Page 112 of Capo

“Luci’s?”

“His sister dearest. Matteo. Eric and his Anna.”

“Matteo is a sweetheart, always so funny. Anna is nice, I guess. A little meek maybe.”

“Anna is nice,” says Ivan, echoing my statement. “She’s one hell of a lady. Anyone would appear like a mouse next to Eric.”

“Mm, true. He’s—He’s really dominant. Frankly, he scares the shit out of me sometimes, just from walking through a door. They’re all… special.”

“Mrs. Russo takes some getting used to. I think the two of you will go head to head for a long while because neither of you will budge. She’s always had the upper hand in being the one the boss listens to. Things have changed and she needs to figure out where you all stand.”

“I know where I stand.”

Ivan dumps the rolls of paper on the bar and walks around it, pulling at drawers, rummaging through them. “And where is that?”

“Eh...” I purse my lips. Maybe I don’t quite know where I stand? “It’s complicated,” I finally say.

Ivan holds up a little box, a triumphant grin on his face. “I don’t envy you. He’s a tough man.”

“I’ll tame him eventually.” I say it, but I doubt it, and it’s thrilling in more ways than one. There’s stability here. He’s very protective of me, and in a sense I feel safe, but every day is new and I never know exactly what waits around the corner. I had wild teens and then buried myself as Chloe. Luci dug up Christine again, or parts of her, and I’m still working on finding the middle ground.

“Yeah,” says Ivan as I hold up the rolls, flattening them against the wall as he pins them in place. “I’m sure you will.” It’s clear he doesn’t believe that for shit.

When we’re done, I tilt my head, studying the colors and patterns.

“There’ll be a party here tomorrow by the way,” says Ivan. “There’ll be a lot of people. I believe Christian will be here. Just thought I’d give you a heads up.”

My mouth goes dry in an instant. It’s been so long, but I still have a visceral reaction to merely hearing his name. He frightened me on such a primitive level that I’ve never been able to cope with it. Ivan always lets me know, and I’m eternally grateful. One day I’ll

Like Ivan said, the house is full of people the next afternoon. I’ve spent hours on a sun bed on the patio in our private part of the garden, AirPods plugged in, greedily soaking up the pale sun. It’s autumn on the calendar but today is almost like summer. I haven’t been able to entirely cancel the noises from the party. The sounds of children playing, the scents of food, and a low constant murmur of people talking finally drives me to pull on my dress over the bikini and go take a peek. I’m terrified of seeing Christian, but at the same time I also think that maybe I need to get used to his presence.

Tiptoeing through the house I finally reach the ballroom. It’s completely transformed. There are bright colorful decorations, flags, balloons in gold and pink, a lot of people I don’t know, and a few I recognize. Kids run around the legs of the adults, laughing, chasing each other. I’m transfixed by the unusual sight before me and stop in the doorway, taking it all in.

A petite woman with shoulder length, flaming red hair, catches my gaze. She has her back to me, but she feels familiar somehow. Suddenly she turns and fixates her eyes on me. Her mouth falls open as I widen my eyes.

Kerry! It’s fucking Kerry Jackson! Here!

A billion emotions flash across her face, then she dashes through the room and throws her arms around me. “Chloe!”

“Kerry?” I gasp, putting my hands on her shoulders, holding her at arm’s length, taking her in. “Kerry! Oh my God! What are you doing here?”

I lift my gaze and look over her shoulder. My stomach clenches and the air is knocked out of my lungs as I see him. Christian Russo is watching us from afar. Our eyes lock and I want to vomit. I look at Kerry and then back at Christian, connecting the dots. They’re here together. They’re together.

“Me?” squeals Kerry. “What are you doing here? Where have you been? I’ve missed you so much! Your parents! Do they know you’re back? Where have you been?”

Parents. That’s what I told everyone. I forgot how many lies I used to surround myself with.

“That’s… a very long story. Kerry… are you and Christian…” I chew on my lip and glance over her shoulder again. She turns her head and looks behind her, at Christian, whose eyes are dark and unreadable.

Her head snaps back to face me. “No! No, we’re not,” she says quickly.

I exhale with relief. Thank God!

“I heard what he did,” she says softly. “I’m so sorry.”

“That was a long time ago.”

We look at each other in silence. I have so many questions, but I don’t know if I want to go poking. If I do, she’ll ask too, and I’m not ready to talk about anything that I’ve been through. Some little part of me still blames her. If she had just shut up that day, all those years ago, if she hadn’t gone poking around in Luci’s business, then none of this would have happened. I’d have lived my accountant life, we’d have hit the clubs, giggled, flirted with boys and just… been somewhat young and innocent.

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