Kiss Me Goodnight in Rome (The Senior Semester Series Book 2) (31 page)

On Saturday morning, several hours before I scheduled my FaceTime with Anthony, I tell Claudia.

“Are you serious? You messaged him on Facebook and you didn’t tell me?” She’s pissed. I can tell by the way her shoulders tense and she straightens without noticing.

I sigh. “I wasn’t trying to keep anything from you Claud. I didn’t tell anyone. I didn’t know if he would answer, and I didn’t want to get your hopes up if nothing came of it. That’s why I’m telling you now.” I hold my hands up in surrender. “It was one message. I haven’t talked to him yet or anything.”

She sighs, twisting her long hair into a bun and securing it at the nape of her neck with a hair tie from her wrist. “Yeah, I get that. So what are you going to talk about? Do you think I should be there? Or wait? Does he know about me?”

“I have no idea. I don’t know what he knows. That’s weird though, right? His message, I mean. He must know something.”

Good to hear from you.

I’ve been waiting for your message.

Claudia nods in agreement. “He definitely knows something. The question is, what?”

“Here’s what I’m thinking. Let me talk to him for a few minutes and then bring you up and you can jump on FaceTime if he’s open to it.”

She thinks it over, chewing her lower lip. “Yeah. Okay. I’d like to meet him.”

“I know what you mean.”

I’ve never been more curious in my life than I am over my brother. Anthony Casale.

* * *

I literally do nothing the entire day except pace around the house and look at the clock. Around lunchtime, I message Mia to see how she’s doing and what she’s eating for lunch. Kind of stalkerish, I know, but I can’t help worrying about her.

She calls instead of texting back. “A tuna salad.”

Protein. Good. “Good,” I say aloud.

“What are you doing today?”

“Actually, this is going to sound crazy but I’m FaceTiming with Anthony in a little while.”

“Your brother?” Her voice is incredulous. “Oh my God! That’s amazing! How did that come about?”

I smile at the excitement in her voice. Only Mia can see the positive, the good in every situation. She’s good for me, that’s for sure. I can usually pick out every potential problem—not that it ever stops me from acting on something, but still …

I fill her in on the Facebook message.

“What? Why didn’t you tell me?” Hurt laces her voice, and I feel guilty for keeping it from her when I keep harping on trust and honesty as the most important aspects of our relationship.

“Sorry.” I say earnestly. “It just didn’t feel right to say anything before I knew if he would even respond. And I wanted to tell Claudia first. I’m sorry, cara. I wasn’t trying to keep anything from you, I swear.”

She’s quiet for several seconds, and I feel uncertainty swirl in my stomach. It starts to give way to licks of anger, so I close my eyes, count to ten.

“That makes sense. I get it,” she says calmly. “See, that’s what siblings are for. They’re always there somehow.” She laughs. “But promise to tell me how the conversation goes?”

The anger quickly evaporates, gratitude for this beautiful girl filling my chest. Jesus, I’m all over the place.
Quit acting like a bitch, Enzo.

“Or course, amore. I’ll tell you everything.”

“’Kay. Waiting for your call then.”

“You’ll be the first person I dial.”

“I better be.” I can hear the smile in Mia’s voice and it calms my nerves.

“Ciao.”

“Ciao.”

I hang up the phone and check the clock. Another forty-two minutes.

Jesus. I am a fucking girl.

* * *

Anthony’s mouth curls from a firm, thin line into a sincere smile and time stops. For a moment, it’s as if I am looking at a younger version of Papa. It’s him, the way his left eyebrow slants down sharply over his eye, the shape of his mouth, the line of his jaw. Even if I was harboring any doubt that Anthony was my brother—and I’m not—I wouldn’t have any uncertainty now.

“Hey, man. I’m Anthony. Good to connect with you. Thanks for taking the time to reach out,” Anthony says cheerfully, his New York accent strong and bold. His casual familiarity is genuine; he instantly puts me at ease.

“Ciao. It’s nice to meet you. I’m Lorenzo.” I nod in greeting.

“Yeah, give me twenty. I’m busy with something.” Anthony turns away from the screen, yelling at someone over his shoulder. “Sounds good.” He turns back to me. “Sorry about that. Our delivery is late today.” He shrugs. “How you doin’? I’m glad you got in touch with me. I was hoping you would reach out. I’m really sorry for your loss.” He bows his head respectfully, his shoulders straight. Like Papa’s.

