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“I know, I know, it’s better not to say anything. It’s better that way. Just as long as I know you’re okay.”
“Yes, I’m okay, but I wish I could come home.”
“I wish that too. But your place is to be with your husband now. The men will sort it all out soon enough. Until then you have to stay safe.”
“Enough about me, Nonna. How have you been?”
“Oh, you know me. I’ve been fine. I’ve been trying to keep busy. The other ladies have been trying to keep my mind off things, but lately it’s just been one thing after another.”
“I know, and I’m sorry for all that. I don’t want you to be worrying, it’s not good for you. Please tell me that you’re taking care and trying to keep your stress levels down?”
“Yes, yes, don’t you worry about me.”
“I should be able to call you sometimes now.”
“Well, make sure you do what your new husband says. He will keep you safe.”
Afterward, I could see that the call had upset Cate and I couldn’t stop looking at her and worrying about her, although I could see that she was trying to hold back the tears in her eyes.
“I’ve got a headache,” she said quickly. “I think I’m going to get some fresh air.”
I watched her back as she rushed outside. I thought about going after her, but I decided to give her some space and time to herself.
Marco had also been in the room while Cate had spoken to her grandmother. I turned to him. “Now that both her parents and brother are gone, I’m glad Cate at least has her grandmother to talk to.”
Marco stared at me and then surprised me by asking me something he never talked about. “Alessio, do you ever miss Mom?” Marco and I never spoke to each other about her or what had happened.
“Yeah, I do.” I didn’t even need to think about my answer.
Marco frowned, but then replied, “Yeah, me too.”
***
By dinner that evening, Cate was back to pretending that she was fine.
However, I could clearly see she was unhappy, no matter how hard she tried to hide it. She was making an effort to act normally, but I couldn’t help but notice that she was reticent and mentally distant.
As we sat down to dinner, Juliana slammed a plate down in front of me.
“Juliana,” warned Marco, narrowing his gaze at her.
She pasted a sickly-sweet smile onto her face. “I hope you enjoy your meal, Alessio.”
“Thanks,” I said drily.
I eyed the plate of food in front of me. Juliana had made chicken parmigiana and served it with potatoes and a salad. I had noticed that at dinner each night, Juliana had been deliberately dishing up the most burned bits onto my plate, and tonight was no exception.
She was obviously still annoyed at me for the whole Cate situation. I knew from what Marco had said that Juliana didn’t approve of how I’d arranged the marriage without consulting Cate. From the looks Juliana kept giving me, I knew she wouldn’t be happy until I choked on one of her meals.
As we ate, Cate shrunk back from the dog who had approached the table. She edged closer to me, and I could see that Juliana’s pet was making her nervous.
“Camillo, for Christ’s sake, will you stop feeding that damn dog at the table,” I snapped. “It’s no wonder he always hovers at mealtimes, what with you constantly feeding him bits from your plate.”
“I wouldn’t be feeding him if there weren’t so many burned bits in my food that I wanted to get rid of,” he mumbled in response.
“Camillo, put a fucking lid on it,” growled Marco.
Marco was very protective of Juliana and didn’t want any criticism of her cooking upsetting her, especially now that she was pregnant. Our swift exit from the States to avoid the FBI had caused Juliana’s blood pressure to rise, and the doctor Marco had taken her to see at the Italian clinic said she needed to reduce her stress levels for the sake of the baby.
