The nurse smiled, placed the linens on a rich red oak nightstand and then left the room again.

      Gia stared at her brother’s impassive face. So handsome. Their father used to like to joke that he didn’t look like anyone on the Trainello side of the family and that it was a good thing he was the spitting image of his mother or else he’d have to have him tested to make sure he was of his blood. A broad forehead, smooth dark brows, a slightly hooked nose and strong jawline and tousled glossy dark brown hair that shone almost black against the whiteness of his pillowcase. Growing up, Gia had had her share of friends who had sought out her company in the hopes of a chance to get closer to her older brother.

      Which was one of the reasons why the thirty-year- old wasn’t married yet. Why should he marry now, he said, when he was enjoying playing a field that widened every time he turned around?

      Now he lay alone in a room that was too dark, wallowing in the darkness of his own mind.