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We were heading to dinner with the uncles at a very posh club in town. They’d asked me to join them so I could be introduced to their American clients. I knew they also wanted to show off my skill at speaking English. I agreed, of course, curious to learn about their clients so Ugo could fill Elio in on what their next move might be. At least I got to wear my new dress. I knew Elio would love the dress, and I felt bothered that he wasn’t going to see it. It was strapless and had gold gems of all different sizes that formed a unique pattern starting from the center outward. It matched my diamond upside down triangle necklace and matching diamond cuff.
A sudden feeling of uneasiness came over me as her face popped up in front of me, and I gave in to the memory of who I’d seen the other night.
“This can’t get out. My family can never know. And what if Elio now knows the truth? What if she told him?” Her voice chilled me to the bone. What was she doing here? What on Earth was her involvement with the Coppolas, other than dating Theo a lifetime ago? The questions circled around and around in my brain.
“That’s not my problem.” Nonna Rosa cleared her throat as though uneasy around Elio’s Aunt Noemi. “You moved on from my son and got pregnant by a Capri.”
“I moved on because I wasn’t good enough in your eyes. At least I loved Theo.”
“Loved?” Nonna Rosa questioned her. “Or did you just see power and money to live a comfortable life?”
“Look,” she glared, clearly annoyed with the conversation taking a turn, “I need to know if that girl knows things. If my life is about to come crashing down, I need to do damage control.” She leaned forward. “I never breathed a word about anything to anyone in the Capri family when I left. My loyalty was always with you.”
“And we left you alone as promised.”
“Until you needed something, and I did try to deliver.”
“No, you didn’t, but your mother did and failed.”
“You should never have gone to my mother. Look,” Noemi closed her eyes, “just give me a chance to talk to Sienna, and if she knows something, I’ll deal with her myself. Make sure she keeps quiet.”
“And what do you have in mind?”
Wait. What might I know? That she dated Theo? That was the past and none of my business. From knowing Noemi in the short time I had, she seemed kind and quiet, and I had no clue what she was referring to.
My ears caught her words again. “I know something that will crush their lives with one simple name.”
“Beware what card you remove from the stack. You’re close to crumbling what power you have left.”
“You have no idea how I’ve stacked my deck against you.” Nonna’s cane scraped into the floor, but she remained silent. “Don’t forget, Rosa, you’re not the only one who knows the good doctor’s name.”
“No.” Nonna stood, completely unaffected by Noemi’s statement. “That’ll only pull her focus from where it needs to be. That’s done and over with now.”
“It’s still something that will—”
I stepped back and hit a picture frame. It fell to the floor with a clatter, and I froze for a split second until I heard the click of a cane and then bolted. I came face to face with that scary Coppola neck-tattooed soldier. I didn’t know what it was about that line of crosses that freaked me out, but it took everything for me not to scream. Instead, I ran up the stairs, into my room, and dove under the covers. I boiled with anger. What could Aunt Noemi possibly know that could destroy me and the ones I love? Did she know something about Elio, something that could hurt me if I knew? Hadn’t I suffered enough in my relationship with that family?
Ugo touched my arm, and I jumped, blinking back to the present. “What’s wrong with you?”
“Nothing,” I insisted and tried to push the questions from my mind.
“You’d better pull yourself together. We’re here.”
“Yes, okay.” I fumbled out of the car, my heels wobbling on the gravel. I walked toward the big gray door then turned back to look at Ugo, who was typing something into his phone. I waited for him to join me, then the soldier opened the door for us.
I made an effort to do as Ugo had directed and gathered my thoughts as I walked toward the table. Around it sat several men and one woman. They all eyed me from my Gianvito Rossi shoes to my long, wavy, still-damp hair as I approached. A side door opened, and the beat of music could be heard from the club a floor below us. I dismissed the distraction and looked back to the people in front of me.
“Ah, you must be the ghost from the past.” A rather tall man chuckled as he took my hand and kissed the top of it, making sure to pay homage to my ring. His English had a slight accent, but I couldn’t place it. He introduced me to everyone in turn, and I made a point to look each one in the eye and repeat their names.
My chair was pulled out for me, and I sat down and crossed my legs. Then I turned to look over my shoulder as everyone’s eyes slid off to someone else. I did a double take as Salvo sat down next to me and draped an arm around the back of my chair.
Pippo gave me a slight nod and leaned in, turning his face away from the others. “Salvo shared with me that you two are dating. He would be a solid pick and one my brothers and I approve of.”
Seriously? I wanted to glare at Salvo. He sure hadn’t wasted any time letting the uncles know about our conversation the other day.
“I hear your English is quite good.” The woman in the group pulled my attention over to her, and I could tell by the way her gaze kept raking over me then going back to the men that she and her colleagues were skeptical.
“It is.”
