“Hi, Salvatore. It’s Natalie. Is this a good time?”

“Yes, of course. Is everything all right?” She sounded tense.

“Dominic came by. He was here when I got home from work.”

Natalie didn’t trust Dominic. She had never liked him, and I’d seen Sergio have words with him. I never knew the details but suspected it had something to do with Natalie.

“What did he want?”

“He said he wanted to see his nephew. See how he’s doing, since I won’t take him to the house for visits.”

Why in hell did Dominic care about a baby? He never had before.

“Salvatore?”

“I’m listening. How long was he there?”

“Just ten minutes. I wouldn’t let him in. Talked to him on the front steps. What does he want, Salvatore?”

“I don’t know, but I’ll see him at my father’s birthday dinner. I’ll talk to him then. Do you feel safe? Do you want me to send someone over?”

“No, it’s okay. I just…seeing him again…it brought back so much.”

“I know.” I heard her sniffle. “I’m sorry, Natalie.” I heard Jacob fuss near the phone.

“It’s okay, it’ll be fine. He just surprised me. I’d better go get Jacob’s dinner.”

“I can come by myself if you want me to.”

“You have your hands full. Really, I’ll be fine. I feel better already, now that I’ve talked to you. It’s fine.”

“Let me at least send someone to keep an eye on the house.”

“No. I don’t want that for myself, and I don’t want it for Jacob. We’re out of this life. It’s what Sergio would have wanted for us.”

I nodded, even though she couldn’t see. The salesgirl came around the corner, looking frazzled until she spotted me. I turned my back to wrap up my call.

“Okay, but if you feel unsafe or need anything, you call me, understand?”

“Yes. I will, Salvatore. Thank you.”

We hung up, and I walked toward the girl, my mind going a thousand miles a minute, wondering what the hell Dominic was up to.

“She’s ready with the first one.” The girl sang out and pointed to the dressing room.

I followed her. It was a private room with a sofa and a long mirror with a curtain to separate the changing area. Once inside, the girl closed the door and disappeared behind the curtain.

“It’s too low,” Lucia complained.

“It looks amazing,” the girl retorted.