“You are so different, bambina.” His voice held only the faintest trace of Italy, a whisper that suggested he was foreign but gave no indication of his nationality unless you were familiar with the sounds of Naples.
“So are you.”
He leaned back in his seat, slinging an arm over the ledge above the in-car bar. His thick black hair waved across his bronze forehead and accentuated the pure gold of his eyes. He was so handsome but the way he held his mouth, even to smile, was off, crooked in a way that might have been sexy to some but to me just seemed sad. There were so many secrets between my family members that it seemed impossible we could ever regain our childhood closeness.
“I had an affair in Mexico.”
It was a huge admission for me but Seb, the seasoned movie star, only raised one brow so I barreled on.
“He was amazing.” I couldn’t help it that my voice turned dreamy. “No one has ever made me feel so safe and so inspired to push past my comfort zone. He was handsome and intelligent and just remote enough to make him seem mysterious.” I laughed at myself and shrugged. “So, obviously, I fell in love with him.”
“But?” I raised my eyebrows at him and he sighed dramatically before explaining himself. “As a man, I know there is always a ‘but’ with women and it is almost always justifiable.”
“Well, you’re right. The ‘but’ is that he is taken.”
“Ah, that is a significant ‘but’.” His eyes sparkled as he took another sip from the flask. “Is it just me or have you forgotten what type of butts we are talking about?”
I laughed and hit him lightly in the shoulder. “You are such a goofball.”
“Self-proclaimed and proud of it.” He winked.
My giggle ended on a sigh as I looked out the window and spotted the Four Seasons Hotel looming ahead of us. I startled when Sebastian reached over to take my hand in his but I didn’t look over at him when he started to speak.
“For whatever reasons, tonight is going to be difficult for both of us. I want you to know that I’m here with you, bambina. We are going into this hive of bees together, unified. If you want to leave at any time, say the Italian word.”
The Italian word was a precaution we had established as children when Seamus would return home twitchy and bloated after days of drinking and gambling. When the fights grew too loud between our parents and, mostly, when the Camorra came to collect their payments from Seamus, whether he had the money or not, Elena would call out insieme. We each had our own hiding places; the twins were tucked into the closet behind the water heater while I was placed under the back porch. Elena had taken the worst safe haven, under the sink in the kitchen, a place that was kept empty by Mama specifically for that reason. I had always wondered how much my older sister had witnessed from her cramped hideaway, how much the violence and conflict had affected her. I know the hours spent cold and alone outside had led me to detest the feeling of both.
“Insieme,” I murmured. “Together.”
Sebastian nodded and placed a kiss on my knuckles as we came to a stop in front of the gorgeous hotel, an elegant pale stone façade surrounded by modern glass architecture. I was in awe as Seb ushered me from the car into the tasteful lobby and up the sweeping marble staircase to the main event room.
I blinked rapidly when we entered the formal space, blinded momentarily by the wealth of marble and crystal, silk clad ladies and tuxedoed gentleman. There couldn’t have been more than two hundred people in attendance but they were some of the richest individuals in Manhattan and it wasn’t hard to feel awed by their hard-won or inherited wealth and grace.
Sebastian chuckled at my déclassé expression and tugged me further into the room.
“Beautifully dressed sharks in a pretty tank, cara, nothing more,” he reminded me as we pulled up at the bar to grab retro champagne glasses.
“Yeah, and I’m Nemo,” I muttered, smoothing the front of my dress with a clammy palm.
“Sebastian.”
His laugh cut off abruptly at the breathy sound of his name, his shoulders hunching slightly and his knuckles white against the edge of the bar. He let out a deep exhale before turning around to face the woman who had said his name.
