The Santinis: Leonardo, Book 1 by Melissa Schroeder Page A

that now and he was pretty sure she wouldn’t accept the apology.
    Leo heard the car outside and paid no attention. He was sitting in his room in a foul mood. Okay, he’d been in a bad mood since fourteen days ago, but he had gotten into an argument with his father. And his brother. The only one who had been understanding was his mother. She was the only one he could count on.
    His mother walked over to the window and peered through the slit in the blinds.  
    “Is that Vince?”
    “Uh…yes. I’ll take care of it.”
    “I didn’t know he had a car.”
    Vince usually rode his Harley everywhere.
    “Of course he has a car. He lives in Virginia. You can’t ride on a motorcycle in the middle of winter. You stay here and I’ll tell him to leave you alone.”
    She turned to leave then stopped to look back at him. “I love you, Leonardo.”
    He smiled. “Love you too, Mom.”
    She shut his door and left him to his thoughts. He was going to have to make up with his brother before he left, but he was still mad about earlier. Considering Vince had been mooning over the same girl since high school, it seemed kind of hypocritical of him to call Leo a coward. Still, they rarely let a fight get between them like this for more than a few days. And, it didn’t feel right going back to Texas without apologizing.  
    He just needed to get that woman out of his head. And at some point, he might be able to get her out of his heart.
    There was a knock at the door.
    “Not in the mood, Vince.”
    There was a beat of silence. “It’s not Vince.”
    He knew that voice, had hoped she would call, but when a week passed, then two, he realized she didn’t want him. The fact that she was there in his parents’ house in Warrenton, Virginia was a little too much to comprehend.
    “What are you doing here?”
    “Wondering why I flew up here to see you if you’re too much like a little boy to open the door.”
    Dammit. He was trapped. Irritated and still hurting, he rose from the bed. “It’s unlocked.”
    “Oh for the love of God.”
    She opened it and stepped in. It took all of his control not to drop to his knees in front of her and beg for her to take him back. Bruises marred the delicate skin beneath her eyes, she was pale, and she looked like she’d been traveling through hell to get there. He had to fight the need to comfort. Especially when she was wearing such a mean frown. Then, she slammed the door shut behind her.
    “My mother will think you’re rude.”
    Maryanne snorted. “I think you don’t know the first thing about your mother. Do you know what I had to do to get here?”
    His heart was in his throat and this woman was griping at him as if he were some naughty boy she had to discipline. If she could be defensive, so could he. “No, why don’t you tell me?”
    “Freddy is working on his anniversary, which made Dave mad at me. I cleared out a chunk of my savings to get the last seat on a horrible flight next to a man I’m sure used his hair to floss his teeth, and you can’t even open the door for me?”
    The last word came out as a sob. For a second, he didn’t know what to say. He wasn’t accustomed to seeing her like this. Other women, sure, but Maryanne never cried. She just wasn’t the type.
    “Sure, it’s okay for you to go running off, ignoring me.”
    As she talked, the tears flowed. What little makeup she had on was smeared all over her face. It hurt to see her in pain, but there was a little ray of hope lighting his heart. It made him feel like a bit of a bastard but he couldn’t really help it. If she was miserable, she had been missing him.
    She wiped her face with the backs of her hands smearing her makeup even more. “And I have to come here, like you’re the girl or something.”
    “You said to leave you alone.”
    “Well, I didn’t mean it,” she screamed. His ears were ringing from the volume. “Fine, that’s what you want. I’m gone. I’ll go back to Texas tomorrow.”
    But even