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VANESSA

S antino must have interpreted the look on her face when he saw her, because he came over right away, put a comforting hand at the base of her spine and led her away and out of the theater.

“You’ve got the address. We’ll see you there,” he told Bobby, who was right behind them.

Once they were out of earshot, he asked, “What happened in the bathroom?”

“Dire warnings of danger and catastrophe. What else?” she joked.

Santino’s face darkened, but he didn’t say anything more about it.

To avoid traffic and parking, they’d taken the Metro to the venue.

After a short Metro ride back to the hotel, they retrieved the rental truck from the valet and drove out to Outremont, where the city streets gave way to a quieter residential neighborhood with spacious homes, some behind gates.

Along the way, they talked about the performance and how cool Virgil was, avoiding mentioning Bobby or Zoe.

Finally, they arrived at a mansion gleaming with white concrete walls and crisp chrome girders. The place was wall to wall floor to ceiling windows, lit up with glowing floodlights on the spacious lawn.

“I fucking love this place,” Vanessa murmured to Santino as the parking attendant took the keys. “I think we need to get into the hotel racket.”

“Believe it or not, Virg mentioned it to me before when I first met him. He said I had the personality to be a great hotel manager and host. All I would need is a degree in hospitality management and a desire to be on call twenty-four hours, seven days a week for the rest of my life,” he quipped, sliding his arm around her waist and walking toward the front door.

“You already are, for the department,” she pointed out.

“And I could definitely see you schmoozing up guests and being a great host. Not to be pushy, of course. But you have so many talents and skills. You really don’t have to do things that are solely connected to your family if you had another opportunity. ”

“I appreciate you saying that. But honestly, I really am happy with the department. I love what I do. In fact, I’ve been studying to take the next lieutenant’s exam coming up. I think I can ace it.”

Vanessa grinned, pretending she hadn’t seen the book. “You will ace it. I’ll send you a homemade cupcake when you do.”

He pulled her closer in front of the door, running his large hand down to her thigh, then back up to squeeze her ass as he kissed her. “You won’t have to send it. You’re gonna serve it to me in person, from between these thighs. I’m gonna have a lot of fun licking out that frosting.”

“Stop,” she murmured with an embarrassed giggle.

She kissed him back for a minute or two, though, before straightening his collar with a gentle tug.

It would have been too easy to get lost in those eyes, in the way they took in every feature of her face with that tender humor.

She stepped back, out of the danger zone.

“Let’s get in there and find Panthro before Zoe shows up and irritates the fuck out of him. ”

“ Fuck , she’s a vibe killer,” he said with feeling. “Almost worse than I remember.”

Laughing, they entered the white mansion and were immediately swept up into a sophisticated yet lively scene.

There were people everywhere, draped over couches and chairs, or standing by the immense fireplace with drinks in their hands as they chit chatted.

Most were thirties and up, and from every ethnicity and corner of the globe.

They didn’t see Virgil among them, but after a moment of hanging in the doorway, Santino kissed the back of her hand and gestured toward the sunken living room. He led, never letting go.

She’d never been great at small talk, but Santino had always taken the hits for her.

Even now, he was smiling and nodding at people she knew he’d never met in his life like they were old friends.

Bobby and Zoe appeared shortly after. Her brother was smiling, but there was a telltale tightening around his eyes, as if he were still annoyed about the concert.

Zoe was sniffling, but held her head high when she spotted Vanessa and Santino.

“Oh great, they found us. What would we have done if they’d gotten lost?” Santino murmured in her ear, and she grinned.

“Hey,” Bobby said, reaching them first. “Alright, we’re here. Where’s Panthro?”

“We haven’t spotted him yet. I hope he comes,” Vanessa responded, looking around.

They hadn’t spotted Virgil yet either, but his friend Ling was there, talking with some of the other guests. She waved them over when she saw them.

“Virgil’s upstairs, but he’s a little busy. He told me if I saw you, to give you a tour.” With a swing of her long, sleek hair, Ling gestured. “Please have something to drink if you’re thirsty after all that singing.”

Her grin was much more genuine now that she seemed to be in her element, playing hostess.

Santino snagged two glasses of wine from a server stationed nearby with a polite smile and thanked him in English, then self-corrected with, “Uh, merci. ” It was a big step up from whatever he’d written in that Holidates message. He winked at her and took a swallow.

