THE LADY: The Valentini Family: OATH: Part TWO by Akeroyd Serena

Author:Akeroyd , Serena
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Serena Akeroyd Publishing Ltd.
Published: 2021-09-02T00:00:00+00:00

Seventeen

Luc

“Concern is at an all-time high for the missing NHL player, Liam Donnghal. Donnghal went missing after—”

Switching off the news, I watched Fi at the breakfast table the following morning, noticing that she was paler than usual, and that, for once, she was actually eating.

Her focus was on her cell phone as she munched on a piece of croissant that she’d cut into fifteen pieces—yes, I’d counted—and which she was eating one at a time and with as much care as if she’d shoved a whole apple into her mouth.

Stan had showed up this morning with a change of clothes for us both, but though the act was kind, I knew why he was here—the Victoria was famous for its French toast. The fucker had eaten two portions of it already.

“I was watching that,” Stan complained, twisting around from the sofa where he was sitting in front of the television to glower at me.

“Go and watch it in your own apartment.”

“Regular sex is supposed to make you less crabby,” he muttered in Sicilian.

“Regular sex would be happening more often if my brother wasn’t cockblocking me all the fucking time.”

“You two bicker a lot, don’t you?” Fi mused, peering up from her cell, the pucker in her brow warring with the smile she split between my brother and me.

“It’s a Sicilian thing,” I told her.

“Bickering? Isn’t it a people thing?”

“We sound like we’re arguing when we’re not,” I explained, reaching forward to pour her some more orange juice, curious to see if she’d drink it. “Are you okay?”

She hummed. “Aoife’s still quiet. I sent her a picture of the purse, and normally she’d tell me I was crazy for letting you buy it, but she’s seen the text only she hasn’t replied to it.”

“She’s grieving. Some quiet reflection is to be expected,” I reasoned.

“Maybe. We share most things though. Plus, this weekend, there is that author convention—”

“Se, I remember.”

Her lips twitched. “You listen. How novel.”

I laughed. “I listen to every word that spills from your lips—”

Stan made a gagging noise.

“Fuck you,” I called out.

“No, thanks,” he said, gagging some more.

As I grunted with irritation, Fi’s smile deepened, shifting into her eyes, making them grow warmer even as a tinge of sadness softened it when she explained, “Aoife just canceled. Her favorite author will be there, but she doesn’t want to go.”

“She might not be up to it.”

“Trust me, I figured that out.” She shivered. “I was there when the bleeding started.”

I snagged her hand with mine and kissed her knuckles. “You saved her.”

She blew out a breath. “Or caused the miscarriage in the first place.”

“We talked about this,” I chided, squeezing her fingers.

“Maybe that’s why she doesn’t want to talk though. She might blame me.” She shoved her damn plate away.

Pushing it back, I told her, “Eat your breakfast, cara mia.”

She nodded but didn’t pick up another piece. She did, however, sip at her orange juice.

I had a brother who ate too much and a woman who ate too little.

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