Your loss. Your loss. Your loss.

I guess he never was Papa’s son, even though he looks exactly like him.

“Thanks. I appreciate it. Listen, I’m not sure how to go about this conversation. I’m glad you wrote me back and this…” I gesture at the screen, signaling between us “…this is cool. I don’t know if you know, but I also have a sister and she—”

“Ah great, man. Where is Claudia? I’d love to meet her.” Anthony smiles easily.

What the hell is going on? How does he know all about us when we know practically nothing about him?

“Hi.” Claudia waves brightly, bouncing up from my desk chair and coming into the frame. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“Pleasure’s all mine. I’ve always wanted a little brother or sister.” He chuckles, clearly amused, “Now I’ve got both. Listen guys, I don’t have a lot of time, but I think it’s important I tell you a few things.”

Claudia and I nod, dumbstruck, as Anthony takes the lead.

“Cool. So your dad reached out to me about a year ago.” He pauses, letting the information sink in as Claudia’s mouth drops open. “Yeah.” He nods, reading our expressions. “I was surprised too. Anyway, at that point, I was just getting everything started here at the brewery.” He gestures behind him where a few taps are set up and visible on screen. “I really thought the whole thing was a massive joke, but Salvatore was insistent that we meet so he came to New York.”

Papa’s last business trip. I remember the trip well even though I was in Bologna at the time. Mama was so worried, but Papa assured her that this was something he had to do in order to ensure the future of his legacy. Well, that makes a lot more sense now.

“Okay,” Claudia says slowly. “What happened?”

Anthony shrugs, “Salvatore and I met up. Went out for dinner. There’s real good Italian food here, the legit shit, you know?”

We nod, even though Italy obviously has the best Italian food in the world.

“Yeah, so we go out to dinner and Salvatore tells me all this shit. How he met my mom, how they hooked up, how he was already seeing your mom when he found out about me. He apologized about never really taking an active role in my life. I thanked him, you know, for supporting my mom and me all these years.” He chuckles again. “There’s no way my mom could have provided us with our lifestyle on a kindergarten teacher’s salary.” He pauses again, his eyes looking past us for a moment. Claudia takes my hand and squeezes my fingers lightly. “Anyway, I wasn’t angry or anything. You know, about not having a dad growing up.” He smiles at us. “Though it would have been cool as hell to grow up with you guys.” Another shrug. “We talked for a bit, made amends, filled each other in on our lives. And then he tells me that he’s dying. Fuck. I didn’t know what to say. I almost wanted to laugh, you know? Like, why tell me know you’re my dad if you’re just going to leave? But then, he shows me a picture of you guys.” Anthony shakes his head. He smiles at Claudia. “You’re a lot older now than you are in your photo.”

Claudia laughs. “Was I eating a gelato? Papa always carried that photo around. Remember?” She looks at me.

I nod, recalling the photo instantly, remembering the day well. We were vacationing for the month in Santa Margherita Ligure. That was the trip that spurred Papa to buy the Liguria home for Mama. It had been a hot and sticky day; we spent it running in and out of the ocean. A few of the boys I ran around with back then and I tried to spy into the cabanas of the girls we knew, see if we could catch them naked. Papa bought us huge gelato cones, and Claudia practically dove into hers, strawberry and lemon dripping down her chubby cheeks.

“Yeah,” Anthony confirms, “you had ice cream all over your face.” He laughs again. “So yeah, then Salvatore tells me all about this beef with your uncle Benito, things from the past. He tells me that he wants to spend the rest of his time with your mom, making her happy, enjoying whatever they have left.” He sighs suddenly, rubbing his hand over his face. Claudia’s eyes snap to mine and widen slightly. Apparently this is something both Anthony and I do. I scowl at her.

Anthony continues. “And I can respect that. I mean, that’s pretty incredible how much he loves her, even after all those years together. And so I get where he’s coming from, and I tell him that. Salvatore, he laughed then, clapped his hand on my shoulder and thanked me. I said ‘for what?’ And he hands me an envelope. He touched it one more time and told me that the papers inside are his will, the future of his businesses, his legacy. He asked me to hold on to it. He also explained that this will mentions a previous will he filed in Italy. Since it states that he revised his will, it shouldn’t present any legal issues should Benito contest it. Salvatore said that there would come a time when you, Lorenzo…” he gestures toward me “…would reach out to me. He said he didn’t know if it would be in kindness or in rage.” Anthony chuckles again. “I guess we both have his temper, huh?” He looks at me. “Anyway, he said you would contact me and when you did, that’s when it would be time.”

