I don’t even blink. ‘You have a right to a partner who is presentable to a room full of your daughter’s nearest and dearest...’ Which will include Nonna, her mother, and Aunt Netta, her sister... I’m quick to shake off the image of that particular showdown before it takes hold. ‘Not some...ragazzo.’
I flick him a look. It’s not even his fault. My mother still has her looks and, thanks to the knife and her injection regime, looks half her age. But this is Dani’s wedding and I won’t let her ruin it. Not via embarrassment, drunken debauchery or any other such nonsense my mother is prone to.
She’s ruined enough of my sister’s life already.
‘I am not going without—’
‘It’s my car, my rules and you will, if you want to see Dani married.’
The familiar shudder returns. Married. But it’s what Dani wants, and I trust Tyler to look after her, to do right by her. But married...the holy state of matrimony... No. Just no.
I stop my teeth from grinding and stare Marianna down. Watch as she blusters anew, assessing me for weakness and finding none. I’m cold, I’m ruthless and people do as I say. My mother included.
I see the second it registers, the high colour deepening beneath the thick layer of make-up as her shoulders sag and she blows out a breath.
Acceptance. Finally. Grazie a Dio.
My own shoulders ease, the throbbing ache in my skull ramping up now the tension has eased.
Painkillers, a nightcap and sleep. That’s what I need.
I just need to keep it all ticking along nicely for seven days. No drama, no mishaps, no mess.
I should have been at the castle hours ago. I should have been there to greet Dani and Tyler. Instead, I’m here, collecting my mother from the arms of her latest lover before she can bring this humiliation to my sister’s wedding.
Not a great start.
I scowl at her back as she fawns over him now and says goodbye.
What I wouldn’t give to have a normal mother. Not some ex-model with a non-existent heart and delusions of grandeur that well surpass her own income. Not to mention her string of lovers...
Seven days. She just needs to go without for seven days.
I certainly am. No plus-one. No distraction.
This week is all about Dani.
Keep one woman under control and the other happy.
Simple.
Or so it should be...but the emerging headache and our family history tell me it will be anything but.
* * *
I’m not sure how long I’ve been outside, but I have no wish to go back in. Not even the distant rumble of a car on the private driveway some time ago could pull me away from this little oasis, with the buzzing cicadas and crickets in the air, and the pool lapping over its infinity edge just beyond my feet.
I could lie here all night on the linen-draped cabana, a mattress as big and as soft as the one inside beneath me, the starry sky peeking through the latticed, vine-covered roof above. There’s just something so peaceful about the music of nature and the gentle ripple of the water, all softly lit and glowing aquamarine. The temptation to dive right in and cause ripples in the calm water, swim until my muscles ache, until I’m fatigued enough for sleep, calls to me.
I trail a lazy hand over my front. I really should have worn my bathers. I doubt the chlorine would be kind to my silk lingerie...but there’s always skinny-dipping. It’s what Dani would do for sure. Me...?
It’s what I would have done. Pre-Bobby. Pre-marriage. Pre-grief.
I roll onto my front and force away the melancholy. I want to keep hold of this magical moment. This feeling of freedom, of just living and enjoying the world. I look at the water still calling to me and my lips curve up. I could so do this...
You haven’t got the nerve.
My smile dies. It’s Bobby’s voice in my head now.