Page 19 of Prideful Union
Except he’s not in the room.
Where the hell is he?
I wander down to the lobby, searching for him. My eyes land on the hotel restaurant, figuring it’s a place to look.
And lo and behold, Santino is there, having breakfast. He’s not alone, though. No. He’s with my mother and Luca. The rest of my siblings returned to their homes yesterday. I said my goodbyes at the wedding.
I was saving Mom and Luca for last because I knew it would be the toughest to say goodbye to them.
“Why wasn’t I invited?” I ask, walking up to their table.
“Lucia,” Mom says, setting her coffee cup down. “Santino said he was letting you sleep in.”
“Did he now?” I glare at Santino, who returns it with a smug grin. Bastard. “Well, I’m here now.” As I sit, I let the chair screech back, and I make a big show of scooting back toward the table. Santino just looks more and more annoyed. It’s great.
“I was just having a chat with your family before we leave for Rome today,” Santino says.
“You know, I was thinking I could stay in New York.”
Mom sighs. “Lucia.”
“No, hear me out. Santino hasn’t even treated me like a real wife, so why should I move my entire existence to where he lives? I’m going to stay in New York. End of discussion.”
Luca chuckles as he eats from a plate full of bacon.
Santino’s eye twitches. “I can’t tell if you’re trying to be funny, but we’re leaving for Rome today.”
“I was just being funny,” I remark. Of course, I wasn’t. I was being quite serious, but I’ve learned there’s no winning with Santino.
After a tense breakfast, it’s time for me to say goodbye.
“I’ll miss you so much,” Mom says, hugging me tightly as we stand in the lobby. “I’ll call every day.”
“You don’t need to do that.” I pat her back. “But a call once a week would be nice.”
“I can do that.” She smiles at me as she pulls back. We’re almost eye to eye. “How you’ve grown. I love you, Lucia.”
“Love you, too, Mom.” I turn to Luca next. “Stay strong, brother.”
At first, Luca doesn’t look like he wants to hug me, but then he quickly wraps his arms around me before letting go just as quickly. “You, too, sis.”
“I won’t miss you.”
He laughs at that. “Neither will I.”
Santino and I walk away. “That wasn’t very nice to say to your brother.”
“Luca’s used to it. It’s how we express ourselves.”
“Weird way of expressing yourself.”
“You’re one to talk,” I say as we walk outside. “You’re the one who just ripped my wedding dress apart last night. Are you going to apologize for that?”
“What’s there to apologize for?”
I hold back my snarky remark.
Santino takes me to his private jet, and soon, we’re off, heading to Rome.
