Chapter 1 - THE BABY WHO RECOGNIZED A STRANGER
The most feared man in Philadelphia had just asked me to hold his baby.
And judging by the expressions around Table Twelve, nobody had expected those words to come out of Luca Moretti's mouth.
I stared at him.
"Excuse me?"
Luca shifted the crying boy against his chest.
"Would you hold Leo for a moment?"
I glanced toward my manager.
Greg stood near the bar, watching us with the expression of a man witnessing his restaurant burn down.
"I'm technically not supposed to hold customers' children."
Leo reached for me again.
His tiny fingers opened desperately.
Then he made a sound that nearly broke my heart.
Not quite a word.
Not quite a sob.
Something in between.
Luca looked exhausted.
"Please."
That was what convinced me.
Not his money.
Not his reputation.
The simple fact that this frightening man looked like a father who hadn't slept in days.
I put down the wine list.
"All right, sweetheart. Come here."
Luca carefully transferred Leo into my arms.
The change was instantaneous.
The crying stopped.
His little body relaxed against my chest, and he buried his face beneath my chin.
I stood completely still.
"Well," I whispered, "apparently I've been promoted."
One of Luca's men laughed under his breath.
Luca didn't.
He was staring at the baby.
Not with relief.
With disbelief.
"How did you do that?"
I looked down at Leo.
"Do what?"
"Make him stop."
I shrugged.
"Babies like being held."
"Not this baby."
Something in his voice made me look up.
Luca leaned forward.
"Leo hasn't allowed an unfamiliar woman to hold him in almost four months."
My stomach tightened.
"Why?"
He didn't answer.
Instead, Leo reached for my silver necklace.
A small oval pendant rested against my collarbone.
It had belonged to my mother.
She'd given it to me shortly before she died, telling me it was the only valuable thing she could leave behind.
Leo touched the pendant.
Then smiled.
A tiny, sleepy smile.
Luca went completely pale.
The older man beside him whispered, "Boss."
Luca raised one hand.
Silence.
Then he asked me a strange question.
"Where did you get that necklace?"
I looked down.
"My mother."
His jaw tightened.
"What was her name?"
I hesitated.
"Why?"
"Please."
I studied him.
Something had changed.
The man who entered Aurelia with armed security now looked genuinely afraid.
"Her name was Margaret Cole."
Luca stopped breathing.
The older man leaned back as though someone had struck him.
I frowned.
"What?"
Luca stared at the pendant.
"Your mother was Margaret Cole?"
"Yes."
He swallowed.
"From South Philadelphia?"
My heart began pounding.
"How do you know that?"
Luca didn't answer.
Leo pressed his little hand over the necklace.
Then made a soft sound.
"Mama."
The word was barely audible.
But everyone heard it.
My stomach dropped.
Luca closed his eyes.
When he opened them, something wet shimmered beneath his lashes.
I looked between him and the baby.
"Mr. Moretti, what's happening?"
His voice came out rough.
"That necklace belonged to my son's mother."
I stared.
"No."
Luca reached into his jacket.
He removed a photograph.
A beautiful young woman stood beside a garden fountain.
Dark hair.
Soft brown eyes.
A familiar silver necklace around her throat.
My breath caught.
I recognized her.
Not from my childhood.
From a photograph hidden in my mother's jewelry box.
Luca watched my face.
"Do you know her?"
I could barely speak.
"Her name was Elena."
Luca's expression changed.
"How do you know?"
I looked down at Leo.
Then back at the photograph.
May you like
And whispered the words that made every man at Table Twelve go silent.
"Because my mother told me Elena was my older sister."
