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I know that Enzo was on the phone with him late. I stayed over at the main house to help with preparations and was sitting in the kitchen when I heard the conversation. It didn’t sound like it went as bad as it could have, but we all know Luca and how important his grandmother was to him.
Luca has always been the wild card of the family, never showing his hand and often making rash decisions that led to Enzo reprimanding him, which would usually just make the situation worse.
This massive shift in the family is something that has everyone on edge. They're all left wondering if this will slow Luca down or cause him to do something completely stupid.
“Luca!” I call out his name, he looks up and squints to make out my face in the sun that is shining directly behind me.
I walk up to him and throw my arms around his neck, standing right up on my tiptoes. “I’m so sorry.” My voice cracks and tears fall down my face.
I don’t have the same problem with my emotions that he does, and at the moment I’m carrying my own sadness.
Virginia, or Ginny as she always told me to call her, became an important woman in my life, too, especially over the last few months of her life. We shared tender moments and lots of time together. I feel her loss as well. While it's different from his loss, it's a heartbreak all the same.
Luca puts his arm around my back, pulling me in for a hug, but I don’t feel any emotional connection from him.
He’s comforted me before, when my pet rabbit was killed by my neighbor, when my mother and I got into a huge fight on my eighteenth birthday, and even once after a break-up.
He might seem cold and emotionless, but at least his strong, muscled arms know how to hold a crying girl.
I try to compose myself, but it takes a few more sobs into his chest. His scent is intoxicating — deep and earthy — I steal a deep breath and look up.
He looks confused at seeing me all alone, and stares behind me as if expecting someone else to appear.
I saw him just a few months ago, before he left, so it’s not like he doesn’t recognize me. But it's obvious, he did not expect his sister's best friend to fetch him, since it’s not something that I’ve ever done before.
These are different circumstances, though, and I wasn’t going to lose my chance to be there for him when he needs it the most.
“Emelia, where is my brother?” His voice is hoarse, and I can imagine him crying when he thought no one else could hear or see.
I plan to show him that he can cry in front of me, that I won’t think him weak for it. I pull out a tissue from my bag, dapping at my eyes, sniffing and barely holding in the sobs.
“I offered to come and meet you. They’re all at the main house, gathering the family and making phone calls.” His family actually has no idea that I’m here, and if Grazia, Luca’s younger sister, had any idea I decided to pick Luca up, she’d probably be pissed at me for butting in.
The Baldini family and mine have been friends for generations, but that doesn’t mean that Grazia doesn’t feel competitive with me. She always wants her brothers focused on her. She has never liked to share them with anyone, least of all me.
Grazia had made me swear I would never go after Luca, claiming it would be weird and ruin our friendship. I did pinky-promise her then, but we’re adults now, and Luca needs a strong woman by his side.
One day, Grazia will realize that too, I’m sure. Plus, we’d be sisters, which is a major upgrade from best friend.
Another person who will benefit and be very glad about a union between Luca Baldini and myself is my father. He’s never asked me outright, but we both know what a marriage with a Baldini would mean for our family.
“I have a driver,” Luca says as he lets go of me and walks towards the car. Of course he has a driver, that’s who drove me to come get him. His driver isn’t going to be the one to hold him at night while he releases his grief and looks for comfort.
I follow him to the car, my heels clicking with the quick steps I need to take to keep up with his long strides.
“I know, I just think it’s important for us to be there for each other right now.”
He doesn’t respond, nor does he look back at me. It hurts a little, but I try and be understanding. He’s just had a significant shock.
The car cruises through the familiar streets, the engine humming, and inside, we're wrapped in a thick silence.
Luca has his head buried in his phone, which is pretty typical for him, but I can’t imagine how he’s managing to get work done at a time like this. I'm here, drowning in my grief, itching to crack through the wall he's put up.
The Baldini's private airstrip is only a few miles from the mansion, which limits my alone time with Luca. I've got ten minutes, at best, before we get there. I know his attention won’t be on me once we’re surrounded by his family, so I decide to break the quiet before it’s too late.
My voice comes out shaky. "Your grandmother, she loved you so much." Ginny did keep talking about Luca and how much she loved her grandson, as well as the hopes she had for his future.
She also sometimes spoke about how much she worried about him due to his impulsive decisions and his desire to prove himself, which sometimes clouded his judgement.
