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There was silence for a few seconds He waited for the tirade of abuse fro her but it didn’t come

“Matteo, who is she?”

There was so about his sister’s tone Her curiosity He instantly felt a prickle down his spine Brianna was nosey Brianna was beyond nosey He probably shouldn’t have said anything at all

He kept his voice brisk “She’s Phoebe Gates Remember Rudy’s apartood job for us”

He could als and whirrs of Brianna’s brain “Yeah, I remember the apart war, didn’t it?”

“Well, if that’s what you heard, it must be true”

“So, we know Ms Gates can dress an apartment—but can she dress a Hampton house?”

She hadn’t said the words out loud but the i A house in the Haue

“Have a little faith in your brother, Brianna”

There was a loud sigh at the end of the phone “I have a lot of faith in my brother Both my brothers” There was a pause for a second Matteo had kept walking The fresh air was calling to hi with the spectacularly white snow The tone of her voice softened “How are you?”

He didn’t answer Cold air was filling his lungs, letting his heart race a little quicker and letting him shake off the cobwebs

It was hard to explain The only other people to have walked in his shoes were Vittore and Brianna No one else would ever understand He wouldn’t expect them to He wouldn’t want them to And the truth was, Vittore and Brianna didn’t understand entirely either—because he didn’t want theer brother and sister