Page 52 of Home Free

Elise didn’t want to push further, although the cryptic nature of Angel’s answer certainly made it tempting.

“What about you?” Angel took a sip of her limeade. “I assume you’re with Finn, since I know Ronan’s married.”

Elise nodded. “Ronan’s married to my sister. That’s how I met Finn.”

Angel lifted an eyebrow, a smile playing over her lips. “Is it serious?”

Elise might have protested about the personal nature of the question, but she’d just dug through Angel’s past without thinking twice. Besides, it was kind of nice to talk to a woman who wasn’t a member of the Murphy family, a woman who didn’t know her or Finn at all.

“I think so,” Elise said. “Finn’s a nomad. He hadn’t been home for years until last Fall. We’re going to travel for awhile when this is all over.”

Elise had no idea if Angel knew what this was, but it was the easiest way to explain her relationship to Finn.

“You’ll love it,” Angel said. “Nico and I lived in Bali for a couple of years after Stella was born. I miss it sometimes. We were so off the grid.”

Elise smiled. “Off the grid sounds pretty nice about now.”

“Modern life can be a bit much sometimes can’t it?” Angel asked.

Elise nodded. It would have been easy to dismiss Angel’s comment as trite. After all, Angel Vitale had money and power, was lounging by a pool that could have been ripped from a magazine of Italy’s Rich and Famous, the air scented with Rome’s basil and orange trees.

But Elise had a feeling Angel had had her share of too much. In fact, she was starting to believe everyone had.

She thought about the people in her life.

The Murphys and their money, the loss of both their mother and their sister.

Alexa, beautiful and successful, but unable to have children.

Kate Walsh, one of Forbes’ Forty under Forty, rich and powerful beyond Elise’s imagination, something that probably hadn’t made up for the fact that she’d walked away from Declan for six years, had raised their son alone, that her father had been murdered by a family friend.

And Julia, amazing, strong, lovely Julia, with her gorgeous protective husband and enough money that she never had to worry about paying the bills again. Julia, who’d spent the first twenty-five years of her life taking care of everybody but herself, who with Elise had watched their gramps die on the floor of the only home they’d ever known.

Everyone out there, literally everyone, had dealt with or was dealing with something. The thought of it made Elise feel less alone. If everyone else was surviving their baggage, if they went on living and loving and laughing and taking chances, she could too.

“I apologize if I hit a nerve,” Angel said, shaking Elise from her thoughts. “I’ve been without female company for too long I think.”

Elise shook her head. “I was just thinking about how deceiving appearances can be.”

Angel looked at her. “How so?”

“You’re different than I expected,” Elise confessed. “It made me think about how easy it is to dismiss people and their experiences, to assume everyone else is living a perfect life, when really, we’re all carrying something on our backs.”

“Maybe life wouldn’t be too much if we could remember that,” Angel said softly.

Elise met her eyes. “I think I’m going to try from now on. For everyone else and for myself.”

Angel smiled and Elise felt a moment of camaraderie move between them. “Me too.”

29

They’d been waiting in Nico’s office for nearly a half hour when he finally returned.

“I apologize for keeping you waiting,” he said.

“No problem,” Ronan said.

Nico lowered himself into his chair and studied Ronan. “I’ll grant your request for permission to kill this man, but there is a condition.”

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