“I get that you’re a pack of duplicitous sociopaths, but did you have to drag the good people at FedEx into it?”
“Don’t whine, Rake dear. It’s unbecoming.”
“I’ll whine anytime I like,” he whined. To Lillith: “She’s a horrible human being. Never say I didn’t warn you.”
“You’re just mad because you don’t know what’s going on.”
“You’re right, Lillith,” he admitted. “That’s exactly why I’m mad.”
The waiter chose that moment to check on them, and Lillith chatted with him in Italian while Mrs. Tarbell visibly puffed up with pride. “Isn’t she brilliant? I can’t wait for her to meet the rest of the family.”
“Take it easy. She’s been through a lot.”
“Oh, I heard.” The nuclear option lowered her voice. “Delaney told me about her mother. Are you any closer to finding out if the car accident was accidental?”
“Yes, which may or may not work out for us.” Delaney spread her hands. “It’s too soon to tell.”
“It’s always too soon to tell,” Rake pointed out. “That’s pretty much the theme of the week.”
“Got that right,” Delaney agreed. “But getting back to how you knew my employer was your grandmother…”
“Yeah, I’d like to hear that, too,” Ellen said, making herself comfortable and helping herself to Delaney’s drink. To Delaney: “We’re gonna recruit him, right? Boy’s got skills.”
“Well, Ellen-not-Elena, I’m flattered and also a smidge terrified. But getting back to my brilliance—shut up, you asked—Delaney not only kept a set of clothes in my size on hand, she also knew how my brother lost his virginity.”
From Ellen: “Ew.”
“And she knew because my grandma knew.”
“Again: ew.”
“She only knew because I ratted him out. Which was shitty,” Rake acknowledged, “I won’t deny it.”
“But such a good story,” Nonna Tarbell added.
“That was a big one, Delaney.”
“You’re right,” she said, seeing the scope of that particular blunder. At the time, he’d seemed to think he had blurted that out to her in Lake Como. She’d been relieved that he’d given her an out. Now, of course, she realized he’d just filed it away with all the other clues she, forever a fool, had dropped. “I’ll say it again: Underestimating you was stupid.”
He reached past his glass and took her hand. “That means a lot, coming from you.” The gesture wasn’t lost on anyone except Lillith (who was trying to coax the waiter into bringing her chocolate milk). “You also said you hadn’t been warned I was tenacious. My grandmother would have warned you that I’m kind of a slut—”
A snort from Mrs. Tarbell. “Kind of. Hmm.”
“—and careless, and self-deprecating, but tenacious wouldn’t have come up. The worst, though.” He let go of her hand. “That was pretending you wanted to hear about the Sweetheart situation, even though you would have known all about it.”
“No.” She was shaking her head so hard, her face was momentarily obscured by hair. Mrs. Tarbell had opened her mouth, maybe even to defend her, but she raced ahead. “Rake, I promise that isn’t true. I’d only heard about your part in all of this. At the time, when your grandma hired me, I didn’t give a shit about your brother or his predicament. I didn’t give a shit about yours, either. But…” She looked away, and then back. “That changed. And then I wanted to know more about you. And the people you love. That’s why I asked. Your family is so interesting. Not just to me, either. I bet a lot of people think you guys—”
“Put the fun in dysfunctional?”
At least he said it with a smile. “No. You’re good, you’re all—I mean, you love each other. Even when you’re yelling at each other. You’re not afraid to get dirty to help each other. Literally, in Blake’s case. He’s shoveling horse shit, for God’s sake, to help his mom. That’s interesting to me. I don’t—” She broke off as two men in dark suits approached their table. She didn’t recognize either one, which could be good or bad.
“Signore Tarbell?” The shorter, balder one took out his wallet and flashed ID. “Per favore, vieni con noi.”
Shit.
“What’s this about?” Mrs. Tarbell asked sharply, knuckles whitening as she clutched her gigantic purse. But Rake was already getting to his feet.
“I know what it’s about. My sordid past finally caught up with me. Twice in one week,” he added with a wry look at Lillith. “Lead the way, gentlemen.”
“Rake, you can’t just—” Delaney realized Ellen had already done a discreet fade; wise, considering the circumstances. “You can’t assume you know what—”
“I’m not assuming I know anything,” he replied. “Believe me.”
“Don’t worry, dear.” Nonna Tarbell was already poking her phone while glaring at the men taking Rake into custody. “I’ll get my lawyer on the line and meet you at the consulate.”
The short one cleared his throat. “You, too, miss.”
Now that’s interesting. Delaney didn’t move while she weighed her options: (1) assume they were government suits and go along quietly, (2) assume they weren’t and kick their asses, or (3) stay put. Of course, there was Lillith to think of, so she couldn’t just—
A high-pitched yowl shattered her thought process. And possibly glass. “Don’t you take my daddy!” Lillith shrieked. She’d lunged for Rake and was now sitting on his feet, both arms clamped around his knees, face turning red as she held on with all her strength and kept shrieking. “I wanna be with Daddy!”
“Agh, Lillith! You’re pinching a bunch of my leg hairs!”
“Don’t you take my daddy away!”
“Rumore veeramente inaccettabile,” the taller one mumbled. Then, louder: “Molto bene lei viene.” And when that did nothing to decrease Lillith’s impression of an air raid siren: “You may come with us, child!”
Well, then, Delaney thought, getting to her feet. Decision made.