Keep: The Wedding: Romanian Mob Chronicles by Kaye Blue Page B

she walked toward us, hand extended, a shy smile on her face.
    I stood and shook her hand, as did Esther.
    “Pleased to see you again, Fawn. And pleased to meet you, Esther,” she said.
    She smiled and then took a seat across from Esther and me. We stared at each other for a moment, no one speaking.
    “So…” I finally said.
    “Yeah…” Esther added.
    Lily laughed and we all joined in.
    “We’ve got to do better. We’ve all done this before, right?” I said.
    We all laughed at that and then Lily went quiet and looked around the place. “I hope this is okay,” she whispered.
    “It’s really nice,” Esther said. “A favorite of yours?”
    Lily’s eyes widened, and after a moment’s pause, she shook her head.
    “To be honest, I’ve never been. I just suggested it because I heard it was the nicest place in town. Truthfully, the nicest places I usually go to are pizza parlors that use real plates,” she said.
    Esther laughed loudly, her entire face and body changing with her humor. Lily joined in and soon I did as well. After a moment, Esther said, “Lily, I think we’re going to get along just fine.”

    F awn
----
    “ W e’ll do this again soon, right?” I asked Lily as we prepared to leave.
    Lily nodded emphatically. “I’ll talk to Anton about inviting you over. We can meet in private, where it’ll be a little more comfortable. You can bring the kids!”
    Any shyness that Lily had had initially was gone completely, and her sharpness and sense of humor now shone through. She and Esther had also become quick friends, and I couldn’t have been happier about how the day had turned out.
    “See you soon,” Lily said. Then she hugged us both and headed toward the car that idled on the curb.
    When we were alone, I turned to Esther, staring up at her expectantly.
    She snorted. “Yeah, yeah, so it was awesome,” she said, rolling her eyes.
    “Um-hmm. You riding back with me?” I asked.
    She shook her head. “It’s a nice day. I think I’ll walk.”
    “Do you have…?” I started, but waved off my concern and gestured toward the guard who stood watching us.
    “Don’t worry, security is with me, so I’ll be fine,” she said.
    I nodded. “Good. See you later,” I said.
    Once Esther had started on her way, I went to the parking lot and got inside the luxury sedan that Vasile had bought me. I was glad he’d suggested this. I usually had Ioan drive because between security and Maria, it was easier, but I appreciated the freedom that came with driving, welcomed the time alone with my thoughts. And though I missed them, I still wanted a few minutes, so I decided to take the long way home.
    I didn’t miss the car that started to tail me, Ioan’s, but I ignored it and gave in to the calming lull of the drive, pushing the car faster as I merged onto the highway, looking forward to enjoying the open road.
    A few minutes on the road had worked wonders, and after a couple of miles, the last of the tension had left me. I’d enjoyed the lunch with Lily and Esther, but the issues of the night before had still shadowed my thoughts. Now, though, I felt better, much better.
    Vasile and I had the thing that mattered most, and I was content with that. No, not content, I was happy. And marriage, while something I still wanted, something I would love, wouldn’t make me happier, wouldn’t make my life more than it was. So I would keep sight of what I had, the joy that filled my life.
    Everything else would take care of itself.
    A flash in the side mirror caught my eye, and I looked into the rearview. Ioan was behind me, but I noticed another vehicle coming up fast. I looked at Ioan, saw that his expression was taut. He met my eye and then nodded, gesturing up ahead. I nodded in return and then sped up, headed toward the nearest exit. Everything was fine, but my apprehension was beginning to rise.
    It only intensified when the car behind Ioan swerved and took up the space between us. That made me very, very