GET THAT OLD DOG OUT OF MY DINING ROOM! I DON'T CARE IF HE CAN BARELY WALK!” THE MAFIA BOSS'S FIANCÉE ORDERED HIS 25-YEAR-OLD MAID TO DRAG HIS LATE FATHER'S FIFTEEN-YEAR-OLD GOLDEN RETRIEVER AWAY FROM THE FIREPLACE—BUT WHEN HIS 78-YEAR-OLD MOTHER WHISPERED, “HE STILL WAITS FOR YOUR FATHER TO COME HOME,” LUCA MORETTI SLOWLY PUT DOWN HIS GLASS
CHAPTER 1:
“GET THAT OLD DOG OUT OF MY DINING ROOM! I DON'T CARE IF HE CAN BARELY WALK!” THE MAFIA BOSS'S FIANCÉE ORDERED HIS 25-YEAR-OLD MAID TO DRAG HIS LATE FATHER'S FIFTEEN-YEAR-OLD GOLDEN RETRIEVER AWAY FROM THE FIREPLACE—BUT WHEN HIS 78-YEAR-OLD MOTHER WHISPERED, “HE STILL WAITS FOR YOUR FATHER TO COME HOME,” LUCA MORETTI SLOWLY PUT DOWN HIS GLASS.
“Take that filthy dog bed outside, Hannah.”
Vanessa Bellini stood beside the banquet table in a fitted red silk gown, pointing toward the old golden retriever lying beside the marble fireplace.
Thirty-four wealthy guests were having dinner inside Luca Moretti's Chicago mansion.
And Duke hadn't made a sound.
He was fifteen years old.
His muzzle had turned almost completely white, and his back legs weren't strong enough to get him up without help anymore.
But he'd been sleeping beside that fireplace for eleven years.
“Mrs. Bellini,” I said quietly, “he can't lie on the marble. His hips hurt.”
Vanessa set down her champagne glass.
“Then put him somewhere I don't have to look at him.”
Across the table, seventy-eight-year-old Teresa Moretti tightened her hands around her napkin.
“Vanessa, please. He's not bothering anyone.”
Vanessa smiled.
“Teresa, this is an engagement dinner. Not a retirement home for animals.”
A few guests exchanged uncomfortable glances.
Duke lifted his head when he heard Teresa's voice.
His cloudy brown eyes found her immediately.
His tail moved once against the rug.
“See?” Teresa whispered. “He's being a good boy.”
Vanessa rolled her eyes.
“Good dogs don't smell like old carpets.”
I felt my face grow hot.
My name is Hannah Collins. I'm twenty-five, and I've worked for Luca Moretti for almost a year.
I had a five-year-old son and a daycare payment due Friday.
I couldn't afford to lose my job.
Vanessa knew that.
She also knew something else.
For the past three weeks, she'd been making Teresa eat her breakfast in the kitchen.
Because Duke wasn't allowed near the dining room anymore.
And Teresa refused to let him eat alone.
“Hannah.”
Vanessa snapped her fingers.
“I said move him.”
I walked toward the fireplace.
Duke raised his head and tried to stand.
His front paws pushed against the rug.
His back legs trembled.
Then he sank down again.
A small whimper escaped his throat.
Teresa immediately pushed back her chair.
“Don't make him get up, sweetheart. I'll come to him.”
Vanessa stepped in front of her.
“Teresa, sit down. You're embarrassing yourself.”
The old woman stopped.
“I just wanted to help him.”
“He's a dog.”
Teresa's eyes filled with tears.
“I know what he is.”
“Then stop treating him like a person.”
Teresa slowly sat down.
And whispered something I almost didn't hear.
“Your father never minded.”
Vanessa's expression hardened.
“Luca's father has been gone for four years. Perhaps it's time everyone accepted that.”
I saw Teresa flinch.
Not because Vanessa had raised her voice.
She hadn't.
But because she'd said it so casually.
As though forty-eight years of marriage were something a woman should simply get over.
I knelt beside Duke.
His tail tapped the floor when I touched his neck.
“Hey, old boy,” I whispered.
I slid my hands beneath his dog bed.
Vanessa stepped closer.
“Finally.”
But I couldn't lift him.