“Is this your first time in Montreal?” Ling asked as Bobby and Zoe trailed behind.

“Not mine,” Bobby said from over their shoulder. His voice had deepened. “I came up for a conference a few years ago. It’s a beautiful city. I needed to see more of it.”

Ling flushed prettily. Zoe’s mouth turned down at the corners while Vanessa could have sworn she saw her brother’s eyes slide down Ling’s slim figure with its small, perky breasts.

Glancing at Santino, she couldn’t help but check to see if he was doing the same.

His eyes were on the artwork on the walls of the rooms they were passing through, not on the sexy body in the tight dress.

Relief zipped through her, followed swiftly by a deep pang.

This is what she used to do, even before Antoinette had popped up, causing trouble.

Some younger girls had been flirting with him when they were on that Cancun trip, and he’d been…

himself. Friendly, engaging. She’d yelled at him that night in their hotel room.

He’d tried placating her, claiming he had no idea what she was talking about, but she’d continued yelling until the sweet Italian charm was gone and his “Irish” was up in its place.

It had been the first of many such fights.

Too many truths were glaring in her eyes all at once. Santino was showing her once again how sweet he could be, how loving. What more would it take for her to let go of the jealousy that was simmering deep down in the well? Could she do it? Fake it till she made it?

Maybe , she thought. Maybe she could if she wanted it enough. Maybe Santino’s superhero love would be strong enough to save her from going back down that dark road after all. When she gave his hand a little extra squeeze, he grinned at her and it was the sun shining at midnight.

By then, Ling had led them through several huge, airy rooms, everything white from the concrete walls to the furnishings.

Santino released a soft, “Whoa” at what she called The Gallery.

It sizzled and popped with graffiti style paintings, deep indigos, vivid shades of blue and hot pink splashed across the canvases in a connected series.

“I can’t believe Virgil has all these. Tesoro , it’s that artist, Tenzin Wu. The one I’ve been telling you about.”

“Virgil loves him, obviously. Good thing, since he’s my cousin. He’s actually here right now, if you’d like to meet him?” Ling offered. “Right out there.”

She pointed through the glass wall to the backyard where there was a swimming pool lit up with crazy pink underwater lights.

Several guests were standing around it, a few taking a swim in bikinis, and some apparently nude.

The thin man with glasses she was pointing at was fully clothed and standing on the deck, smoking and looking up at the sky.

“Hell yeah, I want to meet him,” Santino exclaimed fervently. “But first, is Panthro here? My wife’s been dying to meet him all night.”

Bobby cleared his throat, and when Vanessa looked at him, his eyes were wide. She guessed he didn’t like that “wife” reference. Ignoring him and Zoe’s eye roll, Vanessa focused on Ling.

“He was here briefly, but unfortunately, he left. He said he felt the energy wasn’t quite correct.”

“Correct?” Vanessa repeated with a laugh. “What does that mean?”

“You know how some artists can be. I wish we could have convinced him to stay longer. I’m sorry,” Ling said with a sincere pout. “Anyway, come meet Tenzin.”

“Santino, you go ahead. I haven’t had a chance to visit with my sister,” Bobby said, tugging on Vanessa’s other arm before she could go with them.

“Is it okay?” Santino asked in her ear so they wouldn’t overhear.

“Go ahead, it’s cool.”

Santino gave her a quick kiss on the lips and then followed Ling out of the room through an open doorway off to the left.

“A famous artist, huh? I’d like to meet him too.” Zoe grabbed a glass of wine from another server and took off after Ling and Santino, who was already talking with Tenzin.

Bobby shook his head as he watched his wife knock back a glass and insert herself into the conversation, then drift off to talk to someone else when Santino glared at her. His eyes drifted back to Santino, Tenzin and Ling as if tempted to go chat with them himself.

“What is going on with you and Zoe?” Vanessa asked. “Am I wrong, sensing a little tension in paradise?”

“Am I sensing a little paradise in Hell?” he countered. “You and Santino seem really friendly for two people who are supposed to be signing divorce papers in a few days. You’ve been all over each other all night.”

“Stop deflecting. You and Zoe. What’s going on?” Vanessa stared pointedly through the glass at her sister-in-law.

To her amused shock, Zoe downed another glass of vino in one go and proceeded to jump into the pool fully clothed.