Shadow Keeper (Shadow #3)

“Do I walk on you?” Stefano asked Francesca, his voice genuinely confused.

Another round of laughter erupted. Sasha was happy the spotlight was off her and on Francesca and Stefano. She knew if Giovanni said one more word to her she would burst into tears. She was good at keeping her emotions in check, but her eyes burned and her chest hurt so badly she could barely breathe. She needed to be alone to find a way to pull her wild emotions back in check. It was silly to be so emotional, but she’d just seen her man put his love into action, doing it for her. Something huge. The lump in her throat was enormous, so much so that she could barely breathe.

“If you’ll excuse me for a minute?” Immediately the men stood, which always embarrassed her. She gave them a little salute and hurried away.

Luckily, she knew her way around since spending the night in Stefano’s penthouse. She made her way down the hall to the other wing where Giovanni had shared a bedroom with her. She stood for a moment in front of the mirror, staring at her flushed face. Her hair was down. She wore a long skirt and a peasant blouse. The feel of the material was softer than anything she’d ever known. Where Lucia found such treasures she had no idea, but she loved nearly everything in the boutique and was grateful it hadn’t burned along with her apartment and the deli.

The door opened and Giovanni slipped through. He closed it after him. “Are you all right, baby? What’s wrong? If you really don’t want to get married immediately, I won’t railroad you into it.”

That was it. The sound of his voice. That gentle, tender, sweet caring that could bring her to her knees. She burst into a storm of tears. Wild. Unrestrained. She wept for her dead parents and the boy who had been her brother, always there with her. Always looking out for her. Teaching her how to ride, how to rope. Sandlin.

She covered her face and wept. The sound of her sobs filled the room, and it was enough. Her sorrow could have filled the entire penthouse had Giovanni not closed the door behind him. He crossed the room and took her into his arms. She kept her hands over her face, but pushed her face into his chest. His arms locked around her and he put his head on hers.

Sasha wasn’t certain how long he held her, but she found herself in his lap where he sat on the edge of the bed. When she could finally get herself under control, he was rubbing her back, rocking her gently and murmuring how much he loved her and everything was going to be all right.

“I’m sorry.” She whispered it. “I couldn’t help it. I think I had a breakdown, like a complete and utter meltdown. I swear, Giovanni, it was like a tsunami. I was afraid I wouldn’t make it out of the room before I completely went to pieces. You’re insisting on marrying me immediately because of Sandlin, aren’t you?” She forced herself to get her head out of his chest so she could look up at him.

His eyes moved over her face. She knew she was a mess, but it didn’t seem to matter to him. He still looked at her as if she was his entire world. “I want to make certain Sandlin has the chance to be a big part of our wedding and then our marriage. He’s your family, and that makes him mine.”

Her fingers curled into his shirt and with her free hand she thumped his shoulder. Not hard, just a strike and then another. Protesting the truth. “You’re doing it because you talked to the doctor, and Sandlin’s going to die, isn’t he?”

Giovanni took a breath. She felt it right through her. As if they were sharing the same skin, the same muscles and bones. He breathed and so did she. “He did, didn’t he?”

“We’re all going to die someday, Sasha. We can only live our lives the best way we can. I believe in family.” He gestured toward the dining room where his brothers and sisters were. “I love them. I try to enjoy every minute I have with them. I think they all operate the same way. We live life large because we know it can be over in the blink of an eye. I had a younger brother. Ettore. All of us loved him. He was really amazing, Sasha. We learned from his death that we can’t always have those we love with us every day. So, when we’re together, we make certain to love one another, enjoy one another. Be in those moments. Right there. Right here and now. I want to do that with Sandlin.”

She took a deep breath, hoping he felt it the way she did when he had breathed for the two of them. “I love you so much. I understand what you’re saying. I do. And I’m so sorry about your brother, I didn’t know.”

His hand stroked caresses down her hair. “I love you, baby. I love everything about you. We’re going to include Sandlin in what we have. My family wants to meet him. They’ll visit him as well if he likes them and is comfortable.”

“I’ve been thinking about asking the doctor if he thinks it would be good for Sandlin to live with me. With us. We could hire a private nurse. I’m willing to work extra hours to pay for it.”

“Baby, that was one of the first things I asked. I told him about the house and grounds. The gardens. I even said if he thought it would be better for Sandlin to go back to Wyoming, we would do that. He said Sandlin was far better off where he is. He’d be confused and at this stage, his world has shrunk …”

“But that’s just it. If he was with me, he could get better. I could talk to him more, remind him more.” She knew she was fighting a losing battle. That terrible pressure in her chest told her she needed to face the truth. “They could try to operate one more time.” That was sheer desperation and she knew it.

“You know he said that would kill him on the operating table.” His arms tightened around her. “I’m so sorry, baby, but we’ll make his life so good while he’s still with us. You’ll be free to spend more time with him. He’ll like that. I’ve already talked to Stefano about getting the library more current. We can get him the books you think he’ll love.”

She pressed her face tightly against his neck. “I don’t want to lose him.”

“I know. We’re reaching out to other doctors, the leaders in this field, and gathering all the information we can, just in case there’s something his doctor has missed.” She heard the determination in his voice.

She knew there wasn’t, she’d spent the last two months researching. Still, she hoped. She took a deep breath to fight back the tears threatening again. She had Giovanni, and he was willing to fight for her brother with her. To give him the best life possible, no matter what that took. “Thank you. Just … Thank you. I don’t know what I’d do without you, Giovanni.”

“You probably wouldn’t have a madman burning down your apartment.”

She sat up straight. “If this person is really targeting Aaron, and not you, maybe it was the picture that Aaron took of me that was the catalyst. That was his opportunity to start his campaign against Aaron. Then Aaron played right into it by sending me flowers. If he talked to his friends about me, about having the picture …” She trailed off, frowning. “Would he do that?”

“If he was competing with someone. It’s possible. Men play sophomoric games. You caught me when I was telling the finer points of my game to you. And look at John Darby. He goes to extremes, but his frat boys definitely have games they play at college and with him. I know that Aaron can’t be faithful, he never stayed with a woman long.”

“Or maybe it was because he was in competition with someone else and the moment he got the girl, he didn’t want her anymore,” Sasha said. “Giovanni, I know you’re going to think I’m crazy, but sometimes I just know things. I feel this is exactly what Aaron was doing and whoever he plays his little game with is the one that is framing him.”

Giovanni’s hands went around her waist and he gently lifted her off him. “Let’s get you washed up.”