Page 46 of Luca

“Really, Eoghan?” Finn grits out at his brother. “Bet you couldn’t wait to run to Mom with this little tidbit, could you?”

“Don’t blame me, brother. Did you honestly think I was going to keep this from her? She has a right to know her nephew is alive and well.”

“Yeah, he is, but I didn’t know if that was going to stay the case. It’s not like he was living his life, happy as a clam somewhere and I kept it from her. I didn’t want her heart to break all over again if someone found out who he was and—”

“Do not make excuses for your poor judgment. You should have told me the second you found out he was alive. If I thought it would do any good, I’d put you over my knee and spank some sense into you.” She points a threatening finger at Finn.

Though Maeve is shooting fire at her eldest son with her eyes, the moment they land on me, tears douse the flames. Her hand goes to her mouth, and she stops in the middle of the room, staring at me.

“Oh my God,” she whispers. “You look just like your mother.” My aunt races to me and throws her arms around my shoulders, pulling me down to envelop me in a fierce embrace. “I prayed and wished this day would come. That you would find your way home to us,” she cries into my shoulder.

I’m stunned to have this woman I’ve never met wrap me so tightly in her arms that it takes a moment for me to return the hug. When I do, she starts crying harder, and I feel my eyes get watery right along with hers. This is the closest I’ll ever get to hugging my mother. The moment feels surreal to finally meet the woman my cousin has always spoken so highly of.

Maeve backs up a step but keeps a firm grasp on my upper arms. “My God. You have her eyes,” she says in awe as she stares into them. “Oh, sweet boy.” She starts to cry again and Finn walks up behind her, resting a hand on her back.

“Come on, Mom. Let’s not overwhelm Luca. He’s had a day as it is.”

Maeve whirls on Finn. “I’m so damn angry at you right now. You know what I went through. You know the years I searched for this boy in the face of every child his age on the street. But you don’t know about the nights your father held me while I cried, so overcome with grief I could hardly breathe. And you knew he was alive for seven years.”

Finn looks at his wife for help, but she gives him the look of you’re on your own here, pal. I don’t blame her. Maeve Monaghan is a force, but since I agreed to the plan of keeping my identity a secret, I feel a responsibility to shoulder at least some of the blame.

“It was my fault, too. When I found out who I really was and who my family was, I didn’t want to put you through losing another family member all over again. I’d just lost my dad, and I didn’t want anyone to go through that kind of pain.”

Maeve takes a deep breath and releases it through her nose. “I can’t imagine what it was like for you growing up. I’m so sorry I wasn’t there for you. I wish I could have been.”

“Frank was a good man. He raised me right and I never wanted for anything,” I say, suddenly feeling defensive over my childhood. Then, I remember Frank also murdered her sister. Yeah, I don’t think she’s going to want to hear anything remotely good about the man.

“How did this happen? Where have you been the last twenty-eight years?” she asks.

I’m nervous about telling her my story. To tell her that after I found out who Frank really was, I still stayed, still took care of him until he died. I’ve often wondered if he hadn’t been sick, would I have stayed? Or would I have left California and gone straight to the Monaghans with what I knew and let them sort it out? On the one hand, Frank was responsible for the death of my parents, but he saved me. Francesco Cataldi is a monster. One who didn’t care that he sent someone to kill an innocent baby. The man who raised me and the man who is a murderer are two different people in my mind. Or maybe that’s what I need to tell myself in order to justify my decision to take care of him in his last days.

“It’s a long story, Mom,” Finn interjects, seeing the nerves and anxiety written all over my face. “Let’s let Giada and Luca settle in. There’s plenty of time for him to tell you his story.”

I can tell it’s taking everything for Maeve not to bulldoze her way into the situation and get every detail from me this very second, but she nods at her oldest son and a sense of relief flows through me. I’ve never had to explain why I stayed with Frank or why, after what he did to my real parents, I’ll always love the man who raised me. I’m still coming to terms with it even after all these years.

Maeve turns to Giada who has been standing silently next to Alessia. “You must be Giada,” she greets with a warm smile. She walks over to my wife and wraps her in a hug. Giada stiffens for a moment then returns the embrace with a look of surprise and relief etched across her face.

“Nice to meet you, Mrs. Monaghan.”

My aunt pulls away and still holds Giada’s arms like she did mine, as though she wants my wife to really hear her. “Call me Aunt Maeve. You’re family now. Though I’m not sure how comforting that is considering you married into a family where sons lie to their mothers for years.” She shoots Finn a pointed look.

“Mom,” Finn groans out. “I had my reasons.”

“Yes, son. I’m well aware. You always do.” Her tone tells me and everyone else that she wholeheartedly disagrees with his reasons.

An hour later, Maeve and the rest of the Monaghans are still at the penthouse. The tension has cooled between Maeve and Finn. Finn is still annoyed with his brother for dragging their mother into this without warning him first so we could discuss how best to explain the situation to everyone. Then Finn receives another call from his guard, letting him know that Cormac Monaghan has arrived. If I thought Giada was nervous about meeting my aunt, it’s nothing compared to the fear in her eyes when Cormac walks through the door. Her father hated the man. I can only imagine all the things she must have heard about him through the years, considering my wife has always had a knack for eavesdropping on conversations she shouldn’t have been privy to.

He walks to his wife, who’s sitting on the couch next to Alessia first and kisses her. They stare at each other for a moment, communicating with just a look before Maeve nods and smiles. Then he stands and looks at his son, who is sitting on the opposite sofa. “You and I will discuss this later,” he tells Finn, pointing a finger at him. I don’t miss the smirk on Eoghan’s face. When his father turns to him, he points the same finger in his direction. “And I’ll be talking to you as well.”

Eoghan’s face falls and he looks around the room. “What the hell did I do?”

“Language,” Maeve admonishes.

Cormac pays him no mind when he turns to me and Giada sitting in the two club chairs we pulled to form a circle with the rest of the living room furniture.

I stand and hold out my hand. “Luca Bennetti,” I introduce. “And this is my wife, Giada Bennetti.”

Cormac smiles, picking up on the fact that she is no longer a Cataldi and now has my last name and is under my protection.

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