Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 75748 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 379(@200wpm)___ 303(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75748 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 379(@200wpm)___ 303(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
I imagined it was someone else who worked there who’d taken it. Matt’s own family—who swore he did no wrong—wouldn’t even let him take the pictures because they came out shaky and from unflattering angles.
This picture was taken by someone who had an eye for beauty and wanted to capture it.
“Christ,” I sighed, exiting the app.
I needed to get a grip.
Stop thinking of my dead friend’s widow.
Reaching for my phone, I shot off a text to my brother, knowing the only way I could stop thinking about Blair was to get myself distracted.
And Leondro had just rolled back into town.
Twenty minutes later, we were sitting at the pizza place we used to frequent as teens, staring out the plate-glass windows at the city, our reflections looking back at us.
Just like with Gavino, Cesare, and Zeno, Leondro had the same family resemblance: dark hair, strong jaw, broody brows. Unlike Cesare and Zeno, he wasn’t covered in ink. And he had a sturdier frame than the rest of us, thanks to more time spent in the gym.
“What’s her name?” Leo asked, voice pure gravel.
“What? Who?” Fuck. That was too quick. Too defensive. I’d have gotten away with it if it was one of my other brothers. But Leo was the second-oldest of all of us. Which meant he, like I had, shouldered the weight of our four younger siblings’ care and emotions, growing up without a mom and with an overworked father. He did his best. And he did better, in my opinion, than anyone else could have in his situation. But Leo and I needed to pitch in.
So we were more attuned to hidden feelings.
Leo’s lips curved up, making his dimple press in, looking like a slash down one side of his face. He got asked all the time if it was a scar instead of a dimple. Depending on his mood, it could give him a bit of a villainous look.
“Lord knows you never get out much. So it’s gotta be someone you’re crossing paths with for some other reason.”
“There’s no one.”
“I know you’ve been with Zen lately. And at Lorenzo’s. But as far as I know, there are no women there. And you’ve been dealing with those pain-in-the-ass Ferraros…”
“Hey.”
“Oh, come on. I grew up next to them too. They’re fucking insufferable.”
“They just lost Matt.”
“Which I’m going to assume is only amplifying the problem. Especially with… wait,” he said, brows raising. “Is it her?”
“Who?” I asked, picking up my slice and taking a bite but tasting nothing.
“It is, isn’t it?” Leo asked, watching my profile.
“Drop it,” I demanded.
“You have a thing for the widow.”
“Her name is Blair. And I don’t have a thing for anyone.”
Leo sat with that as he took a bite, chewed, and wiped his greasy fingers on the napkin.
“I was there, you know.”
“Where?”
“The wedding. I was there. And maybe at the time, I thought nothing of it.”
“Leo, let’s move on.”
“But you couldn’t look away from her. At the time, I figured, eh, she was beautiful. We were all looking at her. Looking back, though, you weren’t just looking. You were pining.”
“Pining?” I shook my head. “That’s ridiculous.”
“Is it? I found myself wondering a lot the past couple of years, why you kept bailing that guy out. You wouldn’t have bailed out one of us as many times as you did for Matt. But maybe you weren’t trying to help him out. Maybe you were trying to help out Blair.”
“Matt was my best friend.”
“Was he?” Leo asked, brows drawing low. “Just because he was your oldest friend doesn’t mean he was your best friend. He used you as a bank and gave you nothing in return.”
That was, honestly, fair.
But I didn’t feel ready to fully face that reality yet.
“Out of curiosity, who paid for the funeral arrangements? I know it wasn’t his family.”
“I did,” I admitted. “I’m sure Blair was going to. But Ronny took it over.”
“What about the wedding?”
“Blair had no family but wanted to pay to get things how she wanted them.”
“She didn’t, though, did she?”
“Matt said it felt emasculating to have her pay.”
“But it wasn’t emasculating to have you pay? Out of curiosity, her ring…” The answer was clear on my face. “Jesus, Nico. Don’t get me wrong, I love that you’re a solid man, that you’re generous and give people the benefit of the doubt, but holy shit.”
“We both know I had the money.”
“And we both know that’s not the point.”
“I don’t want to talk about Matt like this, man. He’s dead.”
“Yeah, he is. And it seems like you’re feeling guilty about that for some reason.”
“Dunno if I will stop feeling that way until we know who gunned him down. He was coming from my place that night.”
“That late?”
“He was crashing with me.”
“His wife finally wised up?” He held up his hands at the look I shot him. “Yeah, yeah. I know. I’m a dick. But at least I’m honest. We both know a woman like that didn’t belong with a user like Matt. I mean, she has to be making bank, right?”