Love in Purgatory (De La Fuente Family 2)

Dante stared at his brother and nodded. He knew what his brother meant because he to needed a break. He needed to be away from his family home and his church to think clearly without constant interruptions.

The hole in his heart was still there, and he feared it would never be whole again. He’d picked his cell up to text Emelia so many times that he’d eventually lost count, but he’d asked for her to go and live her life. It would kill him to see her with someone else, to know that she loved another man, but it was what she had to do. It was something that he had to let her do with his blessing no matter how much it hurt him.

He’d thought that running to the church all those years ago was the cure for his passion for his sister, but it wasn’t. It did help him back then, but he thought that probably had more to do with them being apart than anything else. Unfortunately, for the past few years, Emelia had visited him on and off and it made his craving worse than ever. He hadn’t been able to bring himself to ask her to leave, or to ask her not to visit, until a few days ago.

The tears on Emelia’s face had hurt him, and he knew that he was in too deep with her.

When he joined the church, he’d kept his past sins concerning Emelia buried. It didn’t matter how ‘encouraged’ he’d been to repent them—they’d been something that he kept locked away from the world. But, recently, he’d spent a great deal of time kneeled before the altar in his church while he prayed for absolution...which had yet to come.

“When are you leaving for Lexington?” Mateo asked, breaking into his thoughts while he finally took the seat Barbara urged him into.

“Two days.”

“Okay, message me your flight details and I’ll book on the same flight.” Mateo drained his cup of coffee, and had to stop Barbara from filling it again. “I’m fine for now.” He smiled and she blushed, again.

“I’ll let you two be, and go and dust in the living room.”

Dante watched her go, then turned to look at his brother. “She’s great, but I wish she wouldn’t fuss over me so much,” he whispered.

“She obviously enjoys looking after you, so let her. It probably gives her something to do.”

“That’s why I’ve kept my mouth shut...what gets me is that she won’t take anything for everything she does around here.”

Mateo offered a wry smile. “She loves taking care of the priest. Let her be.”

“I do like having her around because it stops unwanted visitors, and she adores Emelia.”

“She obviously hasn’t been around Emelia when she has PMS.” Mateo chuckled.

Dante stayed silent and would have cursed himself for mentioning Emelia if he actually cursed.

“She’s not that bad,” he admitted for something to say.

“Yeah, right?” Mateo scoffed. “You have blinders on with our baby sister. I’m telling you that she has one hell of a temper.” He shuddered. “The little spitfire scares me when she gets started, and yeah, if that makes me a pussy so be it.” Mateo stood to look out the back window.

Dante watched his brother, and grappled with his emotions. He shouldn’t ask but he needed to know, “How is Emelia?”

Mateo glanced at him over his shoulder, and told him, “She went to New York with Diego. She doesn’t know yet, but Diego has a friend who he’s going to try and set her up with.”

Dante’s heart dropped to his feet at Mateo’s information before he felt his anger rise. “How can he set her up with one of his friends...Seriously Mateo? We all know what a revolving door Diego has and his friends aren’t much different.”

Mateo shook his head and followed Dante with his eyes as he paced back and forth. “Calm down. He isn’t like Diego. Apparently, his friend is very selective about who he fucks—his words not mine—and he’s looking for someone to settle down with. Diego said he’s the only guy he’d trust with his twin.” Mateo grinned. “Fingers crossed, she’ll be out of your hair soon. No more unexpected visits followed by her refusal to leave.”

Dante didn’

t know how to respond because his jealousy knew no bounds. His hands flexed into fists at his sides, and his breathing came out sharp and choppy. He thought he was having a heart attack with the pain that lanced through his chest.

“Hey, are you okay?” Mateo frowned, and stepped toward him.

Dante stepped back. “I’m fine...make yourself at home. I have somewhere else to be.”

With those words spoken, Dante walked straight out of the house and got behind the wheel of his truck. He turned the ignition on and pulled out of his drive; he had no idea where he was going—he just drove.

Chapter Four

“You are seriously driving me crazy, Em,” Diego growled while Emelia dashed around the kitchen scrubbing the countertops clean.

“You’re a pig and I’m cleaning before I cook in here,” Emelia shot back. “And, what the hell is up with ‘Em’? You have never abbreviated my name...ever!”