Page 93 of Heir of Fire
“And you know I love you?”
Gianna nodded. “I do. And I love you.”
“And you know I would do anything for you?”
“Yes.”
“And you know that tomorrow if you need anything at all, you call me. I will be there in a moment’s notice. I’m not joking.”
Like an avalanche, the stark reminder of what was happening tomorrow hit her all over again. Finn’s thumbs brushed her cheeks, bringing her back down to reality. All she could do was nod, and say, “I know.”
And when they finally got redressed and everything, Gianna held onto Finn the entire drive home. He continued to hold herin the shower, in bed, and all night. She knew because she didn’t sleep and neither did he.
In the morning, he gave her a million kisses and said comforting words that she didn’t manage to hear because her ears were ringing from dread. When he closed the car door and stepped back to allow her and Allister to drive away, Gianna looked at him until he disappeared behind the bushes and then the gates.
All she could think about was that maybe he was right. Maybe she was ready to end the visits with her mother.
FORTY-TWO
GIANNA
Gianna’s handswere ice cold, and she felt like she could throw up at any minute. Breakfast that morning had been off the table, so she stuck to small sips of water the entire drive. They were almost there and neither she nor Allister had said much to each other.
There never was much to say.
The neighborhoods they drove through now didn’t bring up any comforting nostalgia like it used to. Still, Gianna could appreciate seeing kids playing outside and people taking walks. A stark difference to the city life, this was so much slower moving, which was perfect for their father. He still did some business for the Vitali family, but after Cesare’s untimely demise, he took a step back. It wasn’t a retirement per say, but he spent a lot more time playing tennis and hanging out with friends at country clubs now than he used to.
Seriously, Gianna loved that life for him. Her father had always been a good man and a constant in her life. He tried his best with having a daughter, but through the years there were things that he just didn’t know how to handle. She didn’t fault him for it, but he never remarried or dated—that she knew of—so she never really had another motherly figure to go to aboutthings. When she got her first period or was experimenting with makeup, she had to rely on the girls and their moms—Blair’s and Cecilia’s to be exact.
Federico Moretti was much closer to Allister and naturally so—that was his heir. Still, it left Gianna feeling a little bit empty when she saw that they were able to bond closer than she could with her father. When they talked about business and law, she couldn’t relate to it no matter how much they tried to include her in it.
She leaned her head against the window. Today was never-ending.
The familiar trees and landscape told her they were there before anything else did. Her father had always been so particular about having his bushes perfectly trimmed and the grass mowed all the same length.
They passed the gate and immediately her anxiety only got worse. She hadn’t had a breakdown since that night after the club when Finn luckily stopped it, but it seemed like one might have been on the horizon. She took deep breaths, reminding herself that Finn was a call away. She could always leave; she didn’t have to stay. She had the power.
There was no other car there, meaning that it was just her dad inside. That managed to relax her nerves slightly. They got out of the car and walked to the front door. It was thrown open by her father before they could even knock. He had a large smile on his face despite everything.
Gianna couldn’t remember the last time she had seen him. It had to have been a couple of months at least, but it had been a busy time. Federico had gray hair now and more wrinkles than she could remember. He was a tall man with a lean build, similar to Allister’s. However, his bright blue eyes were nearly identical to Gianna’s. A lot of times she got told that she looked like herfather, which in retrospect she never really took lightly, but he wasn’t an ugly man, so maybe it could have been a compliment.
“There you are,” he said, throwing his arms open. He embraced Allister first, giving him a long hug before moving to Gianna and doing the same. “I have some snacks and drinks set up. I wasn’t sure how hungry you guys were going to be from the drive.”
“I could definitely eat,” Allister said.
“Wish I felt the same,” she muttered, entering the house.
It was the same as it had been her entire life. A two-story colonial revival home with light blue walls and marble flooring. There were pictures of them from childhood hung up throughout the house and it did bring up good memories. The living room, where they would be for the day, had two big navy couches and then two cream-colored armchairs all set up in a rectangular fashion with a coffee table in the center. It gave enough space for seating, so no one was forced beside anyone they didn’t want to be next to.
The table, like every year, was covered in an assortment of foods and drinks: sandwiches, cheeses, crackers, veggies, fruits, dips, juices, teas. It was overwhelming how much food was prepared for such a short visit, but this was how her father seemed to cope with it. Besides, they never had anyone else at the house during the visits, meaning the cooks and staff always had the day off. It was exclusively between the four of them.
Gianna took a seat on the couch, immediately reaching for one of the pitchers of tea and pouring some for herself. Hopefully there were calming elements in it and not caffeine. The last thing she needed was any sort of buzz.
Allister sat on the couch beside her, and her father took one of the cream armchairs, staring at the two of them with a big smile. “So, how has the semester been? It’s almost over, right?”
Allister nodded. “It’s been good. Finals are next week. I’m top of my class so I’m not worried.”
Of course he was. He was a genius. A poster child for all parents.
