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Oh.Yeah, that makes sense. I can see why her claws came out. I open my mouth to explain, but she cuts me off.
“Carlo has already explained and I trust that the two of you have genuine feelings for each other.” She takes my hands in hers. “And so grateful, as well.”
I smile, a warm feeling enveloping my chest. “It’s no problem, ma’am.”
She sighs. “I have to do this with every single one of you girls,” she mutters under her breath. “You don’t have to call me ma’am. It’s Martina, okay? Are we clear?”
“Crystal,” I assure her.
She beams. “Look at you. You’re so beautiful, and you look so much like your mother.”
“Really? Most people say I look like Dad,” I muse.
“Nonsense. Salvador’s a brute.” Martina laughs. “Anyway, I must talk to your parents soon. We’ll have a wedding to plan. Carman must be dancing right now wherever he is. It was a secret wish that you would marry one of his boys.”
“It was?” I ask, surprised.
I’m not sure how to feel about that. I try not to judge but after all the crazy things I see in the E.R., It’s hard not to feel a little angry with a man who put a gun in the hands of a fifteen-year-old boy.
“Carman had his faults,” Martina says, and my eyes widen. Is everyone in this family a mind reader or something? “But one thing I’m sure of is that he loved his sons and he wanted the very best for them.”
I can’t ask her about the bullet necklace in case she has no idea. But there’s one other thing I’m really curious about.
“If you don’t mind my asking, Mrs. D’Angelo…” She looks at me sharply and I quickly amend my words. “Martina. How did he die? Carlo’s father.”
There’s no way I could ask him. Not after last time.
“Oh, he was in a car accident, sweetheart. He was driving home in the snow. The roads were icy and his car ended up going off the road and he drove into a tree. He was still conscious when he was taken to the hospital and we thought he’d be okay, but there was internal bleeding in his brain. He passed away a few days later.”
“That sounds awful,” I breathe.
“It was all so sudden. I’m sure Carman hated the way he went out. He probably would have loved to die in the middle of a shootout or something. Not a car accident he had no control over.”
“I’m so sorry.”
She offers me a warm smile. “You don’t have to say sorry, sweetheart. It was a long time ago. I’m better now.”
“Still, it can’t have been easy. I can’t imagine losing Carlo. It would crush me.”
Martina’s smile widens. “Seeing as you’re comparing losing my husband of more than twenty years to losing your boyfriend, I’m guessing it’s pretty serious.”
My mouth drops open. “Oh, no. Martina, I didn’t mean—”
“It’s alright, Astoria. I’m very glad he found his person. If things get hard, you can always come to me. I’ll set him straight. He can be pretty headstrong and he never listens to anyone.”
I blow out a breath. “Tell me about it.”
Martina laughs. “You’ll be fine. Just be patient when it comes to him.”
“I’m trying to be.”
Her brown eyes glide over my face, her expression studious. Her eyes are warm and kind when she speaks again.
“Carman was always so ambitious when he was alive. He never backed down. He adored and doted on all his sons but he employed a much firmer hand with Carlo. Carlo was his first son and Carman wanted to mold him in his own image, I guess. With Christian, he didn’t have to try so hard because Christian’s exactly like him. But Carlo took a lot more effort.” She pats my hand. “I’m telling you this because I have a feeling he hasn’t opened up to you about his relationship with his father.”
I stare, wide-eyed. Mind readers, I swear.
“He will on his own time. Carlo has a lot of suppressed feelings. I know you’ll get them all out eventually.”
