“For two?” the waiter asked, a good-looking man in his late twenties.

“Just me,” I said then took off my coat, revealing a pair of dark denim jeans and a white blouse, so Val’s bodyguards would see I was a small female nobody without weapons and mark me down as unimportant.

The waiter smiled. “Don’t tell me you don’t have someone who would take you out for brunch? A pretty lady like you shouldn’t have to eat alone.”

I blinked, taking a moment to realize he was flirting with me. In New York nobody ever did. Most people knew my face and even though officially Luca was just a businessman with a dubious background, everyone knew what he really was. Not to mention that I was never anywhere without bodyguards.

“There’s no one,” I said, realizing how long it had been since Luca and I had gone out for dinner. My heart tightened with regret. When I returned, I’d ask him to make a reservation at the Korean restaurant he’d taken me to for our very first date.

“Follow me. I have a table for you.”

I risked a peek over my shoulder, but as I’d expected the bodyguards weren’t paying me any attention anymore. They kept their eyes on Val and her daughter, only occasionally glancing toward a table with men in suits to their right. Made Men always regarded only men as a danger.

I took the seat the waiter offered me and smoothed down my wig, worried it might have shifted because of the wool hat I’d worn outside, but everything seemed to be in place. After I ordered a peppermint tea to soothe my stomach and an omelet with avocado and toast, I pretended to be busy checking my mobile while I risked the occasional glance toward Val. Bibiana joined her about five minutes after I’d sat down with her own daughter. I still marveled at how healthy she looked since her husband had been killed.

The waiter brought me my tea and my food, but kept returning to ask how I was, and flirt more. It was a bit annoying since I had to focus on Val. I needed to gauge the perfect moment. I barely touched my food. I’d always loved avocado, but a small bite had increased my nausea, and only a large gulp of tea had stopped me from making a run for the restrooms.

Val and Bibiana were laughing about something, not paying attention to Anna for a moment, and then it came. Anna spilled a drink all over herself and began crying. I got up quickly and moved into the ladies’ room. Once there I hid in a stall, waiting. My heart pounded in my chest as I listened to the sound of the door being opened and a moment later, steps. Heels.

“It’s okay, sweetheart,” Val crooned. I smiled at the love in her voice. Soon the crying of her daughter quieted. I flushed the toilet and Val fell silent. When I stepped out of the stall, she looked up from dabbing at her daughter’s dress with a napkin. It took a second glance at my face to recognize me. Her eyes widened, and darted briefly to the stalls behind me, expecting that I wasn’t alone. Did she think this was a trap?

Good God. I was her cousin.

“Hi Val,” I said with a smile.

Slowly she relaxed and smiled in return, but then her brows drew together. “What are you doing here?”

Anna’s forehead puckered in confusion. She was all Val. Brown hair, same facial features, except for Dante’s pale blue eyes. How would Luca’s and my child look? I touched my stomach, wondering, and realizing I would be happy if I found out I was pregnant.

Val followed my hand and I quickly snatched it away. She let go of her daughter and came toward me and pulled me into a hug, but her belly made it difficult. When she pulled back, her eyes were warm. “It’s good to see you again, but you shouldn’t be here. It’s too dangerous.”

“Aunt Aria?” Anna said in her high voice, finally recognizing me despite my wig.

Val turned quickly and put a finger against her lips. “Shh, Anna. Nobody can know Aria is here, okay? She’s playing hide and seek, and we don’t want her to get caught, right?”

“Right,” Anna said with a quick nod as she came toward me. I got down to her eye level and hugged her. “You are getting bigger every day.”

“I’ll be a big sister soon,” she said proudly.

“I know. I’m sure you’ll be a great big sister.” She nodded with even more enthusiasm.

A knock sounded and a deep male voice followed. “Mrs. Cavallaro, everything okay in there?”

“Yes, give me another moment, Enzo. I needed to take off my sweater to clean it. Anna got it dirty as well.”

I grinned, knowing what she’d done. Her bodyguard wouldn’t enter if there was the risk of seeing Dante’s wife half-naked.

When Val turned back to face me, I sobered. “I came to see Fabiano, Val. That’s the only reason why I’m here.”

She gave me an apologetic look. “We don’t have much time until Enzo will get suspicious.”

“I know. How about we meet this evening?”

“It will be difficult to shake off my bodyguards. Since I’m pregnant again, and since war’s been declared, Dante is more cautious.” After a moment, she gave me a resolute look. “But I’m sure I can up with something.”

I nodded. “Can you arrange for Fabi to be there as well?”

Enzo knocked again. “Mrs. Cavalarro?”

Val rolled her eyes. “Yes, I’ll be out in a moment!” She paused. “Aria, I’m not sure I can bring him, but I will see what I can do. Let’s say five p.m. in the Santa Fe?” Val splashed water on her blouse.

“I will be there.”

I gave her and Anna another hug before I slipped back into the stall, and a moment later I heard Val and Anna leave the room. I waited a few minutes until another customer came in before I left the restrooms and returned to my table. Val was talking to Bibiana as if nothing had happened. She had become a good actress in her marriage, but so had I. I paid and left the restaurant before Val’s bodyguards recognized me after all. Chicago’s cold gripped me as I walked the streets. I knew where I wanted to go, to my old home, to see if Fabiano was there, but that was a risk I couldn’t take. If Father recognized me, he’d hand me over without a second thought.

I’d have to find a café where I could wait until my meeting with Val later, but first I’d buy a knife just to be safe.

chapter 16

ARIA

I arrived at the Santa Fe thirty minutes early and chose a booth at the window so I could keep an eye on the street. I trusted Val but I wasn’t stupid. She was my friend, but more than that she was Dante’s wife. I didn’t think she’d tell him about our meeting, but I preferred to be extra cautious.

The waiter brought me a tea. I could tell he thought it strange that I was drinking peppermint tea for dinner, but it was the only thing I could stomach at the moment. I’d been half tempted to head into a pharmacy and buy a pregnancy test as I’d waited for the meeting but had decided against it.

A pregnant woman in a long black coat caught my attention as she got out of a taxi. She hurried toward the restaurant and a moment later Val appeared inside without Fabiano, but I had feared that would be the case. She spotted me and gestured to the waiter that she would join me.

Val slid into the booth across from me. “Aria,” she said with a soft smile, but I could tell that she was tense.