Page 246 of Lorenzo

“He knows.”

“That is unsettling.”

“He’s smarter than most people.”

I can’t disagree.

They have an odd connection, these two.

She reaches for my hand as we start toward the house.

The simple gesture still catches me off guard.

It should not. She has been touching me freely for weeks now. She has slept in my bed, eaten in my kitchen, left things in my bathroom, taken over sections of my house as if she has always lived there.

But there is something different about this.

Walking into Mario’s house with her hand in mine feels more permanent than any of the rest of it.

I squeeze her fingers.

She glances at me. “What?”

“Nothing.”

“That was definitely something.”

“You are suspicious.”

“I’m an investigator. I'm always suspicious.”

“Nothing to be suspicious of here.”

“Mhmm,” she says, not convinced.

“You use that excuse for everything.”

“It’s a very versatile position.”

The front door opens before we reach it, and Matteo stands there.

He looks at Donna first, then at me, then down at Mocha.

“Good. You brought the dog.”

Donna smiles. “Nice to see where I rank.”

“You’re welcome too.”

“How generous.”

Matteo steps aside to let us in, and the noise hits us immediately.

Mario’s house has become considerably louder over the past year.

There are more of us now than there were over a year ago, with the addition of Victoria, Julia, and the babies.

More voices trying to compete to be the loudest.