Chapter 10 - Six Months Without LeoThe Santoro estate looked different without armed men in every hallway.
Quiet.
Almost ordinary.
Six months after the winery raid, Tessa returned for the estate sale.
Leo had signed over most criminally connected assets as part of a cooperation agreement. Legitimate businesses remained under independent management while investigators dismantled Antonio’s network.
The mansion itself was being sold.
Tessa walked through the foyer.
The grandfather clock remained.
She stopped before it.
Eight o’clock.
That stupid night felt like another lifetime.
“Take off that dress.”
Tessa smiled bitterly.
He would never live that sentence down.
“Thinking about murder?”
Carlo stood behind her.
“You’re not supposed to sneak up on people.”
“I worked for Leo.”
“How is he?”
Carlo’s expression softened.
“Alive.”
“I know that.”
“Then ask what you actually mean.”
Tessa hated him.
“Does he ask about me?”
“Every single call.”
Her heart tightened.
Leo had been held pending hearings for nearly four months before being transferred into a protected cooperation program.
He could receive limited communication.
He had sent Tessa exactly three letters.
The first apologized.
The second contained a list of restaurants Greg might enjoy more than Bellini’s.
The third simply said:
I am learning that missing someone and controlling them are not the same thing.
I miss you.
I’m trying to let that be enough.
Tessa had read it approximately eighty times.
She had not responded.
Not because she did not care.
Because she needed to discover what her life looked like when Leo was not shaping the room around her.
She started working as an administrative coordinator at her father’s care facility.
Then, with money recovered from Evelyn’s trust, she moved Michael into a smaller rehabilitation home near her apartment.
Her father improved.
Slowly.
He remembered more now.
Some memories hurt.
Others repaired pieces of her childhood.
Greg remained a friend.
They never had a second romantic date.
Three weeks after the shooting, Greg confessed that every time he considered kissing her, he imagined Leo emerging from a ventilation shaft.
Tessa laughed until she cried.
He later began dating one of the physical therapists at Michael’s facility.
Apparently she enjoyed actuaries.
There truly was someone for everyone.
Tessa walked into the library.
Leo’s desk remained.
“Carlo.”
“Yes?”
“Why did he keep this room untouched?”
Carlo hesitated.
“The sale instructions say you can take anything you want.”
“What?”
“Anything.”
“I don’t want anything.”
“I said that.”
“What did he say?”
Carlo mimicked Leo’s flat voice.
“Then she can take nothing.”
Tessa smiled.
“That sounds more like him.”
Carlo handed her an envelope.
“This came yesterday.”
Her name.
Leo’s handwriting.
Tessa opened it.
Tessa,
My lawyer tells me I may be released next week.
Before you panic, this is not a dramatic announcement.
I will not appear outside your apartment.
I will not station guards around your building.
I will not investigate anyone you date.
Carlo is making me include the last sentence because apparently I asked too many questions about Greg.
I am moving to a small house outside Boston while the rest of my agreement is completed.
I don’t know what I am without Santoro Estate.
I don’t know what I am without people obeying me.
For the first time, that interests me.
I also don’t know whether there is a place for me in your life.
That decision belongs entirely to you.
If the answer is no, I will respect it.
If the answer is yes, even partially, there is a café on Chandler Street.
Saturday.
8 p.m.
No guards.
No background checks.
No burgundy-dress-related orders.
Leo.
Tessa read the letter twice.
Carlo pretended not to watch.
“What café?”
“Apparently he researched—”
Carlo stopped.
Tessa slowly looked up.
“He researched it?”
“He asked me to research the café.”
“Boundary violation.”
“He wanted to know whether it had wheelchair access in case you brought your father.”
Tessa’s anger dissolved.
“Oh.”
“Also whether it had tiramisu.”
She laughed.
Saturday arrived.
At 7:52 p.m., Tessa stood inside her apartment wearing jeans.
Then she changed.
Not because of Leo.
Because she wanted to.
The burgundy dress still fit.
She had nearly thrown it away after Bellini’s.
Instead she kept it.
The dress no longer represented the night Leo tried to control her.
It represented the night Tessa refused.
At 8:04, she entered the café.
Leo was already there.
He stood when he saw her.
And froze.
His eyes moved over the dress.
Tessa waited.
Leo swallowed.
“No comment.”
She smiled.
“Very good.”
“I have undergone significant personal development.”
“You look terrified.”
“I am.”
He had changed.
His hair was slightly longer.
He had lost weight.
No tailored three-piece suit.
Dark trousers.
Black sweater.
No visible weapon.
No guards.
Just Leo.
“Tessa.”
“Hi.”
His voice softened.
“Hi.”
She sat.
He sat opposite.
For the first few minutes, they discussed coffee.
It was painfully normal.
Tessa loved it.
Leo finally said, “How is Michael?”
“Better.”
“I’m glad.”
“He asks about you.”
Leo looked surprised.
“What does he say?”
“Mostly that you need a haircut.”
Leo touched his hair.
“I was detained.”
“He remains judgmental.”
“Reasonable.”
Tessa smiled.
“What happens with your case?”
“I avoided organized-crime charges tied to Antonio’s operation because of cooperation, but I pled guilty to financial offenses and obstruction connected to older Santoro businesses.”
“Sentence?”
“Time served, probation, restrictions, substantial forfeiture.”
“You’re free?”
“As much as anyone is.”
She nodded.
“And what do you do now?”
“I bought a woodworking business.”
Tessa stared.
“You what?”
“I like furniture.”
“You’ve never built furniture.”
“No.”
“Do you know how to use a saw?”
Leo looked offended.
“I have used many tools.”
“For legal purposes?”
He considered.
“Not consistently.”
Tessa laughed.
People turned.
She did not care.
Leo watched her with quiet wonder.
“What?”
“I missed that.”
Her laughter faded.
“I missed you too.”
His breathing stopped.
Tessa continued.
“That doesn’t mean everything is fixed.”
“I know.”
“I don’t want the version of you who thinks jealousy equals love.”
“I don’t want him either.”
“I need my own apartment.”
“Yes.”
“My own job.”
“Yes.”
“My own friends.”
“Yes.”
“If I date you and decide I don’t want to anymore—”
“You leave.”
“You don’t send men after me.”
“No.”
“You don’t buy the apartment building.”
Leo looked guilty.
Her eyes widened.
“You already checked whether you could?”
“No.”
“Leo.”
“I wondered.”
“Oh my God.”
“I did not act.”
“That is an extremely low bar.”
“I’m climbing.”
She laughed again.
Then Leo became serious.
“I don’t expect forgiveness because I changed some behavior.”
Tessa studied him.
“I know.”
“I just want the opportunity to know you without employing you, protecting you without controlling you, and care about you without treating fear like permission.”
Her throat tightened.
“That sounded rehearsed.”
“My therapist made me write it down.”
Tessa nearly choked on her coffee.
“You have a therapist?”
“I hate him.”
“That means he’s probably excellent.”
“He asks how things make me feel.”
“Horrifying.”
“Exactly.”
She smiled.
Leo looked at her hand resting on the table.
“Can I?”
She turned her palm upward.
“Yes.”
He placed his hand over hers.
No grip.
No possession.
Just warmth.
At eight forty-seven, dessert arrived.
Tiramisu.
Tessa stared.
Leo looked innocent.
“You ordered this?”
“The café serves it.”
“Did you check before choosing the place?”
“I refuse to answer without counsel.”
She laughed.
Then she took a bite.
May you like
For the first time, a date with Leo Santoro felt ordinary.
And perhaps that was the strangest miracle of all.
