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I smiled at her through the vanity mirror. “Okay. Just checking. And that was lunch not dinner.”
My mother was almost never around. We had a non-existent relationship. But she was here now, acting as if no time had passed. She was beautiful, one of the most stunning women I’d ever known.
“This dress will look incredible on you. I remember when I had a tiny waist and perky boobs. Oh, to be young again. Don’t get old, sweetie.” She sighed at the memory and set the hanger back on the hook. My mom walked up behind me, resting her hands on my shoulders. “You’re so much like me when I was your age, Gianna. I have a picture of me with your father when I was about twenty-five. I wore a dress similar to the one you’re wearing tonight. Your dad took me down to the waterfront for dinner, and then we danced at the edge of the river, drinking from a bottle of wine we stole from the restaurant.”
“You stole something? Mom, I can’t believe my ears.” Jokingly, I covered my ears, my eyes wide with mock disbelief. “How dare you? I thought you were a saint.”
She tilted her head back and laughed. “That’s what your father wants you to believe. I was like you once, Gianna. Your father was a bad boy who hung out with the wrong crowd. I thought he was so cute. All of my friends were jealous when I won him over. He did all the wrong things when it came to earning a living, but when it came to me, especially after we had you, he did everything right.”
“He’s a good dad,” I admitted because it was the truth.
My mom sat behind me on the edge of the bed and gathered my hair in her hands. “Angelo’s like your dad, only worse.”
“I know how you feel about him, Mom. You hate Angelo, I get it.”
She shook her head and continued playing with my curls. “No, not at all. He treats you well, and as far as I know, he’s never done anything to hurt you.”
“Then, why don’t you like him? I love him, Mom. I’m going to marry Angelo after I get accepted to the Pennsylvania Bar. He’s going to be the father of my children… your grandchildren.”
“I know, I know.” She sighed. “I wish his business was more… legitimate. Like your father.”
I laughed. “Carlini Construction isn’t as squeaky clean as you think. We have mobsters on our payroll. They don’t even come into the building to work. Most of them are faceless men, nothing more than names on a check we mail out each month.”
“Your father made a promise to me last week. He said he was pulling away from the Morellis for good. Tonight’s the last night we’ll have to deal with them.”
“You say it like tonight’s the beginning of the end. Even if Dad pushed all their guys off our payroll, there’s more damage control that has to be done. It’s not that simple, Mom. And you do realize that I’m marrying into that family. I will become a Morelli someday.”
“That doesn’t mean they have to run every aspect of your life, sweetie. The company belongs to you and this family, not theirs. Carlini Construction is your birthright.”
“I would never let them ruin our company.” I applied a coat of lipstick and used a tissue to blot. “Leave all that stuff up to Dad and me. We will take care of it.”
“I’m so proud of you, Gianna. You have no idea. I wish I was more like you when I was your age.”
“You just said you were like me.”
“No, not like you in that sense. I made the same bad decisions which ended up turning out okay in the end, but I never had your fight, your drive.”
“Do you approve of me wanting to marry Angelo?” The question of the hour. I’d always assumed my mother hated him because of the snide remarks she’d make about him in passing.
“I think you should marry someone you can’t live without, someone who makes you so happy.”
“I have that with Angelo,” I whispered. “No one makes me feel the way he does. When we’re together, it’s as if I’m the only person alive. I’m strong when I’m with him. He gives me so much more than his love. Other than Dad, Angelo is the best man I know.”
I left out the part about how he kills people for a living to save her the headache. But I meant every word I spoke about Angelo. It wasn’t a sales pitch I made up to spin for my mother.
My mom smiled at me. “Then, yes, I think you should marry him. How about we get you ready for the party and get the hell out of here?”
“Sounds perfect.”
Stuffy catered events were not my thing. As much as I tried to act the part of a councilman’s daughter, I knew nothing about being on the right side of the law. My father’s colleagues stopped at our table to chat. I offered fake stories to them, leaving out the corrupt truths. We talked about law school, and even Angelo chimed in about how we were only a few months away from graduation.
The night was average, nothing special or out of the ordinary. It was weird to sit with the Morelli family at a public event. Some of the people in the room cast nervous stares in our direction while others embraced having mobsters dine with them. It was a weird night.
To some people, the Don was like a local celebrity. They knew he had more power than most of the people in the room combined. But a few of them had something he needed most—the ability to sway contracts in his company’s favor. Even someone with Angelo Sr.’s pull needed help on occasion.
My mother drank flutes of champagne like a champ, trying to pretend as if she didn’t hate all of this as much as the rest of us. She lifted two more off the tray a waiter held out to her. “Honey, you want one?”
I shook my head. “I’m good.”
