Page 147

From the patio, Enzo, Alfio, and Omero step out like they’ve been watching a circus and just realized the animals have escaped. They stare at Bea, wide-eyed and wary.

“Is she…” Omero starts.

“A witch?” Alfio offers, half-whispered.

“I think she reads minds,” Enzo mutters, backing up a step.

“I heard she killed a man with a look once,” Omero says solemnly.

Bea turns her head slowly and pins them with a glare that could curdle milk.

All three of them freeze.

Alfio raises both hands. “We didn’t say anything.”

“We love witches,” Enzo adds quickly.

“Big fans,” Omero nods.

“It’s your turn to babysit, Omero. Lune,” she says, turning to me, “Vieri can give them the baby. They seem to have a lot of time on their hands.”

She turns to Omero and stares. He runs up to Vieri immediately with a scared smile. “Yeah, of course, you both need some time to rest.”

Vieri hands the baby over to him and he cradles the baby carefully.

“If she wakes up—“ Bea says. Omero gulps, looking at Bea, then down at Carmela.

“We have it covered,” Alfio says, avoiding Bea’s eyes. “We are uncles, we’ve got this.”

They walk off quietly, with their full attention on the sleeping baby.

Bea looks at Vieri. “I got you time with your girl. You owe me.”

He nods, putting his hands around me. “Thank you Bea. I do owe you.”

Bea crosses her arms and watches Riccardo return at full speed, holding out the glass like a sacred offering. “Fresh lemon, no pulp, one sugar cube,” he announces proudly.

She snatches it from him, takes a long sip, and then nods once. “You’ll do.”

He beams like she’s just declared her undying love.

“Wanna tell me about your day?” he asks, jogging beside her as she starts walking toward the house.

Bea doesn’t answer. She just lets him follow her, sipping slowly as he tries to keep up.

I glance at Vieri. He looks down at me.

We both start laughing.

We slip into the house, past the marble hall and down the quiet corridor to our wing. I slip into the bathroom, peel off my clothes, and sink into the warmth of a bath. The quiet wraps around me. When I finally step out, skin flushed, wrapped in my robe, Vieri is standing by the cot, gently tucking the blanket around Carmela.

He turns the moment I step out.

His arms come around me fast, pulling me close. He breathes me in, as if he needs the scent of my skin to remind him I’m really here.

“You smell like heaven,” he murmurs.

I bury my face against his chest, my hands fisting lightly in his shirt. His warmth grounds me. His lips graze my forehead, then my cheek, then the corner of my mouth before he seals his mouth over mine.