I dig in and the creaminess of the eggs combined with the salty flavor of the bacon fills my palate. "Whoa," I glance up at him, "these eggs are good."
"I had to learn to cook when I was very young. Otherwise, I would have starved."
"Oh," I glance up at him, not sure what to say.
"She was too busy earning a living. After the incident with the fire, we moved out. She made sure she never brought clients home after that. She also began making a lot more money, but it meant she had to be out of the house a lot. And when she was home, she was always too tired to cook. So I took over."
"How old were you?"
"Six," he replies.
"You were so young..." I pause with my fork half way to my mouth.
"I grew up fast." His lips twist. "Don’t get me wrong. It wasn’t all bad. I do have happy memories of being with my mother, too. She tried to spend as much time with me as she could, when she wasn’t exhausted. I was young, but even then, I could tell how bone-weary she was. I tried my best to make life easier for her."
"But you shouldn’t have had to. You were just a child. Those were the years when you should have been carefree and naughty and able to do as you wanted."
"We don’t always get what we want, do we?"
I bring the fork to my mouth and slide the food into my mouth.
"You have to go after what you want. What else is there in life, if not our dreams?" I finally say.
"The Tilting Tulip," he narrows his gaze on me, "that was your dream?"
I nod. "I love flowers, always have. Until he retired, my father was the gardener for the Sovrano family home, what is now Nonna’s house. I used to go over to their house with him when I was young and would try to help my father while he was pruning their bushes and planting flowers. Those were the best times of my life."
"And your sister? Did she come along too?"
I pause. "How did you know—"
"That you have a sister? I saw her at your wedding. Also," he rubs the back of his neck, "I saw it on your Instagram feed."
"You stalked my social media feeds?" I stare.
"Also, as the memories started filtering back, I remembered having researched you," he admits.
I place my fork back in my plate.
"You began recollecting your past much earlier than you let on." I swallow.
"Indeed, within a few days of regaining consciousness, my recollections had started trickling in. I remembered that I had turned up at Christian's wedding with the intention of throwing a scare into the Sovranos. It's also why I had waited until he and Aurora were separated from the rest of the family during their Christmas getaway. My intention was to make them feel insecure. To make them realize that they were not as invincible as they professed to be."
"Because you wanted revenge on the Sovranos for what they did to your mother?" I ask.
"And because I was an undercover officer embedded in Freddie's gang. I needed him to put his trust in me and confide about his own activities. My aim was to put him away, along with the Sovranos."
"And now?"
"Now, the Sovranos are my family. I’m still undercover, but I’m also one of them," he shakes his head as if he doesn't quite believe he just said those words, "and I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I don’t think I can continue as a cop."
"What if he comes back for you?"
"The house is secure." He leans back in his chair. "I wouldn’t take any chances with your safety, Sunshine."
I glance away. I am still not used to him calling me that.
"Hey." His fork clatters as he drops it on his plate. Then he leans over and grips my chin, "What’s upsetting you?"