Years ago, he never would have thought his twin would have a kid. Not because Corrado ever said anything one way or another, but because he seemed like he had another path in life to take. Yet, here his brother was with a baby, two spouses, and a whole house full of life and love.
It looked good on Corrado.
He hoped the man knew it, too.
“But anyway,” Corrado said, clearing his throat, “she’s tired. That’s how Ginny is.”
“And I imagine she doesn’t let you forget it,” their father murmured as he stepped into the mansion’s office.
“We can never get five minutes away from the rest of them, can we?” Corrado asked Chris.
He laughed. “Well, it is his house.”
“He’s nosy.”
“I am not,” Gian muttered. “And stop talking about me like I can’t hear you. I may be older, but I am not that old yet, figlio.”
Corrado smirked but otherwise, said nothing. That was probably for the better, but honestly, Chris just figured his brother liked ribbing his father once in a while. They all did, but they chose their own special times to do it.
“Ginny wanted me to find you,” his father said, “actually.”
“What for?”
Gian laughed. “Coraline won’t eat her peas and pears. Oh, and Les just thinks it’s funny.”
Corrado made a face. “First of all, the peas taste like shit. I don’t want to put them in my mouth—and I know that because I tried everything she has to eat—so why in the hell would she want to eat them? Second of all—”
“Ginny is right downstairs if you’d like to have this conversation ... you know, with her. I just listened to a whole spiel about it from Alessio, son.”
His twin gave him a look. “Catch up later, then?”
Chris nodded. “Absolutely. No worries.”
Whether or not they would actually be able to catch up was tossed into the air, though. His brother only stayed maybe a day or two, Chris was crazy busy with la famiglia, and it never seemed like the right time. He didn’t get as much time with his twin as he wanted, but perhaps he should just make some.
Once Corrado was out of the office, Gian turned on Chris with a conspiratorial grin. “And what about you, hmm?”
“What about me?” Chris asked his father.
“Well, I’m told it’s not appropriate to ask ... but you are my son, so it’s a father’s right, no?”
“I have no idea—”
“A baby. Are you going to give me another grandchild?”
Chris choked on a drink of the whiskey in the glass he’d lifted to his lips. Once he had his lungs cleared out, he gave his father a look. “Just come right out with it, don’t you?”
“Why not?”
It wasn’t that the conversation with his father made him uncomfortable, but that maybe the circumstances weren’t entirely right. After all ... it was a touchy subject in his own house let alone someone else’s.
“We’re trying,” Chris settled on saying.
Gian beamed. “Oui?”
“It’s ... not happening.”
Still, his father’s smile didn’t falter as he crossed the room to come and stand next to his son. “Sometimes, it takes a while.”
“That’s what I’ve been saying, too, but we’re a few months into it, and ... anyway, we’ve got an appointment with a specialist in a month. After we come back from the vacation to the Quebec lodge. Just to see or look at options.”
“Chris, you’re both healthy. Just because it doesn’t happen at the snap of your fingers doesn’t mean anything. Hell, they won’t even look at you for other interventions until you’ve both been trying for at least a year. Babies usually come when you’re not expecting them to, and you’re not watching a calendar. Trust me.”
He chuckled. “You think?”
Gian patted his shoulder with a supportive touch. “Yeah, I do. Take your wife to Quebec. Enjoy being with her. Take her mind off ... well, whatever she’s worried about. Go see the specialist if you think it’ll help but give it some time.”
His father ...
Still the voice of reason, it seemed.
17.
Valeria
VALERIA loved Quebec. More importantly, she loved the vacation lodge the Guzzis owned in the very middle of a massive maple farm. Setting atop a privately owned mountain, in the middle of over two hundred acres of forested land, with a man-made lake behind the three-level lodge for them to enjoy boating, swimming or even fishing, considering they regularly had rainbow trout added every year, it was ... perfect.
Nothing like the city.
Not quite like the ranch in Mexico.
Just enough nature and privacy.
Val adored it.
From quadding to dirtbikes, a paintball zone a twenty-minute ride down the mountain, swimming or hiking ... they could do whatever they wanted. There was never a reason to be bored when there was always something to do. Including sitting on the small docks leading out to the water to watch the fireflies dancing atop the lake.
She only visited the lodge once before. Shortly after they were married, they came for a weekend to stay with Chris’s parents. She wanted to come back almost as soon as they left. So, when he’d suggested it as a week away, even if it meant Maria missing a couple of days of school, Val didn’t say no.
Not that they were worried about school for their girl. Maria was smart, her grades were perfect, and the school year was almost over, anyway.
“Are you planning to stay out here all night?”
The voice behind her had Val peering back over her shoulder with a soft smile. Chris stood at the end of the dock, his usual safe distance from the water. Not that he ever actually said the lake frightened him, but she knew it had to at least put him on edge. Especially considering his almost drowning happened in a lake much like this one at a vacation home owned by his uncle.
“Thinking about it,” she replied.
Chris chuckled. “Want me to come over and sit with you?”
“You don’t have to.”
“But maybe I want to.”
Val winked. “Then, you should do that.”
He walked the dock slowly, keeping his gaze on her or the wet wood slapping the soles of his dress shoes. In slacks and a dress shirt that was rolled up to the elbows, his signature look when he didn’t throw on a blazer, he looked damn good with the moon high in the sky behind him and the large lodge looming in the distance.
Before long, Chris had come to her side. He took his time removing his shoes and socks before setting them aside. Then, he dropped down beside her on the dock, actually daring to put his feet over the side of the dock like hers were. They couldn’t quite reach the water, but that was probably okay because it would have been cold.
“I would have come inside,” she murmured.
Chris shrugged. “I learned to swim here, actually. After the ... incident. This is where Gian brought me. Just me and him. My brothers stayed back in Toronto with Ma. He let me freak out and cry and ... I was a fucking mess, but he put me in the water, and I learned to swim.”
“Wow.”
“God, I hated him for that.”
Val frowned. “I’m sorry.”