Not when he looked toward Teresa and began trying to get up again.
“I'm sorry, Mrs. Bellini.”
Vanessa stared at me.
“What?”
“He's hurting. I can't move him like this.”
Her smile disappeared.
“Hannah, I don't remember asking for your opinion.”
“I could bring a clean cover for his bed. Nobody would even notice him.”
“I notice him.”
Teresa suddenly spoke.
“Then I'll leave.”
Everyone turned.
The old woman was standing beside her chair.
Her pearl earrings trembled as she reached for her purse.
“Teresa?” Vanessa asked.
“I'll take him upstairs.”
Vanessa folded her arms.
“Wonderful. That solves the problem.”
Teresa looked down at her untouched dinner.
“Would someone please wrap my food? I haven't eaten since breakfast.”
Something tightened in my chest.
She had spent the entire afternoon getting ready for her son's engagement dinner.
She'd had her silver hair done.
Put on the navy dress Luca had bought for her birthday.
And worn the pearl earrings her husband had given her on their twentieth anniversary.
Now she was being sent away before dessert.
Because of a dog who couldn't stand.
“Mrs. Moretti,” I whispered, “you shouldn't have to leave.”
Teresa gave me the saddest little smile.
“It's all right, Hannah. I'm used to eating upstairs.”
Vanessa turned sharply.
“Teresa, don't make this dramatic.”
But Teresa wasn't looking at her.
She was looking at Duke.
“He gets frightened when he wakes up and nobody's there.”
Vanessa sighed.
“He's an animal. He'll survive.”
The old woman swallowed.
“That's what everyone said after my husband died.”
I looked up.
Teresa was staring at the fireplace.
“Duke waited by the garage door every evening for three months.”
Her voice trembled.
“Six o'clock. Every single day.”
She pressed her napkin against her mouth.
“That was when Frank always came home.”
Nobody spoke.
“Duke would hear a car outside and run to the window.”
A tear slipped down her cheek.
“Even after his legs started hurting.”
Vanessa glanced toward the guests.
“Teresa, please. This isn't appropriate dinner conversation.”
But the old woman continued.
“Frank used to sit right there by the fire. Duke would put his head on his knee, and they'd fall asleep together.”
She looked down at the old dog.
“After Frank died, Duke wouldn't sleep unless I sat beside him.”
My throat tightened.
Teresa whispered, “Sometimes I think he still believes Frank is coming home.”
Vanessa picked up her champagne.
“Well, Frank isn't coming home. And that dog isn't staying in my dining room.”
A chair scraped against the floor.
“Your dining room?”
Luca Moretti was standing at the head of the table.
Thirty-six years old.
Dark hair, tattoos visible above the collar of his black shirt.
He hadn't raised his voice.
But Vanessa immediately straightened.
“Darling, we're just handling a little situation with Duke.”
Luca looked toward the fireplace.
Then at his mother.
“Mom, why are you leaving?”
Teresa hurriedly wiped her cheeks.
“Oh, sweetheart. I didn't want to interrupt your dinner.”
“You haven't.”
“Duke needs to go upstairs.”
Luca frowned.
“Why?”
Vanessa reached for his arm.
“Because he's old, Luca. He's having accidents, and we have important guests.”
Luca looked at Duke.
The dog recognized his voice.
His tail began thumping against the rug.
Luca walked around the table.
“Hey, buddy.”
He crouched beside him.
Duke struggled to lift his head.
Luca rested one hand beneath his chin.
“Easy. I've got you.”
Then he noticed the way Duke's back legs were stretched awkwardly behind him.
“Why doesn't he have his orthopedic bed?”
I looked toward the doorway.
Vanessa answered before I could.
“We replaced that awful thing. It was practically falling apart.”
Luca's expression changed.
“That bed cost eight hundred dollars.”
Vanessa gave a nervous laugh.
“Money isn't the issue.”
“I know.”
He looked at me.
“Hannah?”
I swallowed.
“It's in the storage room, sir.”
“Why?”
Vanessa's voice sharpened.
“Because it doesn't match the new furniture.”
Luca looked slowly around the room.
The silk curtains.
The imported chairs.
The enormous crystal chandelier.
Then back at Duke.
“He's been sleeping on this thin mat?”
