Footsteps (46 page)

The last time he’d called her by her full
name was beyond memory. Sabina was beginning to feel real fear now.
But she also felt strongly, somehow, that she had to continue to
press her point—not only for Rosa and Joey, but for herself. “I
know how you love them. It is not a question at all. But you
yourself said that you rescue Joey always and never teach him how
to save himself. I think something like is in your love for Rosa,
too. You call her a princess, you call her spoiled, but no one
makes any demand on her that would help her see that she is. You
complain amongst yourselves that she should be here, but no one
demands it of her. You let her be away from this family time, when
even I am told to stay, that family comes together, no matter
what.”

She took a breath and said her real point.
“Carlo, what does that say to Rosa about her place in the
family?”

He stared at her, his eyes dark and hard.
And then he got up from the bed and stalked to the door, grabbing
his jeans on the way.

“Where are you going?”

“Downstairs. I’m not tired.” And he was
gone, closing the door firmly behind him.

Sabina wondered whether she’d just changed
everything.

~oOo~

She was lying in the dark, on her side, when
he came back up later. Perhaps two or more hours had passed. She
felt the bed dip as he sat on the bed.

“Bina, are you awake?”

“Yes.” She turned to her back. “I’m sorry
you’re so angry.” She didn’t want to apologize for what she’d said,
because she wasn’t sure she’d been wrong to say it. But she was
certainly sorry for his anger.

He lay down at her side. She could smell
scotch on his breath, but he didn’t seem drunk. “It’s hard to hear
another way I’m fucking up. I guess I wasn’t expecting that from
you.”

Rolling to face him, she brushed her fingers
across his furrowed brow. “I didn’t mean that, Carlo. It’s not you
only. The whole family does it, and it’s done of love.”

“You’re right. I see it. I don’t know what
to do about it. She’s almost twenty-one. It’s not like we can
ground her.”

Sabina didn’t know, either. Family dynamics
like this were new to her. “Maybe speak with her? She loves you
so.”

He chuckled. “She’s my Peanut. She’s a good
girl, you know. She really is.” He took her hand and kissed her
palm. “I’m sorry I got mad. I had to work out the things you said.”
His hand released hers and went around her waist, and he pulled her
close. A knot in Sabina’s chest loosened as she knew that they were
all right. “You were right to say them, though. You didn’t
overstep.”

“I love you, Carlo. Thank you for giving me
this family. This home.”

~oOo~

There was a knock on the bathroom door.
“Baby, everything okay? You’ve been in there a long time.”

“Sorry. Sorry. Things are fine.” Sabina
turned again and tried to see her rear view. Dressing like this in
the old-fashioned hall bathroom on the second floor of the house on
Caravel Road was much harder than it had been when she’d had a
bathroom of her own that was the size of the living room here.

She held up a hand mirror and tried to see
if there was too much skin showing. The dress had cutout low on the
back, and she didn’t want the top of her bottom showing. She was
not a plumber.

She had splurged quite a bit on this dress.
“Splurging” was a new concept for Sabina. Only in the past few
months had she had to think about how much things cost. She and her
aunt had kept tight purse strings, but that had been too far in her
past for it to be something Sabina still remembered how to do. But
this was an important event for Carlo—the unveiling of his winning
design and the announcement of the plans for the new building. He
was the guest of honor, and she wanted to be someone he could be
proud of.

And this was a world she knew.

The evening was important for her, too. It
marked her first foray into the social world of Providence since
she had been free of Auberon’s bonds. Both Carlo and she knew that
the media attention on her would be intense. There were rumors that
she had killed her husband. Some of the theories were wild and
fantastical; others were uncomfortably near the truth. She had
taken lengths to stay away from that scrutiny.

Tonight, she would embrace it. She was not
afraid. She was not ashamed. And she was not meek.

So she had driven to Providence with Carmen
and gone to Le Palais Providence, the chichi department store at
which she’d once sold men’s accessories. And she’d bought this
dress—a glittery, sleek, turquoise confection. It had slender satin
straps, artful cutouts, and a subtle mermaid cut, accentuating her
curves in exactly the right way. Auberon would never have approved
of such an overtly, decadently sexy style—and Carmen’s eyes had
about popped from her head when Sabina had stepped from the fitting
room. She’d made a droll comment about doubting Carlo would ever
make it to the party, and that had made the decision for her. She
wanted to be a knockout for Carlo. She wanted to make a
statement.

The dress had cost as much as three months
of rent for her little attic.

She’d finally given up the attic. The house
on Caravel Road was truly her home now. She kept her job, though.
She adored Andi, and she adored being in that beautiful, fragrant
shop, and she adored having a place to go and be helpful. Andi was
teaching her to spin and weave as well as knit. Sea Weaver was the
thing, Sabina thought, that gave her the sense of self she needed
to be strong and ready to be a member of the Pagano family. It was
a thing that was hers alone—and that was something she had not had
before in her life.

Again, a knock. “Bina, I don’t mean to be a
nag. But it’s a long drive to Providence.”

She set the hand mirror down. “All right.
One minute more.” Her makeup was done—in her life before, she’d had
someone to do it for her, as well as her hair, but she thought
she’d managed well. She smoothed a tiny touch of body glitter, very
subtle, over her shoulders; she’d always liked that effect. It made
her feel magical to sparkle just a little, in just the right
light.

She left her hair loose and simply added
some product to her natural waves to give them extra shine. She
wore no jewelry except the diamond studs that she’d been wearing
when she’d run from the beach house—and the engagement ring Carlo
had given her, a simple, two-carat square-cut diamond set in a
plain, platinum band. Much smaller and less dramatic than the ring
she’d pawned. And much, much more precious.

