Page 127 of Forged

The side entrance has always been the practical way in and out of the house—less ceremony, fewer people hovering around. The kitchen lights are already on when we step inside, the soft clatter of dishes filling the space.

Gabriel pauses just inside the doorway, taking in the room.

“You grew up in this home?” he asks quietly.

I glance back at him. “I moved in here when I was ten.”

“It’s beautiful,” he says, sliding his hands into the pockets of his coat.

Neomi nudges my shoulder as she slips past me into the kitchen.

“He’s being polite,” she says. “What he means is that you people live in a mansion that looks like it belongs to an Italian movie villain.”

I shrug. “That’s because it probably did at some point.”

Gabriel glances around the room. “Do I get a tour?”

The back hallway door swings open before I have time to respond.

Violette appears with a martini in one hand and an expression filled with a mixture of love and mischief.

“Well,” she says, looking between the three of us, “this looks promising.”

I step forward and wrap my arms around her shoulders in a hug. Then I motion behind me.

“Vi, this is Gabriel.”

Gabriel straightens, holding out his hand. “Good evening.”

She studies him openly, head tilted as if she’s examining a piece of art. Then she swats his hand and rises on the toes of her red-soled heels to hug him with one arm, still holding her martini.

“You’re a tall drink of water,” she says bluntly as she gazes at him, eyes scanning him head to toe.

Neomi presses her lips together to keep from laughing.

Gabriel blinks once. “Thank you?”

Violette gestures toward the dining room with her glass.

“Come and sit before my son finishes the entire bottle of Sangiovese by himself. He gets insufferable when he drinks alone.”

As if summoned by the comment, Enzo’s voice drifts down the hallway. “I can hear you, Ma.”

“Good,” she calls back. “Then you can hear me saying I hope you have only daughters.”

Gabriel’s face fills with amusement as Neomi shakes her head, linking her arm with Violette's to walk into the dining room.

Enzo sits at the head of the table with Zara beside him, Dante leaning back in his chair near the window. The moment Gabriel steps into the room, all three of them glance up.

Zara smiles first. “So, this is Gabriel. I’m Zara, Enzo’s wife.”

Gabriel nods politely. “It’s good to finally meet you.”

Zara rises from her chair and walks around the table to greet him, her warmth immediate and genuine.

“We’ve heard quite a bit about you,” she says.

Gabriel glances at me.