Page 47 of Broken Vows

As if she senses me, Carla looks up with a smile. “Hey, Gigi.”

Tears I have no control over well in me. She looks so much better. Rested, relaxed…happy? It’s the last thing I ever expected. Carla is a lot of things, but happy isn’t exactly one of them. Parts of her are still a teenager, whereas she thinks she’s a full-grown adult.

The rest of the group turn their eyes up to me, but I’m only drawn to Stephano’s which seem to inspect every inch of me in slow motion. Heat blazes a trail where his gaze makes a journey over my body, and I pull away from the glass railing to descend the stairs.

“I overslept,” I say in excuse. It’s so late, they’ve already had lunch.

“It’s a good thing,” Tasha says as she comes up to me. “Have something to eat.”

“You look better for it.” Matteo pushes a plate laden with salad and roast chicken in my direction.

“Thank you.” I sink into the chair Stephano holds for me. He hasn’t said a single word, but when I meet his intense gaze, his brow is quirked in question.Dammit. “What’s all of this?” I ask as he settles back in his seat next to mine.

“Stephano brought us laptops and cellphones,” Carla says, not hiding her enthusiasm. “And some clothes. Gigi, you need to settle with him.”

“Of course.” I eye the brand-new laptops and latest-edition phones, making a rough calculation in my head. At this rate, my fifty thousand euros isn’t going to last very long. I have morefunds, but they’re trickier to get hold of. And there’s my business I don’t know how I’m going to keep afloat from here.

“It isn’t necessary,” Stephano says. “The electronics are standard company issue, and the clothes…well, it’s only to tide you over until you have the energy to shop for yourselves.”

“Heavens,” Carla says on a sigh. “I’d love to go shop in New York.”

I want to reach over the table and shake her. “This isn’t exactly a holiday, Carla. And please tell me you haven’t gone and randomly messaged your friends and told them where you are?”

“No! God, do you take me for such an idiot?”

Heat flushes my face, and I drop my gaze. Having a tiff with my sister in front of the Scaleras isn’t how I wanted to start my day.

“I’ve told her to be careful and wait,” Tasha says. “Don’t worry, we’ve got this.”

Tasha and Carla look at each other, and my sister’s lips twitches with a smile. Who knows what happened this morning while I was asleep? These two seem to be thick as thieves already, and as much as I hoped to close the gap between Carla and me, I just cracked it open wider again.

“We’ve also looked at courses for her to take, given what she wanted to do in Italy. It would be easy to get her into something here. There are so many universities and options in Boston,” Tasha says. “And I have time to take her around. My own classes only start in September.”

Hell, Tasha’s young, but I didn’t realize she’s still a student. My face must give my shock away because she chuckles.

“I’m doing medicine,” she says in explanation. “And it takes forever.”

“Steph,” Matteo says as he stands. “I’ll leave you to sort out what else they need. I’ve got to get to work.”

I stand, too. “Thank you for everything, Matteo.”

“Thank Stephano.” Matteo smirks. “He’s two steps ahead of everybody here.”

He leans down and kisses Tasha on the forehead, but she pulls him in for a lingering one on the mouth. It’s somehow so intimate, I look away only to meet Stephano’s gaze where he’s staring at me.

I sink back in my seat, wishing I was anywhere else.

“Thank you, Stephano.” I hope that was official enough. “Let me know how much I owe you. We’re a lot of things, but we’re not leeches.”

“No, you’re not.” Tasha leans over and touches my arm. “I know what you would have done for me, so it’s a pleasure to help you out. I was thinking of driving Carla around this afternoon to show her a few places, if you don’t mind? We waited to see if you want to come with us?”

My gaze jogs between the two women. I can only imagine what would happen if I said no to Carla right now. “I’m not up for it, and we have a lot to discuss?—”

“I know, Gigi, but later, okay?” Carla takes her laptop and phone and bundles the stack of clothes into her arms. “I’d be sorted for university here, and it would be great to do a gap year in Boston, don’t you think?”

A year?She thinks we’re going to be here for a full year? I can’t leave my clients hanging or take my fingers off the pulse of the art scene in Europe for so long. I might as well close shop. “Yes, a gap year would be fun, but?—”

“You should know. You did three years in London.”

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