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had he done it? He must’ve been nuts. Temporary insanity. Yeah, temporary for the past eight years.
    With a sigh, he knocked on the door of the neighboring brick townhouse. Toni answered in a matter of seconds.
    “Hey, Nic.” Her offhand tone belied the smile on her face. Since she’d turned twelve a few months ago, hugs had been few and far between. He tugged on the dark brown braid hanging over her shoulder, surprised by the denim skirt and pretty white top she wore.
    “Hey, Toni. How’s it going?” He moved inside as she shut the door.
    She shrugged, a carbon copy of her mother’s “I’m fine, everything’s fine” shrug.
    So, something had to be up.
    “Got somewhere to go tonight?” He glanced from the comfortable living room straight through the dining room and the kitchen. He didn’t see Mags.
    Toni gave him that shrug again. “Over to the church. There’s some dance or something Mom said I had to go to.”
    “I did not say you had to go, Antonia. I said you could go. There’s a difference.”
    Nic shifted his gaze to the stairway at the rear of the dining room, where Mags sat on the bottom step, looking at him with the most beautiful brown eyes he’d ever seen. He’d never wondered why his cousin Nino had fallen so hard for her.
    “Hey, Nic.” Mags’ voice was thick with south Philly. “You headed over to Vinnie’s?”
    He nodded. “Hate to miss Sophie’s spread.”
    That brought out her smile. God, the woman was gorgeous with her long dark hair and perfect body. He couldn’t believe she’d never remarried. She attracted men like flies. He knew because he’d been one of those pests before she’d married Nino. But Mags had only ever had eyes for his cousin.
    A familiar knife twisted in his chest. “You letting the kid go to a dance? Does she even know how to dance?”
    Mags’ eyes flashed with humor. “I don’t think you can call what they do dancing, can you? Looks like some pagan ritual to me.”
    Toni huffed but came close enough to Nic’s side that he could put his arm around her if he thought she wouldn’t shy away. “Hey, at least I get out there. You won’t even try. At Uncle Bob’s wedding, four guys must’ve asked you to dance, but you turned them all down.”
    “Yeah, well, you got your dancing feet from your father.” Mags spoke without a trace of melancholy. “Mine are both left feet.”
    Someone knocked on the door. Toni turned and yelled, “Just a minute,” then ran to kiss her mom goodbye. On her way back through the living room, she stopped to give Nic a tight squeeze around the waist. He embraced her before she could get away, not releasing her until she looking up at him. “Have a good time, kiddo. But not too good.”
    “Yeah, yeah.” She rolled her eyes. “I got the speech a million times. Night, Nic.”
    He watched until the door closed behind her then turned back to Mags, who came off the steps and sank into the couch with a groan.
    “God, Nic, she’s gonna be a teenager in less than a year. Can you believe it?”
    He fell into the recliner opposite the couch. “Not really.” He chuckled. “A dance at the church, huh? How’d you get her to go? And dressed like a girl, too?”
    Mags flashed him a smile. “She asked me. Said she liked to dance. She’s more like her father every day.”
    He let the knife sink a little deeper. “Yeah, Nino would’ve loved that. He could never get enough of it, even though he looked like a live chicken on a hot grill when he danced.”
    Mags’ smile turned bittersweet. “We used to have a great time, didn’t we?”
    Nic didn’t know if he should answer that question. Yeah, he and Nino and Mags had had a lot of great times before Nino had been killed. And Nic would never forgive himself for the fact that Nino wasn’t here to raise his daughter. And love his wife.
    “So, you comin’ over tomorrow to work on the bike?” Mags deliberately changed the subject, her dark eyes knowing. “Toni’s been