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"So, how did you meet Massimo?" Diego asks.
I stop with my spoon halfway to my mouth. The only reason I accepted the invitation for dinner is the food. God, I’ve missed the food. My mom can be a bitch, but her cooking is still the best I’ve ever tasted. And she doesn’t even make too much of an effort. She seems to put the ingredients together without any measuring or tasting, and the dishes just take shape. I, clearly, didn’t inherit that flair from her, but then, I hope I am not a total shrew like her, either.
I bring the fork to my mouth and taste the pasta. The tangy taste of tomatoes, the acidic bite of garlic, the slightly sour flavor of the mozzarella cheese—all of it combines to explode on my palate. Not even the fact that I have to face the conversation I’ve been dreading takes away from the taste of the food. I swallow down the portion, then place my spoon back on my plate.
"He was at my friend Jeanne’s wedding to his brother, Luca."
"Clearly, the two of you got to know each other well," Diego murmurs.
Next to him, my mother opens her mouth as if to say something, but thinks better of it.
I whip my gaze in Diego’s direction. "What are you insinuating?"
"Just that it’s useful you’re already acquainted with him, since he’s going to be part of the family." He glances up and meets my gaze. "As long as it doesn’t interfere with your sister’s wedding."
That familiar anger knots my guts. A pressure builds behind my eyes. "Why don’t you come out and say what’s really on your mind?" I lock my fingers together in my lap.
He places his fork in his plate and blows out a breath. "Whatever happened between the two of you is of no consequence to me. Men like to fool around with women, but when they marry, they want to settle down with someone who is untouched and who can bear them children and keep their home—"
"All of which I am not. That’s what you’re implying, right?"
"You said it." Diego tilts his head. "You knew the road you were embarking on when you left home and decided to become an actress. I warned you it wouldn’t be easy. I warned you once you left, you couldn’t return to the fold. That the career you’d chosen would only bring you grief. And especially after what happened to your face—"
I resist the urge to touch the scar on my cheek.
"—it’s clear that your choices aren’t going to serve you well."
"But they were my choices. My mistakes and my successes, all of which I’m perfectly happy to contend with."
"Oh, you’ll have to do more than that. Life isn’t as simple as you think it is. You were sheltered in the family. Treated like a princess. Your every whim catered to. Our father spoilt you; he was lenient toward you. If it were me, I’d have never let you leave home in the first place."
"Good thing you’re not my father."Oh, Papa, you’re the only one who understood me. "If he were still alive, he’d have never agreed to this arranged marriage with theCosa Nostra."
"It’s because he was so lenient in his affairs and allowed his own clan to swindle him that I had to make this arrangement with theCosa Nostra. It’s the only way to strengthen our position and ensure that our future is taken care of."
"So, you’d barter our sister for that? You’d allow her to be treated as a piece of merchandise so thatyourfuture is secure?" I shoot back.
"I wonder if you’d be protesting so much if it were you who was the bride-to-be."
The blood drains from my face. "What are you insinuating, Diego?"
"If you feel so badly for your sister, why don’t you marry him instead?"
"Diego!" I lean forward in my seat. "You can’t treat us like commodities to shift around at will. Solene’s engaged to the man. You can’t go around making these kinds of statements. It’s not being fair to her."
"And you running out of the engagement, only to be followed by Massimo, is?" Diego steeples his fingers together. He narrows his gaze on me and there’s something in his expression that indicates he knows I had a relationship with Massimo.
I curl my fingers, so my nails dig into the palm of my hand. "Whatever there was between me and Massimo is over."
A silence descends on the table. My mother draws in a breath. I sense my sister stiffen, but don’t turn my head to look at her.
"There’s nothing between us now."
"So, you admit you had a relationship with him?" Diego taps his fingertips together.
I glance away. "It wasn’t a relationship. It was… nothing."
"It was something, considering how he rushed after you," Diego points out.