She was absolutely lovely, like a movie star out of the 1960s. Her large blue eyes were wreathed in a tasteful ring of kohl and her tiny mouth was red and full like a rosebud. She was petite in a way I had always desire to be, with fine bones and slim hips emphasized by the fluidity of her gown. Despite her youthful features, the grace of her carriage and the fine lines across her pale forehead denoted her age. She put on a good show in the filmy black dress with the long white opera gloves, but she couldn’t fool the artist in me. I would have been surprised if she was a day under forty.
I knew who she was even before Sebastian cleared his throat and said, “Savannah.”
They stared at each other for a long, heated moment, completely ignorant of everyone else around them. I was surprised by their chemistry even though Elena had made it apparent in her insults that Seb had had an affair with an older woman. The proper Savannah Richardson did not seem at all like my fun-loving brother’s type.
I cleared my throat and stepped forward with a genuine smile. “Hello, I’m Giselle. It’s very nice to meet you, I’ve heard such wonderful things.”
One icy blonde brow rose slowly as she looked between my brother and me but she did deign to take my offered hand.
“The pleasure is mine. I wasn’t aware you were in town.” Her eyes darted briefly to Sebastian who remained standing stiffly at my side. “I very much hope you are enjoying being reunited with your family.”
“I am, thank you.” I continued to smile at her even though the situation was strangely grave. “Sebastian decided to be my white knight and accompany me here tonight.” I leaned in conspiratorially. “I’ve never been to such an opulent event before.”
She laughed lightly and I caught a glimpse of something younger in her, something almost childlike and delicate. Her wide blue eyes slid to Sebastian again, inexorably drawn to him, and I felt a pang of empathy for the older lady. I knew all to well what it was like to love an unattainable man.
“You are in good hands with Sebastian then. I’ve dragged him to enough of these over the years to make him a hardened veteran, isn’t that right?”
Seb grunted noncommittally and shot me a glare when I dug my elbow in his side. I was opening my mouth to appease Savannah, maybe even apologize for my thuggish brother, when an older gentleman stepped up beside her and placed a heavy hand on her birdlike shoulder.
“Savannah, darling, I’ve been looking for you.” He spoke in a loud, gruff voice; a radio announcer from the 50s accompanied by the static rasp of an old stereo. It added to his old-school tails, the cummerbund and slicked silver hair. He was a handsome man, robust and virile despite his age and I immediately liked him.
“Seb, my boy.” He beamed when he noticed my brother and stepped forward to grab him in a rough hug. “How the hell are you?”
“Fine as ever, Tate.” Sebastian’s lips twisted in a reluctant grin. “I was just introducing your lovely wife to my sister, Giselle Moore.”
Savannah flinched slightly at Sebastian’s casually spoken truth and I realized then why Sebastian had said tonight held its own hardship. They were obviously in love, or, at least, they had been and it had ended on less than auspicious terms.
“Giselle, the artistic one, right?” Tate grabbed my hand between his two mitts and squeezed it gently. “Tate Richardson. Media mogul, producer, director and the lucky bastard married to this beautiful lady.”
Savannah straightened and any softness I had seen before vanished. She was suddenly the kind of New York matron I expected, haughty and beautifully aloof as if nothing could touch her. Sebastian scowled at the change and something flicker in her eyes. It was pretty obvious to me that he was the only one who could touch her.
“You haven’t been by in far too long, son.” Tate had turned back to S
ebastian. “What ever happened to our family Sunday dinners?”
Sebastian shifted slightly away from me, as if the slight distance would make it harder for me to hear this conversation.
“I didn’t know you two were in New York and I’ve been busy working on a new project.” He finished his flute of champagne in one long draught and reached behind the bar to grab something stronger, an expensive brand of whiskey that he poured into a short glass. The bartender eyed him warily but after a quick wink, she let him be; she was only human after all.
“Well, I’m sorry to take my brother away from you but I see our sister over by the windows and she will kill us if we don’t check in,” I said with a huge smile.
Tate nodded his head and said something in his booming voice to Sebastian so I took the opportunity to lean in close to Savannah and pressed my hand to her arm. She looked at me sharply but softened when she saw my slight smile.
