Brooke laughed. “A dozen?”
“Someone has to work the fields.”
“A dozen kids would scare off most women. You might want to keep that information close to the chest,” she warned him.
“I keep telling him that,” Chloe said.
“And then we have my oldest, Gianluca.”
“Luca,” he corrected her.
“Yes, yes . . . everyone here tries to shorten it to Gian. We don’t like that, so Luca it is. Still, his given name is Gianluca after his father’s grandfather. My Luca is a brilliant chef, a loving father, and a great provider for this family.”
“A provider of rules we love to break,” Gio chimed in.
“Like not throwing parties?” Brooke asked as she sipped her wine and looked him in the eye.
“Exactly. I see you’ve already got his number,” Gio teased.
“I’m a quick study.”
“And will fit in nicely,” Mari added.
Another voice joined the party. “Hey, Chloe . . . here’s the food.”
Chloe put the glass down and grabbed the food.
“Luca,” the new guy said. “Tony says they’re getting busy.”
“Coming,” Luca said, putting his glass down. He paused as he moved past Brooke. “Welcome again. And thank you for your assurance.”
“You’re welcome.”
Mari hummed. “Good . . . all good. We’ll leave you to yourself.”
There was very little wine left in each glass as they set them on the counter.
“I can help clean this up,” Chloe offered.
“It’s okay. It will help me figure out where everything is.”
“Nice meeting you, Brooke,” Gio said as he walked out.
“Thanks for bringing up my stuff.”
He offered a thumb in the air and walked out.
“Anything you need,” Mari said.
“I’ll ask,” Brooke assured her.
Franny grabbed on to her grandmother’s hand. When they left, only Chloe remained.
“Did my brother tell you not to throw a party?” she asked in a whisper.
Her expression must have given her away, because Chloe said something under her breath with a scowl.
“I think he was more concerned about if I was going to be walking men up the stairs past his daughter.”
Chloe sucked in air. “Well, that’s none of his business.”
“Maybe so, but his daughter is his business. I get it.” Even if she’d never really had that from her own father, it was nice to see a father take the role seriously.
“You’re more understanding than I would be.”
“Please, I’m not offended.” Maybe a little offended. “You’ve all been more welcoming than I ever thought possible. C’mon, I haven’t even washed my hands and I’ve already had a party. Don’t mention it to Luca. It’s okay. Truly.”
Chloe lifted both hands, dropped them. “Let me know when you’d like to join me for yoga. I have extra mats.”
“I will.”
“Ciao.”
With the last D’Angelo gone, Brooke closed the door and blew out a breath as she leaned against it.
“My family is loud. Loveable, but loud.”
She wasn’t kidding!
CHAPTER NINE
“It’s been three days. Did we scare her off?”
There was no we about it. If anyone did the scaring, it was him.
Luca saw the empty parking space between his car and the one his sister drove.
“She told me we’d barely know she was here.”
“That isn’t the same as not being here,” Chloe argued.
By noon the day after they’d welcomed her, Brooke’s car had disappeared, and she hadn’t returned.
Chloe smacked his shoulder.
“Ouch. What was that for?”
“For telling her she couldn’t have a man over.”
Luca’s jaw dropped. “I never said that.”
“You said something like that.”
“I did not.” I hinted, and passively judged, and put it in a group setting of parties . . .
“She has the right to live her life in her own place.”
Luca moved away from the window, looking down on the empty parking space.
His sister followed his gaze.
“She’s a grown woman. I’m sure she’s fine.” Then why had he checked out the window several times a day to see if the silence from upstairs was supported by the lack of a car in the space below?
“An adult who could have a boyfriend and is afraid to have a life in her own home.”
Luca shivered. “She doesn’t have a boyfriend.”
“How can you possibly know that?”
He sat on his couch, kicked his feet up onto his coffee table. “She told me.”
“What?” Chloe practically yelled her question.
“Brooke said she’d given up men or sworn off us. . . something like that. And that I didn’t have to worry about guys walking past our doors at night going to her room.” He rubbed his eyes, more than a little tired since the restaurant was picking up with the season. It was nice to see the tourists return on schedule.
Chloe kicked his feet off the table and had him bolting upright.
“What is your issue?”
“Are you telling me our renter . . . a stranger to us, told you in, what, a few minutes, that she was a nun?”
“I doubt that. She did deny being a lesbian.”
“Oh my God, Luca!” Chloe yelled. “What the hell did you say to draw any of this from her? No wonder she’s disappeared and hasn’t returned.”
He squared his shoulders. “It was a very civil conversation.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“Did she ask if you had women over?”
He narrowed his eyes. “No. Of course not.”
“Ah-huh . . . and did she ask if your lovers are men?”
“Chloe!”
His sister folded her arms over her chest and stared him down.
The longer she stayed silent, the more her words echoed in his ears.
Luca moved his head to one side . . .
The other . . .
“Son of a bitch.” He jumped up and headed downstairs.
He found his mother in the restaurant office.
The early lunch staff was setting up and the doors had yet to open for the day.
The second his mother looked over the desk toward him, he froze.
Chloe pushed him from behind.
“Good morning.”
The greeting was repetitive. They’d already seen each other when he’d taken Franny to school first thing that morning.
His mother sat back and folded her hands in her lap. “This should be good.”
Luca recovered his voice. “Uhm, no. I was wondering if you had a copy of the rental agreement that Brooke signed.”
A slight smile tugged at his mother’s lips. “And why would you need that?”
He glanced at his sister.
Chloe widened her eyes but didn’t say a thing.
“In case of an emergency.”
“Is there an emergency?” Mari asked.
“No. Not right now.”
His mother unfolded and sat tall. “Then you don’t need it.”
Chloe surged forward. “Actually, Mama, Luca’s worried about her.”