Page 15 of Mending Our Chance

My big brothers were here. I jumped up and dashed around the desk. “What the heck?” I shouted into their necks. “Why are you here?”

“Well, it has been a few months since we lunched,” Matteo replied, waving his hand in explanation.

“And we heard,” Alonzo continued for his twin, “that Auntie Gi was in the emergency room over the weekend.”

“Shh!” I waved my hand at the twins. “Don’t discuss that here.”

“Well, let’s get a coffee and you can fill us in,” said Matteo.

He wasn’t asking either, and I knew they had been sent here. Because in our family, a simple phone call was never the way things were done.

I looked down at my pile of work and hedged, “I would if I could but I have an important meeting to prep for.”

“Ms. Saccone, go with these fabulous young men please,” Hazel piped up firmly, sending a wink at Alonzo. “I’ve got it covered here, especially given you prepped everything so well a few days ago.”

And just like that my excuse was sapped up. Before I could concoct a different lie, Alonzo piped up, “Have you had a lunch break yet, Ms.?”

I swallowed a groan at his question. My brothers were like starter fluid. They were a mighty flame that burnt out quickly; there was no real fuel underneath the surface when it came to romance. I made a mental note to tell Hazel not to waste her time with the boys.

“Please, call me Hazel,” my new receptionist replied as she extended her hand to Alonzo. “And yes, I have. But I get off at six.”

Rolling my eyes, I grabbed my briefcase from under the desk, and after packing my things, I trailed after the two balls of manifested energy which were my older brothers. I decided that I wouldn’t come back to the office, but instead would meet Marcus and Harold at the restaurant later that evening. After leaving this information with Hazel, I exited the office suite for what was sure to be an extremely long coffee break.

My brothers wasted no time hustling me five blocks uptown and into a quaint café.

“So, what does father want to know about Gianna?” I asked as I stirred a natural sweetener into my black espresso.

“Why do they call you Saccone?” Matteo countered. His brows were drawn together and those black eyes narrowed at me.

“I thought you wanted to know about Auntie? We will either talk about her or we’ll talk about me. I only have time for one.”

“Fine,” Alonzo interjected, bobbing his head toward his twin, entreating the other male to stay focused and pleasant. Watching the two of them work together was always interesting—two halves that made a whole. I always swore they could communicate telepathically.

“Tell us what happened to Gianna over the weekend,” requested Alonzo.

“Well, it wasn’t the weekend per se.” I closed my eyes, remembering the horrible call I had received. “She was rushed to the Presbyterian ER, Monday evening. Her vitals had dropped to a dangerous level, but she pulled through some thirty hours later.”

“That’s all?” Matteo leaned forward as if he were prey sniffing his mark.

No it wasn’t. Her numbers hadn’t risen, so she wouldn’t qualify for the trial anymore unless something changed—but I didn’t say these things out loud. I lifted a brow at Matteo, enticing a challenge. “Why don’t you go and ask Gianna yourselves? Quit being snitches for Babbo. He can crawl out of his dark kingdom and go and see his sister himself if he’s so concerned.” I was not intimidated by my brothers. In fact, it was good to see them. Which is why when Alonzo put his well-manicured hand on my shoulder, I leaned back into it and told him just that. “It is good to see you both.”

Matteo broke out into a smile, clearly feeling the pull of our reunion. “Sorellina, could we meet more often?”

My spine snapped straight. “Is this Babbo’s idea? What game is he playing?”

“No. No games.” Alonzo squeezed my shoulder before breaking contact. “This family has been broken for too long. We are the next generation. We have the ability to start healing the past by setting straight the future.”

I agreed with him, but I was wary. Matteo—always the more serious of the two—shrugged when he saw my hesitation. “We will talk about mundane things. We will meet every couple of weeks. If it goes well, we will make it more frequent.”

“I agree. I hate these biannual luncheons that we have been limiting ourselves to since you moved back to the East Coast,” Alonzo lamented.

It was a temping offer. My brothers were not the reason I was disowned. And I could use these two volatile forces in my life. If nothing else, they would be ears to listen to my troubles and shoulders on which I could unburden myself. I decided to push them to see if they were serious. “Only if you go see Auntie Gi for yourselves. Then, if that goes well, we’ll set a date to see each other again soon.”

“Why do you cling to her skirts?” Alonzo demanded. His temper rose to the surface—so quick to ignite, that family trait of ours.

“I’m not,” I bristled back. “This is a test, dumb ass. You show me that you have balls to face the dragon and I will meet with you guys for drinks. Simple.”

Slamming down my coffee, I looked at my watch. It was getting on and I needed to scoot home and get ready for the dinner, but then I looked up and saw my brothers’ fallen faces and I relented. “I’ve got time for one more espresso to steal the nerves, then I’ve got to get out of here.” I signaled the barista and offered my brothers a palm branch. “So tell me, any lovely ladies in your lives? Because that receptionist was smitten.”

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