Page 114 of Till Death Do Us Part

He stared at me until I sighed.

“Okay, maybe I am nervous. I haven’t spent much time with my sisters since the wedding. I haven’t even seen Isa’s son yet. I miss them, and…I’m excited about them coming.”

He nodded and kissed my lips. “I know they’re important to you.”

Something about his tone was…off. Melancholy almost.

“I miss them, Felice,” I whispered. “But I’d miss you more. I can’t live without my other half. I’m where I belong.”

“Fucking heartbreaking.” He touched my chin. “I’m out for a while. Business.”

I nodded. “Will you be back before the party’s over?”

He shrugged, and I knew that was the only answer I’d get. Sometimes he kept odd hours and wasn’t around much. Tommaso was under the care of my father, but when something happened to him…I wondered if Felice was going to be gone even more. But he was with me for every sunset and every sunrise. He took what I’d said to heart, and it broke my heart a little.

He was everything my father said he was, but not to me.

“Felice,” I called as he headed for the door.

He stopped and turned to me.

“The reception Tommaso’s hosting for us. I’m looking for a dress. Any particular color?”

“Anything but red. I’ll kill someone.”

No red. Got it.

He left, and not long after, mostly everyone started to arrive.

“Are you being serious right now?” Lo looked around. “You live in a Chicago Italian palace!”

“What’s the address here?” Talia kissed my cheeks. “777 Easy Street?”

“I’m afraid to touch anything,” Alina said. “It’s all picture perfect. I’m so glad I didn’t bring the kids.”

“Not me,” Isabella said, checking out the kitchen. “I could cook a mean Sunday dinner in here.”

We all got quiet after that. We were together a lot, but Sundays were a given. We would stay home all day and cook and eat together. That would never happen here. My sisters would never do that to Babbo. I couldn’t blame them. They were stuck in the middle of us, which felt as bad as total separation. Because I knew the strife between me and Babbo was the cause of our family being torn apart.

Elsa and Kerry arrived, breaking up the awkward moment. I started the tour again, and by the time we were done, everyone started to relax. It was almost like old times, minus Babbo. We laughed and joked and talked about the salon. Lexi and Eve were looking forward to the Rome opening. They loved Italy and wanted to go back.

Most of the women gravitated toward the kitchen to stuff our faces while the men lounged around in the living room.

Lo took a sip of her red wine. “Are we ever going to do the book club we talked about? I’ve been reading some great ones.”

We’d discussed it before the attack, but none of us brought it up again until now.

“Ooh, I’m in.” Elsa stuffed her mouth with cake.

Isabella looked at me and then at Lo. “Where are we going to have it? The holidays are coming up and with Babbo…”

“With Babbo what?” I asked.

My sisters all looked at each other, and I felt like such an outsider. We still had our group chat, but it hadn’t been as busy as it once was. It was like their lives were separated by a wall. On one side was Babbo. On the other side was me.

“We can take turns hosting it at our places,” Lo said, trying to glare at Isabella without me catching it. Lo was never subtle about anything, though.

“With Babbowhat?” I pressed, staring at Lo.

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