Say Ye by Celia Juliano Read Free Book Online

to betray him by not letting him say the words, the sensible lies. He jerked his hand onto the doorknob.
    “I--” Lita tried to speak to him but he opened the door and forced himself to face the shadowy street.
    “Goodbye, Lita. Be happy.”
    “Please stay,” she called after him.
    He got in the car and told Pete to leave. Lorenzo didn’t look back. He didn’t need to. He could close his eyes and see Lita, even when he didn’t want to.
    “Where to now?” Pete asked as they pulled away from the curb.
    “Do you love your girlfriend, I mean, really?”
    “Yeah, why?”
    “I…never mind. Take me somewhere I can get a drink.” He slumped in the seat.
    “You’ve had enough. Grandpa Enzo will kill me if I let anything happen to you. We all know you’re his favorite, besides Janetta. I’m taking you home.”
    “I just left my home.”
    “Maybe you shouldn’t be alone. You can come stay in Gianni’s room. He’s still visiting our dad in Florida.”
    “I thought he didn’t like the wife.”
    “She’s better than the angry older brother of his last girlfriend.” Pete chuckled. “I swear, Gianni wants to be you, but we keep telling him you don’t date younger women. He doesn’t want to hear that one.”
    “He can have my life. Except I wouldn’t wish it on anyone, not even your brother.”
    “You need some sleep and we’re going to Aunt Sophia’s for dinner tomorrow.”
    “You should marry that girl of yours. You’ll be a good husband.”
    “I plan to, thanks. But now I know you need some rest. You’re creeping me out.”
    “I’ll give you a hard time tomorrow,” Lorenzo said as Pete parked the car.
    They went upstairs. Pete threw his keys on the table by the door while Lorenzo walked to the small kitchen, where he knew Gianni kept the liquor.
    “Why don’t you get some sleep?” Pete said. “Grandpa Enzo’ll expect to see you tomorrow.”
    Lorenzo shrugged and waved his hand. Silence, then Pete’s footsteps trod away. A door shut. Lorenzo’s ears hurt--hell, he hurt everywhere. He prepared an Americano, shook together the Campari and vermouth, poured it over the ice, added a dash of Pellegrino. He held the glass up-- the garnet shimmer caught his eye, like Lita’s dewy lips. But he was cracked, fissured, like the ice which clinked as he swallowed a swig.
    He shut his eyes. He could almost taste her, sweet and minty, feel her tender kiss, her softness, her passion for him. In those moments with her, every part of him eager and invigorated, he knew. He knew what Sophia’s Carlo and his great uncle Enzo tried to tell him: when you love a woman, it changes everything, even a kiss. He’d thought himself in love a couple times in college, but he’d been wrong.
    He downed the last of his drink and set the glass on the counter. His hands trembled. He ran them over his hair. Wrong, that’s what it all was, what he was. One kiss could hurt.

 
     
     
     
     
     
    4
     
    Lita sang along with “Once Upon A Dream” as it hummed from the old stereo in the living room. Twirling, she dusted then danced around the vacuum.
    The small carriage clock on the mantel clicked eleven a.m. when she reentered the room after putting away her cleaning supplies. Her rosy-cheeked reflection smiled back at her from the mirror hanging on the narrow wall by the open doorway. She fluffed her full black skirt and admired the pedicure she’d given herself last night before Lorenzo had come over.
    If only she could tell someone about him and his amazing kisses. But the only person she’d trust was Emma, who didn’t really like Lorenzo.
    No one had ever kissed her like he had—as if he spoke a thousand whispered endearments with each caress of his lips, as if she answered his brooding questions, as if he’d woken her from a dream with the promise of true love.
    A knock echoed. She ran to the front door and peeped out. Her feet plopped to the carpet with a soft thump. She opened the door and hugged Lee, avoiding