“Time for what?” I ask.

“Time to open it.” He holds up a large envelope suddenly, showing Claudia and I the seal. It’s Papa’s seal, a thick red wax with a wolf stamped in the center. Forever a Roman. It’s still intact, never broken.

Claudia breathes out. “You didn’t open it?”

Anthony’s eyes cut to her, sharp and suddenly very serious. “Of course not. We’re family.”

We’re family. We’re family. We’re family.

Jesus.

I guess we are.

Claudia nods. “Thank you.” It rings with so much sincerity that she looks away for a moment.

Anthony looks at me.

“Thank you for holding on to it. You ready to open it?”

He nods. He picks up a knife and breaks through the thick seal, opening the envelope. He takes out a stack of papers, along with other smaller envelopes. “These are for you guys.” He holds up two of the smaller envelopes. “And there’s one for your mom. And one for me.” He smiles, setting them aside. Then, his eyes scan over the front page of the will. They widen in shock. He begins to read aloud.

And my heart fucking stops.

Chapter Fifty-Four

Mia

“He left you half his … his everything?” I throw my hands up, unsure what everything entails, but knowing it’s definitely a lot. Like a whole lot. I sit down on the edge of my bed and watch as Lorenzo walks back and forth in front of me. To the door, turn. To the window, turn.

Lorenzo nods solemnly and then shakes his head, plopping down next to me and scooting backwards until his back rests against the headboard. “No, not half. He has all his businesses, all his holdings, his companies, investments, etc. He left half to Mama, and half to be divided three ways between me, Claudia, and Anthony.”

I let out a low whistle. “Damn.”

“Yeah. And…” he smiles suddenly “…he left me the Liguria home.”

My jaw hits the floor, “Are you kidding me?”

Lorenzo shakes his head, his blue eyes glistening, watching me closely. “Well, not yet. It’s supposed to be a wedding present.”

I look away, blushing. Marriage? Does he ever see that in his future? Does he see that with me?

“So…” he turns my face back toward his, leaning forward and kissing the tip of my nose “…one day.”

“Yeah,” I say, unsure of what else I can say.

A house for a wedding present? Scratch that, a mansion! In Liguria. Oh my God. Who are these people?

“Wow, now what are you going to do?”

“What do you mean?” Lorenzo furrows his brow in confusion. I reach out and trace the line between his eyebrows, smoothing it out.

“You could do anything. I mean, you studied business, right?” I inquire. I know he doesn’t want to work at Angelina’s forever.

“Oh…” he smiles “…about that.” He rolls over onto his stomach, pulling me down next to him.

I turn on my side so I can look into his face. “Yes, about that.”

He rests his hand on my hip and pulls me closer to his side. “How would you feel about me coming to New York, on a more permanent basis?”

I jump up, practically falling over in my excitement. “What? Are you kidding me?”

Lorenzo sits up and smiles, clearly amused as he watches me bounce around. “Yes. I’m really excited to do Christmas with you and your family, Mia. And then, when you head back to university…” he shrugs “…I mean, it’s only one semester and Philadelphia to New York is a hell of a lot closer than Philadelphia to Rome.”

I nod. “Yeah. It’s like two hours.”

He laughs. “Exactly. And it gives me the chance to get to know my brother. Anthony offered me a job.”

I consider this piece of information. “As a brewer? Aren’t you more of a wine person?” I don’t want him to take some random job just to be closer to me.

“Yeah, but Claudia got the vineyards.” He shrugs.

My mouth falls open again and Lorenzo laughs. “That was a joke.”

“Oh.” Really? How am I supposed to know when he’s kidding when that seems perfectly plausible in his life? I mean, what kind of people just happen to own vineyards (plural) anyway?

Lorenzo reaches out, taking my hand in his, and pulling me between his legs. He rests his hands on my thighs, stroking up to my hips, my waist. “Not as a brewer. To help him expand the business.”

“Oh.” I tilt my head considering this. “Well, that makes a ton of sense. You’ll be great at that!” I throw my arms around his neck and kiss his cheek hard.

He laughs, the rumble in his chest reverberating against mine. My heart beats faster. God, the things this guy does to me.