Page 40 of Blood Lust

“Gabriel, why did you bring me here?” I softly asked him.

“Because I wanted to share it with you. I wanted to take you out and give you something that would bring a smile to your face. If I could give you the world on a platter, I think I would,” he admitted, making my stomach flutter and my chest clench.

“Dance with me,” I whispered.

“What?” he asked with a questioning chuckle.

“I said dance with me.” I pulled my new phone out of my pocket, scrolled through my playlists, and pulled one up. Then I set it on the stone railing of the expansive patio and playfully curtsied.

The smile he gave me was heart-stopping, then he bowed and held out a hand. I took it, and he pulled me into the space where we swayed and twirled.

“I didn’t realize you were a dancer,” I murmured appreciatively when he spun me and ended with a dip.

“Catholic school and my mom. She was forever wanting me to be a gentleman despite the family I was born into. ‘Class isn’t born and bred, it’s cultivated,’ she used to say to us boys,” he explained.

Closing my eyes as I leaned into him, I imagined him as a young boy, and an image of Charlie came to mind. I wanted to talk about the little boy who had become a regular breakfastbuddy with me each morning that they came over, but I didn’t want to ruin the moment. Lucia was always worried that he was bothering me, but I assured him he was good and that I enjoyed the company as I ate.

With a sigh, I snuggled into his warmth and breathed in his perfectly unique scent.

On the top of a hill looking over the water, with music playing on my phone, we danced with the setting sun as our backdrop.

And though it made me sound like I was out of my mind, I knew that he owned me.

The next day Gabriel had to go out of town. He told me that he’d be back late that night, which worked out fine because it meant I could catch up on work from the day before until he got home.

Lucia and Charlie came over, and she had him working with her, using a little duster. It was the cutest thing I’d ever seen. When he came into the office, I had Joan Jett playing “I Love Rock ’N Roll.” Charlie started bopping his head to the music. When the chorus hit, he started using his duster as an air guitar. It was so damn adorable that I sneaked my phone and recorded him to show Gabriel later.

“Charlie! Stop bothering Miss Alia,” Lucia chided as she stuck her head around the corner. Charlie giggled and raced out of the room. “Sorry, Alia,” she apologized.

“Please, call me Lia.”

“Lia,” she repeated.

“Could you come in for a moment?” I asked.

“Is there something you needed me to do?” she asked, moving into the room.

“No, I’m good. I just wanted to talk if you had a moment,” I explained as I stood up and motioned for her to take one of the chairs in front of Gabriel’s imposing desk. I sat in the other and rested my elbows on my knees.

She waited expectantly as I debated how to word what I wanted to know.

“Gabriel told me that Charlie was his brother’s son, but he didn’t tell me what happened to Charlie’s mom. I don’t want to say or do something unintentionally insensitive because I don’t know.” I steepled my fingers and held them over my nose and mouth.

Lucia closed her eyes and sighed. When she opened them, the unmistakable sheen of tears was evident in her brown eyes. “Viviana…. God, she was a force. Vibrant, full of life, but headstrong and emotional. She loved with everything in her, but she grieved the same. When Francesco—she called him Frankie—died, she couldn’t process it. It withered her soul away. She killed herself one year to the day after Frankie’s death. Charlie was two.” She dropped her gaze to her clasped hands.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to dredge up your pain,” I told her with a frown as I rested a comforting hand over hers. She flipped the top one to hold mine firmly.

“For so long, I was angry with her. I didn’t understand how she could leave that beautiful boy alone in the world. Yes, he had me, my parents, and Frankie’s parents at times, but both ofhisparents were gone. My parents live modestly, and they’re older, while I was waitressing nights. If it hadn’t been for Gabriel and his generous offer to work for him, I don’t know what we would’ve done. He even set up a college fund for him.” Her deep brown eyes pleaded with me to understand.

I nodded.

“Gabriel is a decent man. Despite his position, his heart is good. He’s not the monster he believes himself to be. When you came, I hoped that you’d be the one to make him see that. Maybe you will.” She gave me a soft and hopeful smile.

She patted my hand and got up. “If there’s nothing further you need, Charlie and I will be going. It’s my mom’s birthday, and I promised my dad we’d be home to help him get everything set up before she gets home from her day out with her friends.”

“Lucia?” I called out.

She paused and glanced over her shoulder. “Yes?”

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