Page 4 of Unholy Union

I’m desperate to ask him what he went through. Who did he lose?

Luca lifts his head up. “Have you ever cried?” he asks Theo.

Theo smiles ruefully. “I’ve cried. It’s ok if you want to.”

“Mostly I just want to punch something,” Luca says, scowling.

I shake my head. “Mom won’t like that. Should we go back to the house now?”

After a beat, Luca nods and gets up. Theo and I walk behind him. His fingers are close to mine, and it’s all I can think about.

“I never knew that about you,” I say to Theo.

He doesn’t look at me as he answers. “It’s not exactly professional of me to talk about my personal life.” The way he says it makes it sound like he’s annoyed with me. He was so open with Luca a second ago, and now with me, he can’t seem to get away fast enough.

Theo holds the front door open for us as we walk inside. Luca bounds ahead, but I stop next to Theo in the doorway.

“I’m sorry,” I say. “If I overstepped a boundary.”

He keeps his eyes trained over my head. “You don’t have to apologize. Just don’t ask again.”

I flinch, feeling tears spring to my eyes. Without waiting another minute, I walk away from Theo, feeling like I want to fall into a hole and never see the light of day again.

The only sound he makes is a deep sigh behind me.

Within hours,the house is full of laughter and chatter. It’s a family dinner night where all my siblings get together. Emilia and Marco and Francesca and Leo are visiting from LA.

Mom welcomes them inside and motions them toward the dining table where the rest of us are already seated. Emilia and Marco make a stunning pair, with her golden hair and his dark looks. The scar that crosses his face is not exactly handsome, but he makes it work. Leo saunters in with his typical swagger while Francesca teases him about it.

“You can’t just walk like a normal person?” she asks him.

“No. I can’t.” He kisses her head, his lips touching her brown locks. With his sandy colored hair, they’re the opposite in looks to Emilia and Marco.

I give both my sisters a hug. I haven’t seen them in person since they came to visit after Franco died and Antonio took over, but that was a few months ago.

Gemma and Viktor are already seated at the table. “He just thinks he’s cool,” Gemma mutters, making Viktor laugh. “But I know Emilia has the coolest out of all our husbands. Marco is the best.”

“Hey, what about me?” Viktor asks, pretending to be offended, but he’s the kind of man who’s not bothered by anything.

Gemma snorts. “You think you’re cool?”

Viktor gives her a cheeky smile. Knowing those two, they’ll leave at some point to make out in one of the other rooms. They tend to do that. I know from personal experience since I ran into them almost having sex once in the guest bathroom. It was awkward to say the least.

Emilia and Marco take their seats with grace like the power couple they are. “I agree with Gemma. Marco is the best husband,” Emilia says.

Taking a seat between her parents is Emilia and Marco’s daughter, Essie. She’s five now and every bit as cute as you’d expect a five-year-old to be. Especially with beautiful parents like Emilia and Marco.

“When can I expect more grandkids?” Mom asks, looking pointedly at Gemma and Viktor.

Gemma shudders while Viktor raises his hands. “Hey,” he says. “Do you think we’d make good parent?.”

“No,” a few of us say at once, making everyone around the table laugh.

Viktor winks. “Exactly.”

“We are never having kids,” Gemma says. “End of story.”

“Fran?” Mom asks, turning to her and Leo.

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