Chapter Forty-One: La Famiglia

“I’d like to make a toast.” Lorenzo said loudly, halting all conversation when he raised the shot of tequila between his fingers, “To a man I’m sure we can all agree was the best of us. Darrio, brother, wherever in the universe may be, know not a day will go by without us missing you. To Darrio.”

“To Darrio.” They echoed and simultaneously threw back the foul tasting liquid.

“Do you remember for his eighteenth birthday he blackmailed us into sneaking him your dad’s most expensive bottle of Bourbon?” Xander chuckled.

Matteo cackled, “Yeah, he polished the bottle and almost fell off the roof.”

“The next day he made me fill it up with tea and put it back in the cabinet so you guys wouldn’t get caught.” Serenity grinned.

“Seriously? I always wondered how Dad never found out.” Lorenzo’s eyes widened and Serenity nodded.

“You were right, he was the very best of us.” Xander mused, looking at the condensation running down the glass with keen interest.

“I never told him I loved him