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“I don’t know,” she finally answered truthfully. Then she wanted to kick herself at the expression of utter distress on her aunt’s face at her response.
“Oh, Maya.” Her aunt gently cupped her chin in her hands. “My dear, sweet girl. I will never forgive myself for not reassuring you often and vehemently that you were always a loved and cherished child. Even before your parents were gone, your uncle and I loved you from the moment you were born.”
This time, there was no stopping the tears. Maya bit her lip to avoid making a spectacle of herself.
“Forgive me, my dear,” her aunt continued, “for not knowing that you might have felt that way for even one minute.”
“Please don’t say that,” Maya pleaded. “I should have known better. I should have come to you.”
Aunt Talley gathered her in her arms and held her tight. “Well, allow me to clear the air right now. Uncle Rex and I are both beyond impressed with and fiercely proud of the woman you’ve become. And we would feel that way no matter what you chose to do with your life. Because we love you, sweetheart. I’m sorry if we didn’t say that to you often enough.”
Maya couldn’t help herself; she leaned into her aunt’s embrace and accepted all the love and comfort the woman offered.
It may have been years in the making, but Maya finally felt a warm sense of acceptance and belonging that she’d only been denying herself for far too long.
And she knew she had Vito to thank for it.
* * *
Maya jumped in her seat at the booth as Lexie slammed a plastic-coated drinks menu on the table in front of her. “Pick something to order, already,” her cousin directed. “We’re on our second round.”
Maya made a show of opening the menu and pretending to peruse it. What she wanted to drink wasn’t available at the popular, trendy Mexican spot that had just opened in Southie. She didn’t need to look at it to know that this place didn’t carry a rich, fruity Valpolicella like the one she’d been poured the night Vito had kissed her for the first time.
“Hey, come on now.” Lexie settled into the seat next to her and nudged her shoulder. “It’s been two weeks, Maya Papaya. Try and have some fun tonight.”
“I’ll try,” Maya lied. She was being so unfair and beyond what could be described as a party pooper. This was supposed to be Lexie’s first real girls’ night out after having the baby and she didn’t want to cast a cloud of gloom over her cousin’s first outing as a new mom.
“You’re still thinking about him, aren’t you?”
Maya could only nod. “I’m sorry, Lexie. I should have just stayed home and not risked raining on everyone’s good time.”
Lexie wagged her finger at her. “We wouldn’t have let you. You’ve been doing enough staying at home since you got back. You go from work to home with a visit to the museum in between. We would have dragged you out if we had to.”
Maya leaned her head against her cousin’s shoulder. As much as she wanted to, she just couldn’t get into the party mood. More than one flirtatious man had tried to approach the table with the four laughing and drinking women. None of those men had even come close to evoking a spark of attraction. She couldn’t help but compare them to a dark-haired, charming Italian who’d stolen her heart only to crush it. Each guy had fallen way short in comparison.
“I take it you haven’t heard from your man yet?” Lexie wanted to know.
It struck Maya as more than a little funny. She’d been engaged to Matt for close to two years. But every time one of her cousins referred to “her man,” they meant the one she’d known for less than two weeks in Italy. A man neither of them had even met.
Not that the term was accurate. “He isn’t my man, Lexie. And, no, I haven’t heard from him. He hasn’t called or emailed. The sketch was delivered but his assistant’s name was listed as the sender.”
“What about you?” Lexie asked.
“What about me?”
Lexie performed an exaggerated eye roll at the question. “Why haven’t you called him?”