I nodded.
“Since the dining room was redecorated.”
Luca ran his fingers gently along Duke's white muzzle.
“Bring his bed back.”
Vanessa stepped forward.
“Luca, absolutely not.”
He looked up.
“Why?”
“Because we agreed this house needed to change before the wedding.”
“We agreed to change the furniture.”
“And Duke is part of the problem.”
Luca became very still.
“What problem?”
Vanessa lowered her voice.
“Darling, be reasonable. He's fifteen. We can't organize our entire lives around an animal who might not even be here next Christmas.”
Teresa made a small sound.
Luca turned.
“Mom?”
She was crying again.
But this time, she was trying desperately to hide it.
“I'm sorry, sweetheart.”
He stood.
“What are you apologizing for?”
Teresa looked at Vanessa.
Then at the old dog.
“I know he's getting old.”
Luca walked toward her.
“So?”
“And I know Vanessa wants a beautiful home.”
His expression softened.
“Mom, we already have a beautiful home.”
Teresa shook her head.
“But Duke doesn't fit into it anymore.”
Luca stared at her.
“Who told you that?”
She didn't answer.
Vanessa immediately interrupted.
“Luca, your mother has been very emotional lately.”
He kept looking at Teresa.
“Mom, who told you Duke doesn't belong here?”
Her lips trembled.
“Vanessa said after the wedding, things would be different.”
“Different how?”
Teresa gripped the back of her chair.
“She said you wanted a fresh start.”
Luca's expression hardened.
“And you thought that meant getting rid of Duke?”
Teresa looked down.
“I thought if I agreed, you wouldn't have to choose.”
“Choose what?”
The old woman began crying harder.
“Between making your new wife happy and keeping your father's dog.”
Luca closed his eyes for a moment.
Then he pulled out the chair beside her.
“Sit down, Mom.”
She obeyed.
He knelt in front of her.
“Listen to me. Duke isn't going anywhere.”
Teresa stared at him.
“Really?”
“Really.”
She pressed a trembling hand against his cheek.
“Your father would be so relieved.”
Luca swallowed.
Then he turned toward Vanessa.
“Why did my mother believe I wanted Duke gone?”
Vanessa folded her arms.
“Because we discussed finding him somewhere more suitable.”
“No. You mentioned it. I told you he stays.”
“Luca, don't do this in front of everyone.”
He stood.
“Then answer me.”
Vanessa looked away.
“He needs more care than this household can provide.”
I couldn't stay quiet anymore.
“Mr. Moretti?”
Luca turned.
“Yes, Hannah?”
My hands were shaking.
“Duke hasn't needed anything more than help standing and someone to sit with him at night.”
Vanessa snapped, “Hannah, enough!”
But I continued.
“Your mother has been sleeping on the kitchen floor beside him.”
Luca stopped moving.
“What?”
My stomach dropped.
I'd promised Teresa I wouldn't tell him.
But I couldn't let her take the blame.
“Vanessa stopped allowing Duke upstairs three weeks ago. He cries when he's alone, so Mrs. Moretti has been coming down after everyone goes to bed.”
Luca slowly turned toward his mother.
“Mom?”
Teresa wiped her eyes.
“He settles down if I hold his paw.”
Luca stared at her.
“You've been sleeping on the kitchen floor?”
“Only for a little while.”
“Every night?”
She nodded.
“Just until he falls asleep.”
Luca looked toward the fireplace.
Duke had managed to lift his head again.
He was watching Teresa.
Waiting.
Luca's voice became quiet.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
Teresa gave him a small, broken smile.
“Because you already have so much to worry about.”
He shook his head.
“Mom.”
“And Vanessa said you were tired of hearing about an old dog.”
A muscle moved in his jaw.
He turned toward his fiancée.
“Did you tell her that?”
Vanessa didn't answer.
“Vanessa?”
She threw up her hands.
“I was trying to make things easier for you!”
“By making my mother sleep on a kitchen floor?”
“I didn't tell her to do that!”
“No,” Teresa whispered.
Everyone turned.
The old woman was looking at Vanessa.
“You told me I could stay with him until he was taken away.”
Luca frowned.
“Taken where?”
Vanessa went pale.
