Aria giggles and pops one into her mouth.
We sit for a while and just talk. I end up taking Aria to the living room to watch one of Teresa’s and my old Disney movies, so we can all talk without her hearing. Mom and Dad recognize the limitations on what we can say with Aria in the room. When I tell them what Theo did, which resulted in my coma, Mom completely breaks down. I immediately shut her down when she tries blaming Dad and herself. It may have been their decision to push me away when I told her Luca and I were getting married, but what Theo did was in no way their fault. Then the guilt came of them not looking hard enough for me. I took that away too. The last they knew, Luca and I were leaving town. They had no reason to search the local hospitals.
I can see the anger on Dad’s face growing with each new revelation of Theo’s deception. I’m worried he’ll place some of the blame at Luca’s feet since he’s his brother, so I’m shocked when he thanks Luca.
“You saved our girl and brought her back to us,” he says gruffly.
Luca looks Dad straight in the eye and says with conviction, “I’ll always save her, sir. I love her with every single part of me.”
The last of Dad’s reservations toward Luca break away. I see it when he reaches across the table and offers his hand to Luca again, and it’s reaffirmed when Dad mutters, “Welcome to the family.”
I turn into a blubbering mess again. I hug Dad and whisper my thanks in his ear. His own eyes are teary when I pull back.
I’m just about to get up and go check on Aria when I hear a door slam. My heart races because I know it could only be one person.
“Mom, Dad!” I close my eyes when I hear her musical voice. “Did you know there’s a little girl in the living room watching TV?”
My back is facing the doorway, but I know she’s now in the room. I open my eyes and they meet Luca’s. He knows how much I’ve missed my sister.
I take a deep breath, and with my heart in my throat, I get up and turn around.
She’s absolutely beautiful and looks just like me when I was her age. The last time I saw her she was seven years old, just over Aria’s age. She’s fourteen now, almost a grown woman.
Her eyes meet mine and confusion pulls down her brows. It doesn’t take her long to recognize me.
“Jules?” she whispers. “Is that really you?”
I nod, because that’s all I can do. My mouth is too dry and my throat too tight to formulate any words.
One second, she’s feet from me, and the next, she’s throwing herself in my arms. We both crumple to the floor. Her body shakes in my arms as she presses her face against my chest. Her hands clutch the back of my shirt, like she’s afraid I’m going to pull away. She shouldn’t be. I’m going nowhere. There’s nothing that could pry me away from my baby sister.
“You disappeared!” she wails. “You were there then you weren’t! Why didn’t you ever come back?”
“Shh…,” I coo, smoothing my hand up and down her back. Her grief is tearing me apart. I’m her big sister, she looked up to me, and I wasn’t there for her. “I couldn’t. Something happened to keep me away, but I’m back now, and I swear I’m never leaving you again.”
She pushes herself away from me and looks up. “What happened?”
I brush away her tears, ignoring my own. “I’ll explain later.”
She sniffs and wipes her nose with the back of her hand. “You promise you won’t disappear again?”
“I promise,” I say with force.
“I missed you so much, Jules.”
My stomach pinches. “I’ve missed you too.”
She bites her lip, looking up at mom and dad, then to Luca. “Who’s that?”
I get us both to our feet and grab her hand. “This is Luca, my husband. Luca, I’d like you to meet my little sister, Teresa.”
Her brows jump, and her mouth drops open as she looks at him. He’s got to be at least a foot and a half taller than her.
“It’s very nice to finally meet you, Teresa,” Luca says, holding out his hand. “Jules has told me a lot about you.”
“She has?”
Luca smiles. “Yes.”