My nose wrinkles at his self-deprecation. “Matteo trusts you. I remember you watching us at the wedding. He talks about you sometimes, too. I don’t need you to be nice.”
“Oh? And what do you need from me, then?”
I bite my lip, asking, “Can I ask you for a favor?”
Nico only takes a moment to respond. “You can ask, I can’t say whether or not I’ll agree to it.”
Fair.
Here goes nothing.
“Could you keep an eye on your brother for the next eight weeks?”
“My brother?”
“Matteo.”
“And why are you asking me to spy on Matteo?”
“What?” I ask, frowning in confusion. “I don’t want you to spy on him. Just like, check in on him—making sure he’s okay and stuff.”
He grunts again. “You break up with him or something?”
My face flames and I’m glad this is over the phone so he can’t see it. “We’re not dating.”
He laughs shortly. “Sure you aren’t.”
“We aren’t—” I cut myself off, shaking my head and exhaling slowly. “It doesn’t matter. I’m going into a care program for thenext sixty days and I would just feel better knowing that he isn’t sad or worried or I don’t know. I just thought it would be nice if you could make sure he’s okay while I’m trying to go and make myself okay.”
“What program?” he asks in a snap, startling me with the force of his voice. “Where is it? Who runs it?”
“Um, whoa.”
“Is it guarded? How far away is it from your father and his men?”
My head is spinning, hearing the sharp questions lashing over the phone.
“It’s perfectly safe, my therapist owns it. And it isn’t far away. Look, I didn’t call to talk about me. I wanted to talk about Matteo. Will you look after him or not?”
“The quiet one has claws, does she?”
“What?”
“Matteo will be fine. I’ll take care of you,” he says, his voice determined and true.
“You mean you’ll take care of it?”
“You heard me.”
The line goes dead and I drop my phone, utterly baffled.
What the heck just happened?
Chapter Twenty-Six
Anya
Matteo video-chatted me with the twins for almost a full hour last night, but we didn’t say goodbye. He played with the babies while talking to them and me, sharing stories and giggles for as long as they would stay entertained. It was more for me than it was for them. For me to memorize their little faces and the sweet sound of their laughter.
