Page 31 of Burn this City

“Same.” Sal chuckled. “For a guy as connected as Jack is, he doesn’t seem very good at connecting people with each other. A dinner party would do.”

“Maybe he needs time alone after work. Anyway, nice to meet you. And thanks for the invitation.”

“Absolutely. So yeah, it’s going to sound weird, but I was wondering if you could help me.” Catia had told him once that asking people for help for something small and meaningless helped establish a connection, and he’d found that it actually worked.

“Is it about Jack?”

“Of course.” Sal smiled again. “He’s been … off, I guess. I mean recently. The past couple weeks, definitely. And he’s, well, guys like that, they don’t talk about their emotions. It’s not like I can tie him to a chair and force him to talk.” It made him laugh, but a small voice in his head told him to not stretch that angle too far, as much as it amused him. “That would be wrong,” he added, because she didn’t laugh with him.

But her face seemed thoughtful. “Yeah. I mean, maybe not … we don’t talk that often. But we text and talk on the phone. Sometimes we meet up, but I know he’s busy a lot with work, and sometimes he looks so tired I feel bad that he’s gone to all that trouble only to check if I’m okay.”

That last bit pinged something else in his brain. “And, are you okay? I don’t want to bring all this stuff to you if you have your own stuff going on.”

She looked up and smiled, a small, honest and somewhat shaky smile. “Thank you. I’m better. Jack helped me through a rough patch a while ago, and it took some time to get back on my feet, but I’m good now. Happy to help you both if I can.”

He took a moment to taste the words and listened to the tone behind them. All right, so while he hadn’t unearthed a kinky lover or girlfriend, she was a friend, and from the way she made it sound, Jack Barsanti’s only one. And they couldn’t be more different—this shy, pretty creature with her tender heart, and Jack Barsanti who believed everything could be negotiated, and that taking a bullet to the head for his boss was the expected end to his career. Basically, if they did have a real emotional bond, she was prime leverage.

“Did you notice anything? I might be imagining things, but …” He shrugged in a display of helplessness. “He’s got me worried.”

She drew her bottom lip through her teeth. “I …” She stopped herself, shook her head. “Sorry. I’m confused because some things make so much sense now.”

“Such as? I don’t mind if it’s a jumble.”

She looked up and Sal saw the pierced girl approach from the side, so he leaned back in his chair to give her easier access to the tiny café table.

Beth pulled the waffle and coffee toward her. “That he’s gay, for example. I always thought he was, from the day we met. It was soclearto me, even though we never talked about it. I thought he knew that I knew, so that was never an issue when we met up, and then yesterday …”

… when she’d all but fled from the scene.

“Yesterday?”

“Promise you won’t be angry with him?”

The fuck?“Did he make a move on you?” She didn’t say anything, so he added. “Of course, I promise.”

“Not a move, no. Though I guess you could call it that in a way … he asked me to marry him.” She was clearly upset, red spots dancing on her pale cheeks.

“And you said no.”

“Of course! Firstly, I can’t be a gay man’s … what’s the word, beard? I’d do everything else for him, but I can’t marry him. It’d make us both unhappy. He might think he wants that right now, but what happens a few years down the line? Can you imagine? If I meet his friends or colleagues and they think he’s straight, and I have to keep up appearances, but we’re both living this gigantic lie?” She angrily stabbed the waffle and Sal found her terribly endearing with her ruffled feathers. “But more importantly, he has to stand up to his people. This is the twenty-first century; he can’t keep hiding from his family.”

Oh, Beth.Barsanti hadn’t meant that type of family.

Because there was one type that for the most part hadn’t emerged into the twenty-first century when it came to the rainbow crowd. “That’s what he said? He asked you because of his relatives?”

Sal got it. He knew why Jack was hiding. For the most part, Cosa Nostra families hadn’t emerged into the twenty-first century when it came to the rainbow crowd. “That’s what he said? He asked you to marry him because of his relatives?”

“Yes.” She put the fork down and folded her hands. “I guess his parents might be old and traditional, but he can’t let them pressure him to marry someone he doesn’t love. It’d ruin his whole life. And for what? Just so they’re not disappointed? Next, they’ll bring up grandkids, and I’m definitely not up for that.”

“For the record, I don’t think he’d ‘ruin his life’ with you, but the rest of your argument stands. What the fuck, Jack?” He focused on his waffle which was still warm and crispy on the outside and slightly moist on the inside. The richness of vanilla was clearly noticeable.

“Exactly. What the fuck, Jack?” She mirrored him, also eating her waffle. “So that’s why I tried to call him this morning. And I got worried too, because he didn’t answer. I’m sorry I disappointed him after everything he’s done for me, but I’m also angry, I guess? I shouldn’t be angry, but I am.”

“Nah, your emotions are perfectly valid.” One of the things Catia would tell her. “You thought you can trust him and then he’s pulling that shit on you. That’s not right.”

“… but …”

“It’s not right, Beth. Trust me. Jack’s a strong guy, he’s tougher than he makes out.”

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