Page 55 of Vow

“Since your breakfast.”

Oh, that.

Fuck.

He blamed his mother’s curiosity about the whole Ginevra and marriage thing on the fact she really wished Andino would hurry up, and settle down in life. Then, she could have a half of a dozen grandbabies to spoil.

He didn’t want to break his mother’s heart, but there was no way on God’s green earth that would be happening with the Calabrese daughter. It wasn’t that there was anything necessarily wrong with Ginevra except for the fact she wasn’t Haven.

And that was a whole host of problems for him.

“How did it go?” Kim asked.

She tried to sound flippant, but her tone came off entirely too sly for that nonsense. Andino gave his father a look—a silent plea to help him—but Giovanni acted like he hadn’t even seen a damn thing.

Nothing new there.

Gio was far more likely to indulge Kim, anyway. Not to mention, Andino was sure his father was also curious about how all that had went a few days ago, and what would be happening now.

“It went fine,” Andino settled on saying.

“Just fine?”

“Ma.”

Kim shrugged one shoulder, and leaned against the island as she stared at him. “Don’t blame me for wanting to know about her, or how you feel. I worry, Andino. It wasn’t like this happened over time. It was quick.”

To say the least.

“I feel fine,” he lied. “And the breakfast went well.”

Gio made a noise under his breath. “Even with the Calabrese there?”

Andino didn’t even try to hide the scowl that slipped over his mouth at that question. “Well, they made things interesting.”

Yes, that was a good way to put it.

Why the fuck not?

“And you like her, then?” his mother asked.

Oh, great. We’re back to that again.

“Ginevra is … pleasant,” Andino replied.

He knew that was the wrong choice of words the moment they slipped past his lips, but there was nothing he could do now. They were out there, and his mother heard them. Which meant she also heard the fact he didn’t actually compliment his wife-to-be, or offer anything that might show he held some kind of affection.

Kim was not going to miss that.

At all.

“I see,” his mother murmured.

Gio sighed heavily and said, “It’ll take time, I think, to get past the … uncomfortable part of this whole arrangement.”

“You mean the fact she’s been told to marry me, and doesn’t want to?”

Kim frowned.