All right. She was ready. She slipped into
her silver strappy heels and opened the door.

Carlo was wearing his tuxedo—the first thing
she’d ever seen him wearing—and he looked beautiful. His evident
discomfort did little to diminish his allure. She was bowled over
by the reality that he was hers.

He took her in, feet to head, and as she
watched, his face told her everything she needed to know about her
choice of dress. If she made no other impact tonight, she had made
the most important one. His eyes finally met hers.

“Jesus, Bina. You look…you…Jesus.”

“Good, I hope.” She was fishing. She knew
she looked good.

“Breathtaking. Like something out of a
fantasy I never dared to have. My God, baby.” He brushed his
fingers over her shoulder with a low chuckle. “Pixie dust.”

“Hmm?”

“Nothing. Just having a memory. You’re
spectacular.”

He kissed her lightly, then led her
downstairs, where he helped her into a crème-colored faux-fur
shrug. It was early October, and the weather had been quite chilly.
Trey was in the living room playing some kind of card game with his
grandfather—War, she thought it was called. Joey was sitting in the
recliner, watching television. They went in to say their
goodnights.

Joey muted the hockey game. “Wow,
S-Sabina…You look…great. Beautiful.”

She went and kissed Joey’s cheek. “Thank
you.”

Trey looked up, and his eyes, too, bulged.
“Misby! You’re like a fairy princess!”

“Well, thank you, love. Your daddy is taking
me to a ball tonight.” She went over and hugged him.

Carlo did, as well. “We’ll see you in the
morning, pal. You be good for Pop-Pop.”

Trey rolled his eyes. “Daddy! I’m always
good! I’m a good boy!”

All the grownups laughed. “You’re right. My
bad. Love you, pal.”

As they turned, Carlo Sr. grabbed Sabina’s
wrist and gave it an affectionate shake. “Give ‘em hell, girl.”

“I will, Pop.”

“I know you will. Anyway, lookin’ like that,
they’ll be struck too dumb to pester you with nonsense.”

She kissed her father-in-law-to-be on the
cheek, and Carlo took her hand and led her out.

~oOo~

“How do you get out of this?” Carlo’s hand
ran over her hips and waist, looking for a zipper. He was already
out of most of his tuxedo, now wearing only his pants.

“At the top—there are hooks.”

“Oh!” He found the hooks at the middle of
her back and unfastened them. “You really made a scene tonight. I’m
not sure anybody cared about my silly little building.”

She looked over her shoulder at him. “I hope
that’s not true. I didn’t mean anything like that.”

“I know, and I’m joking. I had plenty of
attention. More than I like.” He pushed the satin straps off her
shoulders and then the dress over her hips. “You’re not wearing any
underwear.”

“Where do you think I would have put it
under this dress?” She stepped out of the puddle of shimmering
turquoise.

He laughed. “If I had known you were
commando, I would have found a dark corner and done you right there
in the ballroom. Because that is blazing hot.”

“I would have liked that.” She turned and
pressed her chest to his, hooking her arms over his shoulders and
sliding her fingers into his hair. She was still wearing her silver
heels, but nothing else.

“Yeah? Okay. Good to know. Public sex is on
the to-do list.” He trailed his knuckles down her back, then cupped
her ass in both hands. He clutched her to him, and she reveled in
the feeling of his clad body against her bare sex. She moaned, and
he kissed her.

With his mouth still light on hers, he
murmured, “You were amazing tonight. I thought I was going to have
to lay a couple of those reporters out, but you just charmed them
stupid.”

She shrugged. “It’s a world I know. Not a
world I like, but one I know.” She sucked a little on his bottom
lip, until he grunted and flexed. “You were amazing, too. I’m very
proud. You are an artist.”

He grinned with obvious pleasure. “It’s my
best work. And it’s great working for this guy. He gets it. That
doesn’t happen often.” His eyes suddenly darkened. “Bina, can we
set a date?”

Having thought about this since they’d been
engaged, she had a ready answer. “I would like to marry in
May.”

“May? That’s so long from now. Seven
months.”

“Yes, I know. But we’re together now, as we
will be forever, yes?”

“Yes…” Yet he continued to look
dissatisfied. Sabina had to admit that she enjoyed his impatience
to wed her. But she didn’t want to rush. They had rushed everything
so far, moved with a speed that could easily be considered
foolhardy. Though she no longer questioned the rightness of their
choices, she saw no reason to rush this final choice. In fact, she
had reason to take it more slowly.

“I would like to wait until after the
holidays. And May is important to me. It’s when we met. When I
became free. When my life started. It’s a very good month. It feels
lucky to me.”

His brow had smoothed as she’d spoken.
“Okay. May it is. At Christ the King?”

“Of course. Then a party on the beach?”

Carlo laughed. “You’re amazing. That’s
perfect.” He lifted her, and as he turned toward the bed, she
hooked her ankles at the small of his back, making him grunt.
“Fuck, baby. Leave the shoes on.”

Carlo stood with his bare feet in the warm
May sand and looked over the beach. This was his home. It was the
only home he needed or wanted, and it was complete. Now, it was
complete.

Now, he was married.

His father was grilling, one arm around Mrs.
D.—when had that become a thing?—and John was out on his board with
some friends. Trey was playing in the wet sand near the water. His
sisters and his wife stood nearby, letting the waves wet their
ankles as they talked.

He watched Bina laughing with Carmen and
Rosa. She was wearing a white bikini—she’d called it her
‘bride-kini’—and he was having trouble keeping his body under
control. The bottom part had this silver ring on her hip, and he
kept thinking about hooking his finger through it and…

He shook his head to clear it. But he was
going to make damn sure he got his hands on her while she was
wearing that.