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“Honestly, I’m not sure.”

He pulled on his suit jacket and buttoned it in the front. “Well, it’s nice that you’re trying. I’m proud of you.”

“I had a talk with Mia, you know, about the slang thing.”

He raised an eyebrow. “And?”

“And I tried to explain that American teenagers don’t really speak in slang phrases.” I threw up my hands. “Sure, they use a few words here and there, but it’s not an entire language separate from English.”

“There might be some parents who’d disagree with you,” he said, amusement flashing in his eyes.

I pursed my lips at him. “Not helping. Anyway, she got upset until I told her I’d let her continue to practice on me.”

“You caved?”

“Of course I caved. I couldn’t figure out a way to say no without hurting her feelings even more.”

Slash grimaced. “So, we’re subjected to this for the rest of the week?”

“Apparently. But you can’t fault me. I tried.”

“I don’t fault you at all. You did your best.” He offered me his arm. “Ready for dinner?”

I wasn’t and wished I had stayed in the room with him drinking wine. But now, instead of a quiet dinner, I had to take part in a crazy prank on my sister-in-law. I’d promised Mia and Alessa I’d help them, so no matter how much I didn’t want to, how could I change my mind at this point?

I took his arm, and with my anxiety increasing, we headed toward the dining room. We were almost there when Alessa stepped out of the shadows of the corridor, nearly scaring the crap out of me.

“There you are, Lexi. Hey, Slash, can I borrow her again for just a few minutes more? We’ll be in shortly.”

Slash looked at me, raising an eyebrow. I wanted to confess everything right then, but apparently, he thought more girl time was okay, because he nodded and strolled on into the dining room without me.

“Go on,” Alessa whispered to me, pushing me toward the staircase. “Head back upstairs and watch for Gio and Vittoria. Take the elevator down and we’ll see you shortly.”

She disappeared, so I dutifully climbed the stairs and waited for Gio and Vittoria. My mom and dad came out of their room, both laughing. It occurred to me I hadn’t seen them this relaxed in a long time. They were really enjoying themselves.

“Lexi,” Mom said when she spotted me. She and Dad walked over, and she kissed me on each cheek. “You look lovely.”

“You and Dad look great, too.”

She smiled. “Thanks, sweetheart. What are you doing?”

“What am I doing?” I guess it was weird I was just loitering in the hallway by myself. I hoped I didn’t look guilty. My dad could see guilt with his eyes closed.

“Yes, why are you standing in the hallway?” Mom repeated.

“I…forgot something important. I’ll be down in a minute.”

“Lexi, what’s going on?” Dad said studying me. “You look like you’re ready to kidnap the pope or something.”

“Ha-ha!” I said a little too loudly, worried that his guilt meter had gone off. But neither of my parents pressed it, and, to my great relief, they headed downstairs without further comment.

At that point I decided standing in the hallway was way too conspicuous. I returned to my room, left the door ajar, and waited. I stood just inside the room, listening for Gio and Vittoria. Finally, I heard them come out, laughing and chatting in Italian. I crept after them, ensuring they headed down the stairway and disappeared into the corridor leading toward the dining room.

As soon as they were out of sight, I hightailed it to the elevator and got in. When the doors opened on the first floor, Mia and Alessa were already standing there barefoot with the statue between them. Mia had the sign hanging around her neck.

“Good timing,” Mia whispered as she and Alessa muscled themselves and the statue inside, smooshing me up against the elevator side.

“What happened to your shoes?” I asked.