Total pages in book: 123
Estimated words: 118965 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 595(@200wpm)___ 476(@250wpm)___ 397(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 118965 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 595(@200wpm)___ 476(@250wpm)___ 397(@300wpm)
Tears of gratitude burn behind my eyes. “I don’t want to hurt Mom or Ryan.”
“You almost died. You’re lucky you’re alive. The doctor told us so herself when we called the hospital. So, stop worrying about other people. They’ve had their chance. They made their choices. It’s time you make yours. If they love you, they’ll respect your decisions, and I know for a fact they love you.”
“Thank you,” I whisper, placing my hand over hers where her warm palm rests on my cheek.
“You have nothing to thank me for. I’d be a shitty sister if I couldn’t support my baby sis.” Pulling free, she puts her arm around my shoulder. “Damn.” She shivers. “It’s cold out here.”
I want to laugh but it still hurts too much. “Do you want to go inside? Angelo made coffee.”
“Let’s go grab a cup. I can do with some breakfast too.”
When I follow her inside, I feel so light it’s as if I’m floating on a cloud. I don’t recall a time since becoming an adult that I felt this free.
“Have you met Angelo’s niece and nephews?” I ask when Mattie and I walk into the kitchen.
The welcoming aroma of coffee hangs in the air, but Angelo isn’t there. He must’ve gone upstairs to shower.
“Last night.” She takes two mugs from the cupboard while I sit down at the table. “Heidi introduced them after dinner.” She pours coffee from the carafe. “The boys seem a little rough around the edges, but I like how they have their feet planted solidly on the ground. They’re very autonomous for their age.”
I rest my chin in my hand. “What about Sophie?”
“She didn’t come down for dinner. Apparently, they got bad news. I hope it wasn’t anything serious.”
“Bad news indeed.” I glance at the door before continuing. “Their parents were missing for some months. It turned out they were murdered. The kids only found out yesterday.”
“That’s terrible,” Mattie whisper-exclaims. “Those poor kids. I feel horrible for them, especially knowing from personal experience what they must be going through.”
We fall quiet when Heidi and Doris enter the kitchen from Heidi’s quarters.
“You’re up,” Heidi says, giving me a bright smile. “You look much better.”
Doris points a finger at me. “You should be in bed. It’s too soon to gallivant around the house.”
“I feel good.” I smile at Mattie. “I think I’ll take you up on the offer of washing my hair.”
“Whenever you’re ready,” Mattie says with a warm look in her eyes.
Doris marches to the fridge. “Breakfast first. You can’t do anything on an empty stomach.”
While Doris scrambles eggs and fries bacon, Heidi sets the table for the kids’ breakfast.
The younger boys storm into the room a few minutes later, dressed but their hair unbrushed. Johan enters with dignified steps, trying hard to be older than his age. Sophie follows demurely with a downturned gaze.
She didn’t come to say goodnight when Angelo brought the boys last night. When I knocked on her door, she refused to open it.
Concern tightens my chest. “Hey, sweetheart. Did you sleep well?” When she doesn’t answer, I open my arms. “Come give me a good morning hug.”
She glances at Mattie before saying politely, “Good morning,” but instead of coming over, she climbs onto a chair.
The rest of the meal passes in a flurry with Doris serving everyone seconds and the kids running late for school.
Angelo walks into the kitchen dressed in a blue button-down shirt and dark slacks. He looks and smells delicious. The top two buttons of the shirt are undone, showing a hint of the ink that covers his chest. There’s something so right and yet so wrong about a dangerous man dressed perfectly civilly. It’s like a wolf in sheep’s clothing. I can’t stop myself from staring.
He walks over and bends down to press a kiss on the top of my head. “How are you doing, cara?”
I smile up at him. “Good.”
His tone is a little cooler when he addresses Mattie. “Good morning, Matilde. I hope the room was comfortable.”
She cups her mug, meeting his gaze head-on. “It’s perfect, thanks.”
“How about Ben? Is the crib adequate?”
“Yes,” she says. “It’s a fine piece of furniture. It looks like an antique.”
“It was Angelo’s crib,” Heidi says. “His mother bought it from an antique shop and restored it herself.”
Angelo stiffens.
“No wonder it’s so beautiful,” Mattie says. “Thank you for letting us use it.”
“You’re welcome,” he says in formal tone before turning to me. “I’m taking the kids to school. I’ll be back in an hour. Do you need anything from the village?”
I shake my head. “I’m fine.”
He looks at Heidi. “Can I bring something from the market?”
“Doris and I are going after breakfast to do some shopping for dinner.”
He nods. “Let’s go, kids. Say goodbye to the ladies.”
Étienne and Guillaume hop from their chairs and put their plates and glasses in the dishwasher before running to the door and calling out greetings while Johan clears his place setting in a less rushed manner. Sophie does her share, but she doesn’t look at us as she says goodbye.