“Sometimes, but since they are the head of the family, their visits here were very hush-hush. That is until the cousins showed up, and then all hell would break loose.” I laughed, wishing I could have been there for that.
We walked a little farther, enjoying each other’s company.
“What was your favorite thing to do in the summer in Sicily?” he asked as he brushed a little flour from his arm.
“I suppose that would have been an old swimming pond in the woods not far from where I lived.”
His eyes popped open as though at a memory of something. He stopped to face me with a funny expression of disbelief on his face. “Oh, wow…” I looked at him, confused.
“Are you expecting me to follow that train of thought?” I half laughed.
He looked away and shook his head, then continued down the hill.
“Hey, don’t stop now. You have to finish sentences for the other person to follow, Donte.” I picked up the pace and hustled up to his side. Before we could continue the conversation, Vinni pulled up behind us in his car.
“Hey, Sienna,” Vinni said through a half open window. “Andrea is looking for you.”
“All right, thanks.” I turned to Donte and gave him a wave as I hopped in the car, not wanting to keep Andrea waiting. “You want a ride?”
“No, thanks. I need to walk.”
“See you later.”
Donte never did finish his thought.
* * *
I woke early and went down to the kitchen. I walked out to the patio with a bowlful of grapes and watched the hustle as the house prepared for Vinni’s birthday dinner. I wished I had known sooner so I could have had more time to buy him something nice. What could I get? I had no idea. A new gun? One with a flashy handle, like the ones from theGodfathermovie.
“Forgive me yet?” Wyatt sat down next to me on the lounge chair as I tried to stay in my thoughts.
“Nothing to forgive.” I popped another grape, keeping my eyes on the workers. No one could have predicted what a storm my mother would bring with her.
“What’s going through your head right now?”
“Thinking about what kind of gun I would get Vinni for his birthday.”
“Oh, sure, okay.” He reached over and stole a grape. “My friend wants to buy a flashy gun. What’s unusual about that? Well, let’s see. Vinni’s kind of a flashy guy. Maybe all white, with a gold handle.”
“My thoughts, too.”
“Maybe some kind of engraving on it?” He warmed to the topic.
“Mm.” I shrugged but moved my attention over to Elio, who was dressed in his normal attire. His black suit and tie looked wonderful on him, and this time he had paired them with a navy-blue dress shirt. He ran his hand through his hair as he spoke to one of the workers, then he caught sight of me. His lips twitched into a sexy, slow smile.
“It’s a little unfair that he was made that good looking.” Wyatt sighed.
“Indeed.”
Something about his tone gnawed at me, and I pulled my attention away from Elio. I knew my best friend struggled with something, and I had a fairly good idea what it was. I was simply being patient because I knew he needed to discover it for himself.
“You mentioned to me back in New York you wanted to talk, Wyatt. As you can see, just now, I’m free as a bird. So, is now a good time?”
“You have enough going on.”
“I do, but that never means I don’t have time for you.”
He turned to face me, but with his sunglasses on, all I could see were deep lines in his forehead, and his jaw looked locked in place.