"You know you want to. She is an integral part of your past. By mending your bridges with her, you’ll be able to move forward."
He blows out a breath, "You’re not selling this to me."
"You love your family, Axel."
"Do I?" He frowns.
"I know you do," I laugh.
"I admit, my brothers are not a bad lot. Hell, I even have more in common with Luca than I realized."
They’ve discovered a love for the shooting range and have even put their differences aside and trained there together, which is good, because Luca is the most unpredictable of all the Sovrano brothers. Axel and Christian, too, have spent time together, and while Aurora is still not comfortable around Axel, she concedes she understands he was only doing what his undercover assignment required when he threatened her.
"Aurora and I spoke on the phone and she’ll be there, as well, today. I want to see her and Karma and Cass," I whine.
He narrows his gaze, "So, guess I am not getting out of this one then?"
51
Axel
"Will you pour me a drink?" Nonna murmurs.
My fingers tighten around the whiskey bottle, then I pour the liquor into my glass. Theresa and I had arrived at Nonna’s house for dinner, where she had instantly been swept away by Cass and Karma, who’d wanted to show her the latest designs that Karma was working on.
Nonna’s butler/chef/companion Gino had informed us that Nonna was getting dressed, and Michael had been on the phone in the library, so I had wandered over to the bar in the living room to pour myself a drink.
Also, it’s a delay tactic to avoid facing the rest of my brothers or my grandmother right away. Yep, I am a coward that way.
I know it’s important, from the point of view of safety, that we stay here in Palermo so the Sovranos can lend their considerable protective detail to keeping Theresa safe, and I appreciate it, but damn, if I am not going to get my security firm up and running quickly so I can do it myself. I’ve already reached out to a few friends for help, including Karina Solonik, now Karina Beauchamp, who runs one of the most efficient security agencies that I have worked with in the past. In fact, if things go according to plan, the two of us will be collaborating very soon on the next few assignments. I’d been mulling over the possibilities when Nonna had asked me to pour her a drink.
Now, she walks over to stand next to me. I ignore her, knowing it’s rude and probably childish of me to do so, but fuck that. If she wants a drink, she can pour it herself.
"I am so sorry I hurt you Axel, truly," she says in a low voice. "I’d give anything to go back in time and stop your father from what he did."
"But you can’t, and now it’s too late." I take a sip of my whiskey and the liquor trails a stream of fire down my throat.
"Let me make amends," she pleads. "Please, Axel, let me try to do right by you."
"I am not sure you can do anything to make me forgive you." I firm my lips.
"Haven’t you ever made any mistakes? Haven’t you done wrong to someone else and had to ask them to forgive you?"
I draw in a breath. I had asked Theresa to forgive me. I had begged her to give me a second chance. And while she had been initially hesitant, I had won her over. If she hadn’t forgiven me— I squeeze my fingers around my glass so tightly that the skin stretches across my knuckles. If she hadn’t forgiven me, I am not sure what I would have done. I wouldn’t have been able to go on with life. I hadn’t been joking when I had told her that I wouldn’t be able to live without her. She had found it in herself to forgive me after everything that I had done to her. Can I find it in myself to extend the same courtesy to Nonna?After all, she is your Nonna. Surely, you can do right by her?
Some of the tension fades from my shoulders. A weariness grips my chest, and I turn to her.
"Yes," I clear my throat, "I have made a lot of mistakes, not least of all, toward my wife. She was big-hearted enough to forgive me, and now I believe I should do the same for you."
Some of the stress on her features fades and one side of her lips curves up. She extends her hand and grips my arm, "Thank you, Axel."
"Don’t thank me; thank Theresa," I mutter. As if knowing that I need her presence by my side, she appears in the doorway to the study. She glances between me and Nonna and her features break into a smile. She walks over to stand next to me. I wrap my arm around her and pull her into my side.
Nonna’s smile widens, "I am so happy that the two of you found each other."
"Ah, about that," Theresa shuffles her feet, "should we tell her?" She glances up at me from under her eyelashes.
"Tell me what?" Nonna frowns.