Gabriel's Redemption (Gabriel's Inferno #3)(93)

She held it up in order to admire it.

“I know that you’ve been hesitant about preparing for the baby.” Julia’s voice was soft. “But I thought that the angel would be an expression of hope. The painting is called Angelo Musicante and it’s housed in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence.”

“Thank you, honey.” Diane hugged her. “That’s very sweet.”

She walked over to the window and placed the frame on the wide windowsill, leaning against the glass. It looked as if it belonged there.

“Your dad was talking about using your room as the guest room, once the baby comes.”

“It isn’t really my room. I grew up in Dad’s old house.”

“You’re my daughter. You’ll always have a room in my house.” A gruff voice sounded behind them.

Diane and Julia turned to see Tom standing in the doorway.

“That’s nice, Dad, but you don’t have to save a room for me.”

“It’s your room.” His tone and expression brooked no argument.

Julia merely sighed and nodded.

She gestured to the walls, which were white. “Have you picked out colors?”

Diane smiled. “Pale blue and red. I was thinking about having a sailboat theme. Maybe painting a mural of a boat on the wall. I thought it would be soothing.”

“That sounds beautiful. I’ll look for some bedding and things with sailboats on them.”

“Thank you.”

“I’ll make sure my little brother has everything he needs. I’m looking forward to spoiling him.”

Tom’s eyes watered. But he would never admit it.

“So you’re going to decorate?” he asked his fiancée.

“I think we should do a few things. Maybe not everything. After the honeymoon we could paint the walls.” Diane looked up into his face, her eyes cautiously hopeful.

“Whatever you want.” Tom leaned over to kiss her, pressing his palm lightly over where their child was growing.

Julia moved to the door, wanting to give them some privacy. “I’ll just go downstairs and see what Gabriel and Uncle Jack are doing.”

“Sorry, sweetie.” Diane pulled away from her fiancé, but not before moving her hand gently over where his hand had rested.

“Would you like to take those with you? I think they belonged to your mother.” Diane pointed at the boxes that were sitting in the closet.

The air in the room swiftly changed as Tom and Julia followed the path of her finger.

“What?” Tom’s tone was sharp.

“They’re just sitting there. Maybe there’s something she’d like to take home with her to Massachusetts. But if you don’t want them or you don’t want them now, that’s fine. I opened them just to see what they were, but I closed them back up again. I came across them when I was emptying this room out.”

“I’d like to look at Mom’s stuff.” Julia was conscious of her father’s fists opening and closing.

“I’m not all fired up about having this conversation three days before my wedding,” Tom growled.

“Honey,” Diane reproached him.

“All right. Why don’t you ask Gabriel to come up and help me carry them down to your car?”

Julia nodded and exited the room, but not before seeing her father pull Diane into his arms.

As she descended the staircase to the front hall, she heard voices coming out of the living room.

“You tell her yet?” Julia’s Uncle Jack, Tom’s brother, was speaking.

“No.” Gabriel’s tone was clipped.

“You going to?” Jack’s gruff voice grew louder.

“Since everything has been quiet, I haven’t seen the need. She’s been upset enough recently. I’m not about to add to it.”

“She better not be living in fear.”

“She isn’t.” Gabriel sounded impatient.

“I find she is, you and me got a problem.”

Julia’s footsteps echoed across the hardwood floor and the voices stopped.

She entered the living room and saw Jack standing by the far wall, his form menacing.

Gabriel was standing a few feet away, having adopted a similar posture.

“What’s going on?” she asked.

Gabriel lifted his arm and she went to him, curling into his side. “Nothing. Did you help Diane?”

“A little. But I need your help now. I have a few boxes I need to carry out to the car.”

“Absolutely.” Gabriel gave Jack a significant look as he followed Julia into the hall.

The day before the wedding, Julia agreed to help Diane’s sister, the maid of honor, by running errands. She visited the florist to double-check the order, she visited the church hall to inspect the decorations, and she stopped in at Kinfolks restaurant.

Kinfolks would not have been her choice as the location of the rehearsal dinner, but since it was a place that held sentimental value for both the bride and groom, she kept her opinion to herself.

She’d just finished her meeting with the owner and the manager, ascertaining that everything would be ready for that evening, when she ran into Deb Lundy, her father’s ex-girlfriend, and Natalie, her daughter.

Julia tried to plaster an artificial smile on her face as Deb approached her.