Outside the tent, Gael and Giovanni walked towards the tree where several homeless people were. It was a cold evening, but the people knew to wait as they expected what was to come next after dinner.

Gael was familiar with a lot of these street people. Some of them had degrees or even had jobs—but were just homeless. All of them were only trying to get through another day. Every dollar helped, so although giving them money was only a temporary solution, it was still help nonetheless.

"Hey, Kid," he called the boy in his early teens who was leaning on a bush. The boy came near him and looked up to his height, but he kept a safe distance between them. Gael had seen him around with his grandmother in the past year. Sometimes, they'd go to shelters but then end up leaving the next few days. "Where's your Nan?"

"She's by the bridge. Her knees are in pain, so she couldn't come," replied the boy, his dark eyes filled with cautiousness as if he didn't want to be too close to Gael.

Respecting the boy wanting to keep his distance, Gael nodded towards the tent and told him, "Come with me, and we'll get her something."

He didn't wait for the boy to respond. He knew he'd follow, knowing that he could bring some food back to his grandmother.

As they walked towards the tent, Gael heard people chanting, asking someone to sing. This wasn't new, so he didn't think much of it. When he stepped into the entrance, his eyes immediately looked for Angela but didn't see her at the food table where he was headed to. He was just about to ask Alice when a soft voice caught his attention.

He turned his head and spotted Angela in the middle of the room with Elisa hugging her arm. And it was then that he realized the soft singing voice was coming from her. Angela had just started singing "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas", and the room became silent.

Gael blinked as if he didn't believe that she was the one singing. But when he saw his niece, Elisa, slowly pulling away and stepping back with her mouth hanging open and her eyes full of surprise as if she couldn't believe it herself either, he was sure it was Angela.

Holy mother of—. Angela's voice was...angelic. How had he not known or heard about her singing like this before? Well, he did hear her in the past, but it wasn't anything like this. Those times she did 'sing', she sounded quite playful as if she was masking what she was really capable of.

This one, however… she was…ethereal. What the hell—heaven? Ethereal? It's like it was the first time he'd ever use that to describe someone's voice. Angela's voice was that amazing! Her eyes closed, and her head slightly tilted to the side, along with her shoulders and hands lifting like she couldn't help herself but do something with them to help her sing and hit the notes. It was beautiful. She's beautiful.

His heart began racing, and he didn't understand why. He'd been staring at her and hadn't looked away since he laid eyes on her. Listening to her sing made him feel like he was fûcking floating. There wasn't even any background music accompanying her voice, and yet she sounded like she didn't need it at all. It was smooth and delicate—like feathers touching his chest. What the hell was this?

Gael's heartbeat was so fast. He was afraid it would break his chest open. He placed his hand over it as if that would make it calm down. If he was feeling this, then others could be feeling it too. He wanted to boast that she was his—though they hadn't put a label on their relationship, he felt that she was his. At the same time, he almost wanted to shove everybody out of the tent so no one else could hear her sing. He wanted to bottle her up and keep her all to himself.

When she finished the song, she took the time to open her eyes, and when she did, they landed on his. And just like that, Gael couldn't breathe.

Applause erupted in the place, and someone yelled something, but he didn't hear any of it. He caught her gaze, and he held it. She smiled, and that's when he remembered to breathe. His lips curled into a smile—one that she was the only one capable of eliciting from him. And without even knowing why, he whispered, "Thank you."

'Thank you for existing,' he said in his head. It wasn't quite enough to satisfy what he wanted to tell her, but it was the closest.

Angela hadn't dropped her gaze, too, even as she walked towards him. His arms naturally wrapped around her waist as soon as she entered his space. He couldn't wait to be alone with her. "Let's get out of here."

She nodded.

Before they left the tent, Gael told Alice to give the boy a packed meal for his grandmother, and then he gave him two hundred bucks discreetly. "Stay out of trouble, kid," he said and then turned to leave the tent with Angela in tow, saying goodbye to his family on the way.

They bumped into Giovanni outside. He was talking to their female cousin, Val, who was quite active in their family business. Angela met her at Nonna Flavia's this morning, but Val left soon after.

"You leaving?" Gio asked.

"Yeah. We're heading to Williamsburg," Gael answered briefly.

Val smiled at Angela. "Alright. See you later at the Manor."

Gael furrowed his brows, but before he could say anything else, Angela had already asked, "Where? Whose Manor?"

"Gio's." Val nodded towards Giovanni. "His club. We're heading there after this."

"We're not coming," Gael answered. "We'll be heading straight to the airport from my house. We have to fly back tonight."

"It's still early. You can stop by for an hour or two. I'm sure Angela would like to unwind after the long day she had. Right, Angela?" Giovanni smiled before lighting up a cigarette and blowing it away.

"Um…" Angela shifted her gaze from Giovanni and Val to Gael. The latter didn't look at her as he directed his glare at his cousins. "I'm not sure. I'm just tagging along wherever he's going."

Val revealed a broad and charming smile—one that she'd used on men to get what she wanted and Gael hated that she was using it on Angela. Then she looked at him. "Oh, come on. Don't be a killjoy. You brought her here, cousin. Might as well show her around."

Ignoring Val, Gael checked his watch. They had about three hours before they needed to be at the airport. Then he addressed Giovanni, "I'll call you." He walked Angela towards his car without another word, deposited her in the front seat, rounded to the driver's side, and then drove away.

***

Williamsburg was densely populated with an amazingly rich cultural and artistic heritage. It had multi-million-dollar apartments next to factories and was one of the best places to live in Brooklyn. This was Gael's neighborhood half of his life when his mother was still alive. When he left for Italy with his father, he'd been coming back here regularly and still chose to stay in their old home whenever possible.

They pulled over in front of a brownstone, and he helped her out of his car. As they reached the steps, he turned to face her. "This is where I grew up."

Angela looked to her right and took in the beautiful exterior of the house. She took a deep breath, and he wondered what she was thinking about. "So this is where you stay whenever you're in Brooklyn?" She gazed up at him.

"Mm." He nodded.

"It's where you bring all your...girls?"

For a few seconds, he didn't speak. He didn't know what to do with his hands, so he shoved them into his pockets. "You're the first one I brought back here—if you'll come inside, that is."

Angela swallowed when he inched closer. "Gael, I—"

She blinked and slightly shook her head when something fell on her nose. A small gasp escaped her lips as she looked up, her eyes widening as if she was looking for something she didn't know what. "Oh, my god…" And then she looked back at him, her eyes twinkling as she softly giggled. "Gael…it's snowing!"

"Yeah," he muttered but didn't bother to look up or around them, his eyes locked at her face. Her lips were such a tease—he'd wanted to kiss her for the longest time. Was it dramatic to say, "it's as if time stood still"? Because that's how he fûcking felt—like they were in a god damn movie.

Still smiling and half giggling, she brushed something off his hair. Angela opened her mouth to say something, but Gael didn't get to hear it as he lowered his face and claimed her lips, shutting her up. His hand cradled her head, and in the next second, she was kissing him back with her hand on his shoulder and the other on his chest.

"I've wanted to do that since this morning," he said against her mouth.

She panted, her fingers curling on his coat. "Why did you wait so long?"