time we’d been in here with the keys to the place.
“You said you wanted to stay in New York.” She pulled me into a hug. “And you always said you wanted to put your degree to use.”
“Yeah.” I laughed against her. “I didn’t mean you should get me a real business that I could potentially run into the ground.”
“Nonsense.” She pulled away, smiling wide. “You’ll be great. Besides, the entire staff agreed to stay on and Dorothea will continue managing the books and showing you the ropes. You can always call Lorenzo to help with the numbers.”
I shot my mother a look that made her laugh. Lorenzo would probably turn this place into a gold mine, but I didn’t trust any of my brothers’ friends not to try to launder money through here. Their businesses may be legitimate, but I knew all of them had at least one place they used for laundering. Besides, Loren would probably make me fire half the staff to save money. He was stingy like that.
“You can call Rocco,” she said with a wink. “He’s only a block away.”
“Mom.” I shot her another warning look that she ignored with a smile.
I strolled around the room. I wasn’t going to lie. I did wonder what Rocco would think about me owning my own coffee shop. I could go to Scarab and ask him, but I wouldn't. A month had passed since I’d last heard from him, and even though every day, I woke up hoping he'd come back into my life, I didn't want to make the first move. I'd done that already. I wanted to be with him so badly, but one thing this experience taught me was that I was stronger than I thought I was. He'd said those words to me. He'd made me believe it. It wasn't like I was moping around waiting for him.