I felt my stomach tighten.
Because there was one thing I hadn't told him.
That morning, I'd found an unfamiliar travel crate beside the service entrance.
Large enough for Duke.
A clean towel had been placed inside.
And Vanessa had told the staff not to mention it.
“Mr. Moretti,” I said quietly, “someone is coming for Duke tomorrow.”
Luca looked at me.
“Who?”
“A long-term boarding service, sir.”
Vanessa stepped forward.
“Hannah, you are finished in this house.”
My eyes burned.
I thought about my son.
My rent.
The daycare payment waiting on Friday.
But Teresa suddenly caught my hand.
“No,” she whispered.
She looked at Luca.
“Hannah only brought his bed downstairs because I asked her to.”
Then she began crying.
“Please don't fire her. She was the only one who helped me.”
Luca took a slow breath.
“Hannah isn't going anywhere.”
Vanessa stared at him.
“Luca, she's been deliberately disobeying me!”
He looked toward the old dog.
Then back at his fiancée.
“She's been taking care of my family.”
The words were quiet.
But Vanessa's face changed.
Luca turned to me.
“Bring Duke's orthopedic bed back. Put it beside my chair.”
“Yes, sir.”
“And ask the kitchen to bring my mother a fresh dinner.”
Teresa shook her head.
“Oh, sweetheart, you don't have to—”
“I want you to eat with me, Mom.”
Her eyes filled again.
“And Duke?”
Luca reached down and gently scratched behind the dog's ear.
“He's staying right here.”
For the first time all evening, Teresa smiled.
Then Vanessa stepped between them.
“Absolutely not.”
Luca looked up.
“Excuse me?”
Her cheeks were red.
“I'm not marrying a man who lets his mother and a fifteen-year-old dog dictate how we live.”
Teresa immediately lowered her head.
“Luca, please. Don't argue because of me.”
But Vanessa wasn't finished.
She pointed toward Duke.
“That dog leaves this house, or I do.”
Nobody at the table spoke.
Luca looked at the woman he was supposed to marry.
Then at his mother, who was twisting her wedding ring around her finger.
Finally, he looked down at Duke.
The old dog had rested his white muzzle on Luca's shoe.
Just as he'd done when Luca was twenty-one and his father had first brought him home.
Teresa whispered, “Please, sweetheart. I don't want to ruin your wedding.”
Luca slowly took her hand.
“Mom, look at me.”
She did.
“You haven't ruined anything.”
Then he stood.
Vanessa was waiting.
Arms folded.
Certain he would choose her.
But Luca didn't look at her.
He looked toward the service entrance.
“Hannah.”
“Yes, sir?”
“Cancel tomorrow's pickup.”
Vanessa grabbed his arm.
“You can't do that! I've already paid for six months!”
Luca slowly turned.
“Six months?”
Her hand slipped from his sleeve.
He stared at her.
“Vanessa, Duke is fifteen years old.”
“I know how old he is.”
“Then why would you book six months without asking me?”
She didn't answer.
Luca looked toward his mother.
Teresa had started crying again.
And this time, I finally understood why.
Vanessa hadn't simply planned to send Duke away for the wedding.
She'd planned for him never to come home.
Luca looked back at his fiancée.
His voice was barely above a whisper.
“When you told my mother Duke was leaving, did you also tell her I was the one who wanted him gone?”
Vanessa's lips parted.
But before she could answer, Teresa reached for Luca's hand.
“Sweetheart, there's something I need to tell you.”
Luca turned.
“What is it, Mom?”
She looked toward Duke.
Then toward the woman in the red dress.
Her voice broke.
“Vanessa told me I could visit him every Sunday.”
Luca frowned.
“Visit him?”
Teresa nodded through her tears.
“She said I wouldn't have to say goodbye forever if I behaved myself at the wedding.”
Luca went completely still.
And Vanessa finally looked frightened.
Because his mother had just revealed something far worse than the boarding reservation.
Vanessa hadn't only threatened to take away an old dog.
She'd made a seventy-eight-year-old widow believe she had to earn the right to see the last companion she'd shared with her husband.
Luca slowly released his mother's hand.
May you like
Then he looked at Vanessa.
“Tell me exactly what you made my mother promise you.”