“He’s okay?” she whispered.
I hesitated before responding. “I think you’re better equipped to answer that question.”
She sucked in a quick breath before looking away. I knew I was dismissed but I forgave her sudden coldness because it was obvious she wasn’t dealing well with her separation from Sebastian.
I badly wanted to ply him with alcohol and attack him with questions about their relationship but as we left the older couple and Sebastian became more and more relaxed with each step away from the mature blonde, I knew I couldn’t. Not only would it be awkward and painful for him, it was hypocritical of me to question his apparently sketchy relationship when I couldn’t even face my own.
“Where did you say they are?”
“I didn’t actually see them.” I shrugged when he shot me a sidelong look. “Insieme, Sebastian. We needed to get out of there.”
He looked at me for a long second before nodding curtly. “We did. Should we find our table then?”
We headed over to the table displays and found ours in the middle of the vast venue, far enough away from the live band not to have to shout over the music but essentially front and center given the layout of the room.
“Why would we be at such an important table?” I murmured as Sebastian weaved between the round tables and future diners.
He shot a look over his shoulder. “A movie star, a business tycoon, a lawyer from one of the best New York City law firms, an up and coming artist, and a politician? I think that group warrants a good table.”
“A politician?” I asked, but we were already at our table and the sight of the people sitting around it made me forget my question.
Before I could even digest the sight of Elena or Sinclair, someone was in my arms, wrapping me in an embrace that made my heart ache for an earlier time.
“Candy,” I breathed as she squeezed me tighter.
“Candy,” she agreed, releasing me only enough to smile her buck toothed smile into my face. “I can see you’re shocked that I’m here so I’ll give you a second to get over it and be excited to see me again. Although I’m not going to give you too long because I’m furious with you for not getting in touch with me after three long months of separation.”
“Two months,” I corrected automatically.
She blinked before tossing her head back and laughing. “Okay, the fury lasted for a much shorter time than I anticipated. You are officially forgiven. But you’ve got to make it up to me by sitting beside me.”
She took my hand and finally had the wherewithal to see Sebastian standing beside us, staring bemusedly down at her. She stopped mid-step and gaped openly at him before turning back to play-whisper, “And introduce me to this guy.”
It was my turn to laugh and the distraction of their introduction was a welcome one as the three of us took our seats. I felt warm and safe with the two of them beside me so when I finally looked up at the rest of the table, I did so with a faux confidence I didn’t really feel.
My eyes landed immediately on Sinclair, which wasn’t surprising given the fact that I had known where he sat at the table as soon as we were in its vicinity. He was already staring at me, those blue eyes electric with intensity as they swept over my body, taking careful inventory of everything about my person. When they reached mine, his mouth softened into something close to a smile. God, he was gorgeous.
“Giselle.” Elena’s voice brought my attention to her seat beside him and I noticed that they matched – his ice blue tie and her velvet dress. She looked like a modern day Audrey Hepburn and my hands found my bodice self-consciously before I could help it.
“Elena, you look absolutely lovely. Thank you so much for inviting me tonight.”
“Thank you, but I wasn’t the one to extend the invitation. Willa and Mortimer wanted to meet the last addition to my family.” She beamed at the older couple I had yet to notice that sat to her right.
“We’ve heard a great deal about you,” Willa Percy said with a close-lipped smile as her brown eyes scraped over my body with the precision of a scalpel, searching for flaws with the gravitas of a surgeon.
Logically, I knew that Willa was a beautiful woman; African American with a café au lait complexion smoother than silk and thick wavy hair she wore cut into a chic shoulder length bob. But I found nothing warm in her expression or any charisma in her carriage. She seemed almost like a doll, perfectly turned out in every way except for the lack of vitality in her eyes.
