Page 146 of Shadow Of Sin

“Home. I came by myself.”

“Why?”

“Because I need to ask you something.”

He puts the rag down and pours me a ginger ale without asking. He hands me the glass and leans on the bar with both arms.

My pulse throbs, tiny sweat beads popping up on the back of my neck. I tried planning out my side of this conversation but kept coming up empty. So I figured I’d just go into it without a plan for the second time in my life, the first time being the night when I told Eva I loved her.

Seems like anything and everything about Eva has the power to throw me into a complete tailspin.

“I want to ask Eva to marry me,” I blurt out. “And I want your blessing before I do it.”

Sal stares at me. His mouth drops open, then snaps closed, his dark eyes widening. He grips the edge of the bar and lets out a breath that shudders his whole chest.

“You’re serious,” he says.

“I’m serious.”

“You want to marry my sister.”

“More than I’ve ever wanted anything.”

He looks down at the bar and gives his head a shake. When he looks back up, his face is flushed, and his jaw is tight, and his glassy eyes tell me he’s fighting to hold it together.

“Yeah,” he says, his voice thick. “Yeah, Wolfe. You have my blessing. Now, come here.”

He comes out from behind the bar and captures me in a crushing hug. I let him because this moment belongs to him as much as it does to me, and despite the fact that I can’t really breathe, it feels nice to be accepted by someone so special and important to the woman I love.

“I need to tell you something,” he says when he finally pulls away. “When Eva went to prison, I thought I’d lost her. Not physically. But the version of her that laughed and trusted people and believed things could be good… I thought that woman was gone forever.” He swallows hard. “Then she met you. And I watched that woman come back piece by piece. The laughing. The trusting. All of it.”

“Sal—”

“I’m not done.” He smiles. “You take care of her. Not the way she takes care of everyone else, where she carries everything and never asks for help. You take care of her in a way that lets her breathe. She deserves that.”

“She does. And I will. I swear.”

He lets go and wipes his eyes with the back of his wrist. “Okay. So how are you going to do it?”

“I’m taking her to my cabin on Saturday. I want to do it there. I have the perfect spot.”

“The cabin.” He nods slowly. “That’s good. That place means something to both of you.” He’s quiet for a second. “What about the ring?”

“I picked out a few, but I haven’t⁠—”

“Gold. Not silver.” He says it fast, like he’s been holding it back. “Mom’s ring was gold. A simple band. Nothing flashy. Eva used to try it on when she was a kid and spin it around her finger because it was too big.” His eyes mist over again. “If you show up with some giant diamond, she’ll think you don’t know her. Get something simple.”

That’s better than anything my brain would have produced. “Thank you.”

“And Wolfe? When you do it, don’t overthink the words. Just say what’s true. Eva doesn’t need a speech. She needs to see your face when you say it.”

I nod. We sit at the bar for another twenty minutes and he tells me about a new dish he’s working on, and for the first time since I started planning this, the knot in my chest loosens.

On Thursday afternoon, I meet Cillian on the basketball court at the house.

I feel bad because I’ve missed more games than I’ve made in the past couple of months. First the operation prep, then the gunshot, then the recovery that took longer than I wanted it to. Cillian gave me shit about it every single time I’d miss and I think it’s because beyond basketball, he missed our time together. I know I have.

My shoulder still pulls when I shoot, but my brain has figured out how to compensate. I adjust the angle and put more into my wrist. The ball drops through the net at about the same rate as before.