Chapter 6 - THE MAN BEHIND THE RUMORS
Luca Belandi had never disappeared anyone into fog.
Hannah asked.
He nearly choked on espresso.
“People say that?”
“Frequently.”
“Boston Harbor specifically?”
“Sometimes Providence.”
He rubbed his face.
“Excellent.”
They had been having coffee, lunches, and occasional walks for three months.
No kissing.
No gifts.
No private jets.
Hannah wanted to know who he was after the atmosphere around him disappeared.
The answer was less cinematic than rumor.
His grandfather had been deeply involved in organized crime.
His father moved much of the family wealth into legitimate shipping, warehousing, import distribution, and real estate while maintaining some relationships that should have ended.
Luca inherited control at thirty-six after his father died.
He spent years closing, selling, or restructuring anything he could not defend to ordinary auditors.
“Did you ever commit crimes?”
Hannah asked.
He did not look offended.
“Tax and regulatory lawyers would advise me to define the term.”
“That sounds reassuring.”
He smiled faintly.
“I participated in businesses where I knew not every relationship was clean.”
“I allowed people around me whose methods I deliberately did not examine.”
“That was cowardice dressed as distance.”
“Violence?”
“I have never ordered anyone hurt.”
“Have people been hurt because of your family?”
“Yes.”
No hesitation.
Hannah appreciated that more than denial.
“Why did you attend my wedding?”
“Patrick wanted financing relationships around a port redevelopment.”
“And?”
“I wanted to observe the Walsh family before deciding whether we would continue discussions.”
“So I became due diligence.”
“No.”
He paused.
“The reception became unexpectedly informative.”
She laughed.
Then became serious.
“When Connor was humiliating me, did you already know my signature was in those files?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn't you say anything then?”
“Because I had evidence of irregularities.”
“Not proof you were uninvolved.”
“And announcing financial accusations in a ballroom while you were being publicly humiliated would have turned you into an even larger spectacle.”
Good answer.
“Why the dance?”
Luca looked uncomfortable.
Interesting.
“Because my sister was humiliated once.”
Hannah waited.
“Not at a wedding.”
“She dated a man my father approved of.”
“He liked her because she made him seem legitimate too.”
“When the relationship ended, he told people she was unstable.”
“My family could have crushed him.”
“My father offered.”
“My sister refused.”
“What did she want?”
“For one person to stand beside her publicly without speaking for her.”
Luca looked at Hannah.
“I remembered that.”
“What happened to your sister?”
“She lives in Montreal.”
“Happy?”
“Usually annoyed.”
“Good.”
He smiled.
“Very.”
Their first kiss happened four months later.
Not because Luca cornered her under city lights.
Because Hannah asked.
They were standing outside her apartment.
Luca had said goodnight.
Turned away.
Hannah said:
“Luca.”
He looked back.
“Yes?”
“Are you ever going to kiss me?”
His expression was worth every terrible month she had survived.
“I was under the impression patience was required.”
“It was.”
“And now?”
“Now I’m annoyed.”
He walked back.
Stopped.
“May I?”
She smiled.
“Yes.”
The kiss was gentle.
Brief.
Then he stepped back.
Hannah laughed.
“That’s it?”
“You spent a year teaching me not to take liberties.”
“Tragic.”
The second kiss was better.
They dated quietly.
Not secretly.
There was a difference.
Hannah kept her apartment.
Kept teaching.
Paid for herself when she wanted.
Let Luca pay when she wanted.
Equality did not require pretending they had equal money.
It required that money never become leverage.
When Luca offered a car after hers broke down, Hannah said no.
He accepted.
When her aunt Diane later helped her choose a used Subaru, Luca complained that the brakes should be upgraded.
Hannah allowed him to recommend a mechanic.
Compromise.
May you like
He was learning too.
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