On the other hand, Mortimer Percy struck me as the kind of man to play Santa at a charity event or roll around in the mud with his sons. He was a broad shouldered, All-American kind of man with a square jaw and a full head of golden brown hair streaked with silver. It was no wonder that he was a popular politician with looks like that.
“No one told us you would be so pretty though.” Mortimer smiled broadly. “We just heard some nonsense about you being a fantastic artist or something of the sort.”
I laughed because he wanted me to and his good humor was infectious. “What did I do to deserve such flattery?”
“Don’t lay that at my son’s doorstep, I’m afraid he’s not the effusive type. Is he, Elena?” Mortimer guffawed.
Elena laughed too but I was uncomfortable with the assertion and when my eyes found Sinclair, the muscle in his jaw was ticking as it did when he was trying to control himself. Sensing my gaze, he looked up at me. I held his stare, opening myself to any thoughts he needed to purge himself of. I willed him to trust me with the emotions he normally carved up and shoved into the farthest recesses of his mind. His mouth opened slightly on a long exhale and he shook his head slightly.
Later, he mouthed.
My heart clenched in anticipation of seeing him again.
“It was Mama,” Elena admitted. “She never could shut up about you.”
“Elena,” Sebastian warned under his breath but she didn’t take heed.
“Giselle was always Mama’s special girl. She’s thrilled to have her back, of course. The entire Lombardi clan together again. Although Giselle still goes by our father’s last name.”
I watched as Sinclair surreptitiously moved Elena’s wine glass over to his side of the place setting.
“Names are so important.” Willa stepped in, boredom laced throughout her words. “Daniel never did consent to take the Percy name.”
“You never offered it to Cage,” Sinclair said quietly. “And it was easier to keep Sinclair.”
Willa sniffed but Mortimer put his hand over hers to quell her. “We understand, Daniel, of course. Names are unimportant in the grand scheme of things. We are a family of choice, not circumstance.”
His words set fire to my chest. I wanted a relationship of choice; I wanted Sinclair to choose me.
“There are no reporters at the table, Mortimer, you can stop the politicking,” Willa said.
“Mom,” Sinclair chastised and I was surprised to see it had a positive affect on Willa, who straightened in her chair and applied a smile to her smooth cheeks.
“Very well. Elena, darling, how is
the adoption process going?”
I almost choked on the sip of delicate white wine I was drinking. Could this evening get any more excruciating?
“Slowly, unfortunately.”
“You must use our connections. Why forge relationships if you can’t use them to your advantage, hmm?”
“We’re in no rush,” Sinclair reminded them. “Elena is only twenty-six, we have time enough to start a family.”
“He’s just nervous.” Margot appeared at the table, a sharp smile on her face as she slipped into one of two empty chairs beside Candy. By the way she stared right at me, I knew Sin had warned her of my presence. “As long as I’ve known him, Daniel has always wanted to be a father.”
Candy’s hand found mine under the table and squeezed.
Sebastian snorted and muttered under this breath. “This is going to be one long fucking dinner.”
I couldn’t have agreed more.
Chapter Ten.
It was better when the music started in earnest and people began to dance. Elena was occupied with Mortimer so Sinclair took Margot for a spin while my charming brother guided Willa – who actually laughed in delight – around the floor.
It had been a long and stifling dinner and the sudden absence of tension made the air taste like ambrosia.
Candy gave me a solid thirty seconds of peace before descending on me.
“Okay, I have no idea how you are dealing with this.” She stared at me incredulously but when I didn’t respond, she huffed. “That wasn’t a rhetorical statement, Elle. How the hell are you dealing with this, this, weirdness?”
“I’m not. I mean, I’m not dealing with it well.”
“Sinclair briefed me but you know him.”
I smiled, because I did. “What did he say?”
“Oh, pfft.” She blew the bangs out of her face and I loved her for her artlessness. “Something like ‘Candace, Elle is in Manhattan. She also happens to be Elena’s sister. You’ll come to the gala tonight and see her. I would appreciate your discretion.’”
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