Page 21 of The Prices We Pay
“The boys and Harper already know. Pascal asked them for their blessing,” Emma adds, her soft Irish accent floating through the speaker. She looks at my dad like a woman so deep in love thatshe doesn’t know how she will ever live without him again.
I suppose that’s the dream, though, isn’t it?
A little over a year ago, Ronan and Mac McDermott and their best friend Finn Donovan—leaders of the Irish Mafia here in New York City—reached out to my dad, a VIP of their nightclub, Kings, and longtime friend, to help keep their mom safe while they took care of their psychopath of a father and their girlfriend’s even more psychotic grandfather. All it took was one desperate phone call, and my dad immediately agreed to house their mom at his home in France. To make an extremely long story short, when shit got too crazy and Harper was taken by said grandfather, Dad sent the four of us in to help them get their girl back. Thankfully, we were able to save Harper with only a few cuts and bruises and eliminate the threat of any crazy family members.
Two months ago, the four of them got married on the roof of their building, and I’d be a dirty liar if I said it wasn’t one of the most beautiful things I had ever witnessed. While they couldn’t legallyget married, they did all change their last names. Now they are the Donovan-McDermotts, and my friends, who I now consider family, truly couldn’t be happier.
Every time I see the four of them, they have the same love-sick look on their faces that I now find on my dad and Emma’s. It didn’t come as a surprise to me when we found out that Emma’s isolation aided in developing a relationship between the two of them. A relationship so intense that they went and got married at a church in town with only Enzo’s parents as witnesses. A relationship that has gained me three new stepbrothers and one amazing sister-in-law.
“Luca,” my new stepmother says as she eyes me with loving concern. “I just want you to know that I will never replace Serafina.” My mother’s name causes an ache in my chest, as it always does, but I don’t look away from Emma. “But I will always love your father and this family in a way that would make her proud.”
I watch as my dad softly kisses her cheek, and when he looks back at the camera, I don’t missthe tears pooling in his eyes. I always thought my mother was his one true love—the other half of his soul. I was only two when she died, but like my father, I carry her love with me every single day. Since she died, he hasn’t so much as dated or looked at another woman. He was perfectly content and happy to live the rest of his life alone. Until Emma.
He wasn’t looking for her, and she certainly wasn’t looking for him. Just like Harper and the guys weren’t searching for each other, and yet, love grew in the empty spaces of their hearts anyway. It took root between the cracks and broken pieces and grew into something beautiful.
If my new family has taught me anything, it’s that the person—or people—your soul trulyneedsshows up when you least expect it.
And before I can help it, the tattooed, raven-haired woman down the hall with the man I love flashes through my mind.
Forcing myself not to go down that rabbit hole right now, I answer, “I know you will, Emma. I am truly so happy for both of you. Vi amo entrambi.”
“Anche noi ti amiamo, figliolo,” my dad answers before the three of us say our goodbyes.
Not more than five minutes after I’ve hung up the phone, it rings again, and I know who it is without even having to look at the screen. Putting it on speakerphone so I can continue to type at my computer, I answer, “Hey, bro.”
Ronan’s heavy sigh fills my office, and that should tell you how dramatic it is because this office is fucking huge. “Mum just texted me and told me she called you.”
“Sure did. Does this mean we get to fight over who has dibs on top bunk during family vacations now?”
Cue dramatic sigh number two. Ronan and I are alike in many ways, but I can confidently say he is wound far tighter than I ever will be—unless Harper is involved, that is. All she has to do is be in the same room as him, and you can practically see his asshole unclench. “The day you catch me willingly sleeping in a bunk bed will be the fucking day.”
I hear Mac, Ronan’s younger brother, yell in the background, “Did you say bunk beds? I got dibs on top bunk!”
“Jesus fucking Christ.” Ronan sighs in exasperation while I bark out a laugh. “Anyway, I was just calling to make sure you were okay.”
“I appreciate everyone constantly asking that, but I assure you all, I’m fine. Mama has been gone since I was two. I’m thirty-four years old. Thirty-two years is a long time for him to be alone, and after everything your mom has gone through, they both deserve to find love. As long as they’re happy, I’m happy.”
Laughing softly into the phone, he answers, “Well, aren’t you a sappy fuck?”
“Ha! That’s rich coming from you. I’m curious: are you working right now or still lying in bed with Harper?” I already know the answer; I heard her giggle only seconds ago.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Mhm, sure. Hey, Harp.”
Her laugh grows louder. “Morning, Luca.”
“And I’m the sappy fuck.”
“I regret even calling you,” he groans, even though I know there’s no real heat behind it. “I’m going to go now.”
“Talk to you later, fratello!” Not dignifying me with a response, he hangs up the phone.
Just as I’m hanging up the phone, Enzo and Dante come pushing through my office door. “What’s got you looking so fucking chipper this morning?” Enzo asks after taking one look at my face. He plops his ass down in his usual chair on the opposite side of my desk while Dante rounds my desk and leans against the window behind me, arms across his chest, feet crossed at the ankle.
“Papá called. He and Emma got married yesterday.”
Enzo’s eyes widen in excitement; he’s always such a sucker for love. “That’s amazing! I’m assuming my parents were there?”
