Page 133 of Falling for Mr. October

“Giovanni won’t be staying forever,” I say, trying to sound grown-up about it. “He’ll have to go back to Maine at some point, and it sounds like his new agent has big plans for him.”

“No doubt they do,” he says. “I’ve watched the new videos, you know.”

“What?” I give him a shove. “That means you had a cell phone before you showed up here and could have returned any of my dozens of calls.”

“I wanted to show up in person. I thought it would mean more.” He shrugs. “Anyway, I’ve seen the videos, and the man’s so far gone on you that he’s been hanging out willingly at your nursing home.”

“It’s not my nursing home,” I say with a laugh. “And anyway, they call it a retirement village.”

“Gusty, old brick building, check. Lots of old people needing around-the-clock nursing care, check. Plus, I think villages have, I don’t know, shops. Coffee. Good food.”

“They have good food now,” I say firmly, thinking about Kitty for the first time in a while. She’d be proud of what we’ve done, I know she would.

My brother touches my arm, and we come to a stop. “If he leaves, he’ll come back. I can tell.”

Staring into his mismatched eyes, I ask, “Did you really send him for me?”

“Yeah, I thought maybe you could be good for each other. It’s like you and me, the steady one and the fun one.”

I nudge him with my shoulder. “Why do I have to be the steady one?”

“Who said you’re the steady one?” he asks.

“You’re such a pain in the ass.”

“And you love me.”

“Unfortunately. Unequivocally.”

He studies me intently, both of us still standing still in the cool breeze. “And you love him too.”

I hesitate for a moment, not because I have any doubts, but because it feels dangerous to share that truth out here in the open, where anyone might hear.

“I do,” I finally say. “He’s a good man.” I feel my eyes heat as tears press behind them. “The best.”

“I know. Sending Giovanni here was part of making amends. To you, and to Nonna Rose. I know she always felt sorry about what happened with Nonna Francesca.”

I look him over. “You’ve changed, Miles.”

“For the good, I hope.”

“Jury’s out,” I tease, and he beans me in the head with a pinecone, bringing my attention to the cling-wrap on his arm.

“What’s the new ink?” I ask as we carry on with our walk.

“I’ll show you later.”

I know him better to push, so I nod.

We carry on in silence for a few minutes before I gather my nerve enough to say, “It might be good if Giovanni does leave.” It feels like I’m breaking my own heart, but I continue. “He talked to this reporter for It’s Not Gossip a couple of weeks ago, but the piece hasn’t come out yet, and a journalist from Asheville warned him that the other reporter has been looking into a bunch of shit about our families.”

“Including the accident.”

“You’ve heard?”

He rolls his eyes. “It’s on your face. But fuck it. Let them say what they want to. I’m ready to stand my ground, Bianca. I’m ready to go all Home Alone on this shit.”

I snort. “That’s an extremely dated reference, you know.”