Amadeo introduces Emma. His mom’s face beams with a smile and she hurries to the little girl, crouching to take her cheeks into her hands and caressing her hair before pulling her into a hug.
“Aren’t you the prettiest thing,” she says to her, and I’m surprised when Emma slips her hand from mine and pats the older woman’s back. “Oh, goodness,” Nora continues, drawing back a little and wiping a tear away. “I remember when Hannah was your age,” she says, smiling and straightening. “Would you like some pancakes, Emma?”
Emma nods, and Nora takes Emma’s hand to lead her to the table while I stand watching in amazement. Emma sets Rosie on the table and pulls an empty plate closer for her while Nora takes the seat to one side and starts to load Emma’s plate with pancakes.
“She can’t eat that much—”
Amadeo puts his hand on my shoulder to stop me from going forward to help. “It doesn’t matter.” He watches his mother with as much awe as I am watching Emma as she picks up her fork and puts a dripping bite of pancake into her mouth. Nora wipes her chin with a smile, and Emma pretend-feeds Rosie, then looks up at me and points at the chair beside hers.
I sit down as Amadeo arranges for Francesca to take Hyacinth and lend her some fresh clothes. He then makes coffee and joins us at the table, setting the mug in front of me.
“You’re a quiet little girl, aren’t you? Well, nothing wrong with that,” Nora carries on. “I hope you like the toys and books. And we have a swimming pool.”
“She can’t swim yet,” I say, getting Nora’s attention. She smiles at me, but her gaze is drawn right back to Emma. “Emma, you can’t go into the pool without me, okay? It’s a rule,” I say.
“Bastian loves to swim. He can teach her. His father taught him.” She says this last part more to herself.
“I have to take care of some business. I thought you’d just like to explore the house with Emma,” Amadeo says.
“Where’s your brother?” Bastian unsettles me. Seeing him carry Emma in so gently last night was at odds with the man I’m trying to create in my mind, so until I figure out how to handle him, my plan is simple. Avoid him.
“He hasn’t come downstairs yet. We’ll talk this afternoon once Emma’s settled.”
I nod as he stands. “Thank you.”
“Swim, maybe. It’s going to be hot, and she’ll like that, I think. Do you like to swim, Emma?”
She looks up at him, her face not as relaxed as with Nora, but not like it used to be around dad the few times he was around her after the accident. I wondered if it was too hard for him to see her, to see the scar on her face and be reminded of what happened, what he lost.
Emma surprises me again when she nods, communicating with him.
“Good.” He shifts his attention to me for a moment, then he’s gone. I’m baffled. I’m not sure what I expected to happen today, but this isn’t quite it. This is much better.
After breakfast, Emma spends time exploring the toys and books in her room. Nora joins us for a while, and late morning, we put on our swimsuits and head to the pool.
The pretty, oval-shaped pool at this house is bigger than the one in Naples. I have a feeling the inflatable toys bobbing in one corner were bought just for Emma, and I appreciate how much Amadeo has done but am also surprised by it. I don’t trust it.
Hyacinth joins us and helps me put the floats around Emma’s arms. Emma can barely contain herself as we inflate them and jumps into the pool before I do as Hyacinth sits in the shade of an umbrella. We play in the water until Emma begins to tire. Nora walks out, wiping her hands on a towel as Hyacinth dries Emma.
“Are you ready for lunch?” she asks Emma, who nods.
“Then a nap, I think, for both of us,” Hyacinth says. “I’ll take her in,” she tells me.
“Thanks. I’ll just get the toys cleaned up and join you then.”
I watch them go, and when the door closes behind them, I take a moment alone. With my back to the house, I hold on to the edge of the pool and take in the view. It is a hot day, the sun high in the clear blue sky that matches the sea below. It’s beautiful here. Breathtaking.
I’m just enjoying the calm and quiet when a huge splash disrupts the peace, water sloshing over the edge. I turn to find Bastian beneath the surface, gliding smoothly across the length of the pool, coming up for air, then swimming back. I watch as he approaches shark-like and emerges, shaking the water off his head, splashing me again as he sets his hands on either side of me trapping me.
“Enjoying a little downtime, Dandelion?”
“What the fuck is your problem?” I push at one arm, but he just closes in, naked chest pressing my almost naked chest, pinning me to the spot.
“I don’t have a problem. Outside of you.”
I search his eyes, that amber glow like fire. Water slicks his dark hair back, and I see the same steel cut of his jaw like his brother’s. See the same powerful shoulders. My gaze wanders lower to the tattoo over his heart. A scale carrying a skull in one dish and a human heart in the other with dandelions littering the scene. I read the text, and it makes me shudder.
I will carry out great vengeance on them and punish them in my wrath.