Page 203 of Sweet Nightmare

More faces pop up.

My cousins.

Willow. Verali. Poe.

Wonderful. The entire Volpe, Nicolasi and O’Sullivan circus is here.

Willow waves, her expression softening the moment she sees me. Just like Aunt Mila. No, exactly like her. Pure sunshine in human form.

She signs, I miss you.

I sign back, I miss you too.

Her blue eyes sparkle, and my heart does a double flip.

I love my family. I really do. Especially Aunt Mila and Willow.

Across the screen, Verali rolls her eyes at something Poe said.

That one right there is my Uncle Enzo’s karma or so my Dad says. She looks like she stepped straight out of a fashion campaign, with sharp black eyeliner, red hair on point, designer everything, and the confidence of someone who’s never doubted herself a day in her life.

Love that for her.

Then there’s our famous romance author, Poe with her blue hair piled on top of her head and a ridiculously happy smile on her face.

“I have news,” she announces, signing for Willow.

“You’re pregnant?” Allegra asks.

“No!” Poe rolls her eyes. “I mentioned that I liked a Caribbean island to Azariel.”

Verali groans. “Let me guess. He bought the damn island.”

Poe grins. “He did.”

Silence.

“Oh wow,” Allegra says.

“He’s so supportive, right?” Poe argues.

“If you mean insane then yes, yes he is,” Verali corrects.

Mom sighs. “That boy is a romantic.”

“He’s clinically obsessed, Aunty,” Verali says.

Poe somehow looks even happier.

I’m with Verali. That cannot be healthy.

The conversation descends into chaos approximately three seconds later.

Willow announces a fundraiser to save the manatees. Allegra proudly whips out pictures of her latest acquisitions: alpacas. Verali launches into a dramatic retelling of her latest romantic disaster—a man she stopped dating approximately seventy-two hours ago. And Poe, sweet, innocent Poe, accidentally admits that Azariel inspired a particularly spicy scene in her next romance novel.

Mom listens to all of this with the serene expression of a woman who considers every bit of it perfectly normal.

Let me tell you something.