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The answer? Big trouble. Matteo used the spoon as a catapult and caught Nico in the face with a lump of banana while Kaylin was busy wiping goo off the refrigerator door and apologising. Then, when she put a plate of toast triangles in front of him, he threw the spoon on the floor and began sobbing.
“Scare, scare.”
“Fudging heck,” she muttered under her breath.
“What’s wrong?”
“He wants the toast cut into squares. Last week, he’d only eat triangles.”
“But it’s basically the same.”
“You try explaining that.”
Nico looked at the plate, and then he looked at the screeching two-year-old. “I’ll make more toast.”
“You’re my hero.”
Kaylin tried placating Matteo with the cuddly giraffe, but to no avail. Rationality and toddlers did not good bedfellows make. Nico made a note to purchase an express toaster, if such a thing existed. Every second counted when ruptured eardrums were a very real possibility. Finally, the toast was buttered, and Nico sagged onto a stool as Matteo nibbled on a square. This was like sharing a home with a tiny dictator.
“If we go out today, can we look for a toy store?” Kaylin asked. “Shelley the snail always calmed Matty down, and I need to find something similar.”
“If it stops him from crying, I’ll take you to any toy store in the world.”
“Even if you did, we wouldn’t find a new Shelley. Lyndsey bought her last year, one of those seasonal specials from the grocery store. I’m kicking myself for not grabbing Shelley when I went to get Cricket.”
“There wasn’t a moment to spare, from what I heard.”
Kaylin bit her lip and Nico reached for his handkerchief, just in case tears followed.
“No, there really wasn’t. Lyndsey had Matty, and she didn’t want to let him go, and I thought…I thought…”
Kaylin took a handful of gulping breaths, and Nico rubbed her back. In a brotherly way, he hoped, and not like a horny prick in a billionaire romance novel.
“You did get out, all of you, and Lyndsey isn’t a concern anymore.”
“I only hope Cesare didn’t punish her for letting Matty go. Do you know if she’s okay?”
“I know Emmy told her to leave town. Lyndsey wasn’t your friend, Kaylin. Don’t waste too much sympathy on her.”
“We might not have been friends, exactly, but I still don’t want Cesare to hurt her.”
Nico debated telling Kaylin about the affair, but he hated the thought of upsetting her further. At least Cesare had used a condom when he was fucking the help. Emmy had helpfully included that snippet in her report, along with the results of Cesare’s latest health screen. As of a month ago, he’d been clear of STDs, so it was unlikely he’d passed any nasty surprises on to Kaylin.
“I’ll try to find out how Lyndsey is.”
“And Vito? Did he survive?”
“He’s still breathing.”
Although the urgency had gone out of the investigation now, Emmy was still providing regular updates, which included news of Vito Cavallaro’s medical condition. And Hallie was ready to follow any leads that came in regarding the missing potential witnesses from the Manassas incident.
“What does that mean? He’s okay?”
“It means Vito made it through Thursday night and then had a stroke on Friday morning. The extent of his recovery is still uncertain, but I’d say he won’t be taking an active role in family affairs for the foreseeable future.” The term Emmy had used was “overcooked vegetable,” but Nico liked to think he had a little more tact. “Don’t worry about New York. We’ll go out and find Matteo a new snail, and then we can take another walk. I heard you enjoyed hiking in the Catskills?”
“I did. And it’s kind of weird that you know so much about my adult life when I barely know a thing about yours.”
“I’d much rather have learned these things the old-fashioned way, believe me, but the research was a necessary evil. That changes from today, though. We can walk and talk.”
