Page 91 of Bellini Born

“How long’s this been here?”

“Since always,” I replied.

“I see. And when were you planning on telling me about it?” she challenged.

A smile curved on my lips. “Right now.”

“Mm-hmm.” Her eyes lifted to the ceiling.

Gently, I grasped her chin, forcing her to meet my eye. “Ti amo.”

Color bloomed on her cheeks, and warmth filled my chest when she repeated, “Ti amo.“ It was even more beautiful falling from her lips.

I kissed her softly. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

She nodded, slipping from my grasp. I stood watch as she slid beneath the sheets, turned off the lights, and closed her eyes, before I latched the door between us.

A few hours apart felt like a fucking lifetime.

Chapter 21

Matteo

Breakingglasshadmesitting bolt upright in bed. Thick air filled my lungs, and I began to cough violently.

What the fuck?

Blinking my eyes, I couldn’t seem to clear them of the fog.

“Matteo.” The muffled voice calling my name belonged to Enzo.

That’s when my brain came back online and I began to process what was happening.

It wasn’t the haze of sleep clouding my vision. It was smoke.

My cousin’s hand landed on my arm and yanked hard enough to pull me from the mattress. “We need to get out of here. The house is on fire.”

Automatically, I reached for Summer. When I came up empty, I remembered that she’d returned to her room.

Wrenching out of Enzo’s hold, I rushed toward the secret door, but an arm banded around my waist, holding me back.

I thrashed wildly, frantic in my need to get to the woman I’d confessed to falling in love with mere hours ago. “Summer!”

Enzo grunted with the effort necessary to drag me away. “Rico got her and the girls out.”

Relief rolled through me with enough force to knock me to my knees.

“Get up. We gotta go!” Urgency colored those words.

Standing, I followed my cousin to the window he’d broken through. A ladder had been propped against the brick exterior of the house, providing us with a means of escape.

The minute my feet touched the ground, I took off running, my bare soles pounding across frozen ground, toward where I saw the flashing lights of emergency services parked in my driveway. Firefighters were working to combat the flames, but the high-powered spray of water from their hoses didn’t appear to be making much of an impact.

The house would be a total loss, but I didn’t care. My loved ones were more valuable than any material possessions.

Cast in shades of alternating red and blue, Bianca came into view, still dressed in her pajamas. Beside her stood Teresa, holding a bundle of blankets with Serafina’s head peeking out from above them.

My heart dropped to my stomach. Where was Summer?