“They did. Dayton has taken them from all of us, I suppose. Another thing to add to his extensive list of sins. What I’m failing to express, Bellezza, is that remembering them doesn’t always have to be about the life they lived. Imogen never even met my mother, but I can hear the same joy in her laugh. With Nicco, the mischief she had in the games we made together, and with you, the love. You missed out on knowing your father as the person he was, but it doesn’t change the past. Even when we wear masks, we often still show others who we are underneath in small moments. It’s hard to hide everything.”
I let his words roll over in my mind, his meaning sinking in. He was right. And perhaps, something I always knew deep down. I hid the things I didn’t want others to see, but they were still there. And when I wore the physical mask at Illusion, it didn’t make me suddenly braver. That had to have come from me, to begin with. My father might have been pretending to play a part, but it wasn’t all a lie.
“I guess that’s true. Thank you for sharing that with me. I’m struggling with expressing how I feel, and I'd contemplated letting the darkness take me over. We’ve been dealing with so much, and I haven’t had a moment to process any of it.” I paused, and I appreciated that at this moment, Atticus was giving me what I needed instead of demanding answers like the mafia boss he was.
That was when it hit me. We could be more than one thing. It felt so simple, yet it felt like a colossal epiphany had just occurred within me.
“I just realized that while it might feel similar, it’s not, and in fact, I have so much more this time in my life. I’ve lost my father and my job, but I have a family, a home, and a love so powerful that it has changed my world. Everything else will come in time, and I just need to take it step by step. More importantly, I need to make sure I take time for myself because it’s so easy to manage everyone else when there are this many people in my life that I could lose sight of myself, hiding in the shadows of everyone around me.”
“Bellezza, I don’t think you could ever hide in the shadows. Your beauty and love shine brightly, drawing us all to you. But I get what you mean about making sure that you’re a priority, and I’m fully on board with that. Just tell me if you need something, and I’ll make it happen.”
“I know you will, my love.” I cupped his cheek, bringing it down to kiss. “And there might be times I need you to step in and tell me, but I think it’s important for me to recognize it in myself too.”
Atticus kissed my nose, tightening his arms around me. “The good part is that we’re in this together.” He lifted my hand, kissing the ring, and I knew without a doubt he was right. Our love would change our world because it already had.
* * *
A few days later,I found myself needing some girl time, so I called Cami, Nat, and Stacy for lunch. Nat couldn’t get away from her undercover assignment, but Cami and Stacy eagerly replied. Cami was even bringing Lark, which made me excited to spend time with the blond beauty when I had more clothes on.
Topher followed me into a restaurant, and I noticed he was more alert than before. When he’d asked me who I was meeting, I noticed his ears had gone a little red. He looked nicer today, too, taking time to comb his hair, shave, and I daresay, he even wore cologne. It made me curious about whom he was dressing up for.
The hostess appeared immediately when we stepped into the lobby, a big smile on her face. “Mrs. Mascro, right this way. We took the opportunity to provide you with a private room. Please let us know if there’s anything we can do to improve your time here today.”
It took me a moment to realize she was talking to me. I was still getting used to being “Mrs. Mascro.” At least she’d been friendly and hospitable. I liked that she wasn’t trying to kiss my butt or be fake, but genuinely wanted to do her job well.
“Here you are.” She motioned for us to step into the room. I stopped, remembering my position.
“Thank you…” I paused, waiting for her to give me her name.
“Megan.” She smiled, almost holding her breath to see if she was in trouble or not.
“Thank you, Megan. You’ve been most hospitable.” I smiled kindly at her, remembering my epiphany. I could be both strong and nice. I didn’t have to lose sight of that.
She smiled, her shoulders relaxing as she waited for us to step into the room. Cami and Lark were already sitting, and as we entered, they stood, waiting for us to get closer so they could hug me.
“Lor! You look so good!” Lark exclaimed, and I beamed as she pulled me into her arms. She always smelled amazing, and I loved how much she put into her hug. The girl gave good hugs.
“Quit hogging her, Lark,” Cami teased, pulling me from her fiancée to give me a hug. I’d seen her around the manor a lot, but it was different when there weren’t a lot of mafia men around.
Though, as I said that, I watched as Topher went to stand by Malek on the back wall and wondered if he was here because of Cami or if he’d been assigned to her through Atticus. It was curious. I was more surprised he was healed, but he was probably like Sax and refused to be bedridden, if at all possible.
Cami went to ask a question, her mouth open, when Stacy walked in, and everything halted.
“Topher!” she screeched, running across the room toward him. She flew so fast in her heels that I didn’t know how she didn’t topple over. She launched herself into his arms, kissing the reddening guard, and his earlier behavior now made sense.
The three of us gawked at our friend as she smothered him in kisses. I turned to Cami, a look of shock on my face. “Did you know?”
She shook her head, unable to tear her eyes away.
“I think it’s cute,” Lark said, picking up a breadstick and biting it. “They totally hit it off at the club a few weeks back.”
Cami turned to Lark, her eyes wide. “You had gossip and didn’t share? That’s fiancée 101, babe! I’m appalled.”
Lark just stuck her tongue out, and I laughed. When Stacy finally disentangled herself from my blushing guard, she walked over to the table, acting like nothing had happened.
“Nope,” Cami said, shaking her head. “I don’t care if he’s there listening in; you’re going to share all the details now, girl. Leave nothing out.” Cami braced her head on her hands as she peered at Stacy, blinking, her eyes huge.
Stacy didn’t seem to care that we had an audience and regaled us with her exploits. I had to stop her at one point, as I didn’t need that much information about one of the men who routinely guarded me.