Page 100 of Sins of Bliss

“Definitely a Raina Cecilia in her belly, don’t you agree?” Raina asks with all seriousness, looking up at Lia.

“I’m thinking more of a Cecilia Raina, but we can negotiate with her parents about it later.”

“And if it’s a boy?” I counter.

“It’s not,” Cecilia says with conviction. “That’s our niece in there.”

Thirty minutes later, Raina and Cecilia leave, shooed out by my doctor so they could do one final evaluation. I lay back in my bed, closing my eyes once I’m alone, exhausted and in desperate need of a nap. A daytime soap opera offers mindless chatter in the background—a subtle comfort so I don’t feel alone.

I hate that I feel jumpy now, startled by every small sound I hear. Joseph stole my peace of mind, and as much as I’m grieving the loss of my brother, I also can’t help but feel an overwhelming amount of anger toward him, too. Even in death, the fear left by my brother and August haunts me.

My heart skips when a light knock on the door sounds, and in walk Sly, followed by Luciano.

“You don’t have to knock, Sly,” I tell him as he comes to kiss me. I tilt my head up, wishing for more than the peck he gives me.

“I didn’t want to startle you, amore mio.”

Sly walks over to the counter where he left the bouquet Raina brought earlier, and starts busying himself with it, which I find a little strange, but then I turn my focus toward my brother, who’s standing at the foot of my bed with his hands in his pockets.

“Hey, Luce,” I greet with a smile. “How’s Father?”

The color drains from his face and he takes the seat across from me, leaning forward on his elbows.

As I watch him, my heart begins to beat erratically, and my nerves kick in.

My brother scrubs his face with both hands, avoiding eye contact as he looks down at the floor.

He looks wrecked. Dark circles are under his eyes. His hair is a mess. There’s wrinkles all over his shirt, and I know he’s spent the night sleeping in a chair. It makes me wonder if Mother and Samuele did too, or if they went home to their beds while Father underwent surgery.

My stomach falls.

A dark cloud hovers over Luciano, and he scrubs his face again, the agony rolling off him in waves.

Whatever he’s about to say is going to alter this family forever, and I’m not sure I’m ready to hear it.

Swallowing around the lump in my throat, my voice is small when I say his name again. “Luce?”

He looks up at me, his eyes red and raw, with a fresh lining of tears on his bottom lashes. He blows out a shuddering breath, and with a slight tremble in his chin, he says, “He’s gone, V. Father is gone.”

Chapter 37

Sly

The sun begins its descent as Mamma and I walk through Central Park after dinner at a nearby French bistro. With Papà working at the hospital and my brothers preoccupied, I thought it would be nice to treat Mamma to dinner and the quality time I know she has been wishing for.

Vinnie is spending the evening at her parents’ house, helping her mother with funeral arrangements.

Next week, we will bury her brother, and then her father.

Maurizio’s unexpected death was the one that left the Paladino family in shambles. One minute he was alert and speaking with Luciano, and the next he was gone.

Complications from his surgery.

It has been a grief-filled few days, but spending tonight with Mamma has been a welcomed and much needed distraction.

Reaching for her hand, I place it in the crook of my bent arm, leading her through the park as we stroll silently. Mamma loves Central Park, and tonight is an especially beautiful night to take a walk. The weather is perfect with the heat of the sun contrasting against the early September breeze that floats through the trees.

“Figliolo, possiamo sederci un momento?”Son, could we sit for a moment?Mamma asks, locating an empty bench up ahead.

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