“That’s how I think we officially met,” I say, which is a pretty good non-answer and seems to satisfy Rella enough that she shrugs and lets Susi change the topic to more questions about a typical high school experience. Charlie helps answer those to take the pressure off me as we stroll down to the water and along the edge of the waves.
I let the wet sand stick to my feet and the ocean soak my soles. The girls chatter and I feel comfortable and at ease for the first time in a while, and I can almost forget what I’m here to do. But on the way back, I find myself walking with Charlie a bit behind the two younger girls, and I’m suddenly reminded that I need to fulfill my promise to Calvino.
“I’m curious, what were Calvino’s parents like?” I ask as casually as I can, but I notice Charlie flinches slightly and looks toward the water.
“His father was tough,” she says quietly, speaking into the wind like she wants her words to blow away. “Benvolio was a hard man, and I guess you have to be to run their family business. His mother, Letizia, was lovely though. She was all smiles and laughter and basically she was the light of the family. I think they’re a little darker without her.”
“Rella and Susi seem nice.”
“They’re really good people, but they’re a bit—” She grins at me, brightening. “I think ‘sheltered’ is a good word here.”
“That’s putting it mildly. What’s with Susi’s obsession with high school?”
“She’s going through a phase where she’s mad about everything she missed, I think. Don’t let it bother you too much, she means well.”
We rejoin the boys ten minutes later and I want to ask Charlie more about Calvino’s parents, but I notice Rella talking quietly to Vince near the grills, and both of them look over at me with squinting eyes and big frowns, like they’re saying something bad. I feel a shiver run down my spine and I hurry over to Calvino, who’s leaning back in a chair.
I crouch down next to him, put my hand on his leg, and smile big. “Can we talk?” I ask him as quietly as I can though I’m sure Jason notices.
“Sure we can,” Calvino says lazily. “Come on, let’s go inside.” He winks at Jason and leads me through the back door and into an empty, cavernous living room off to the left, away from the staff and any eavesdroppers.
“What did you tell Rella about how we met?”
He frowns slightly, arms crossed over his chest. “We met at the club. I told her the truth.”
“She acted like we might’ve met some other way.” I pace back and forth, tugging at my hair. “It really freaked me out. Then I saw her talking to Vince, and they were both staring at me—”
“Hey, Grace.” He catches my wrist and pulls me toward him. “Go easy. You’re spiraling.”
“I’m not spiraling.” I shove myself away and glare at him, arms crossed over my chest, heart racing. “I’m just not built to be a spy, okay? I know you caught me doing something crazy but that’s not really me, I don’t do stuff like this. I feel like a fake and a liar, and I’m talking to your sisters and Charlie like I’m a normal person, but I’m not, I’m a cheat and a fraud and—”
“Grace.” He says my name sharply and comes toward me. I stagger back, but he catches my waist and pulls me into him and I suck in a sharp, gasping breath as I look up into his eyes.
“Take a beat and try to calm down,” he says quietly, eyes like stones threatening to crush me. “Don’t act like you can’t do this all of a sudden. This is what you signed up for.”
“Calvino—”
“No, don’t try to tell me this is too hard. Don’t you get what’s happening? Susi’s whole high school bullshit, and Rella’s I-don’t-care attitude? They’re testing you.”
“Come on, that can’t be true.”
“It’s definitely true. They want to see how you react to them. They’re mafia girls, Gracie, they’re used to living on the edge all the time and it’s impossible for them to trust anyone. This is what we all do.”
“You’re talking like they’re bad people, but they’re not. And anyway, Charlie would’ve said something. She would’ve warned me.”
He sighs and runs the back of his knuckles down my jaw. “Mob wife,” he says quietly. “She’s just as bad as Sus and Rell. But they’re not bad people, not at all, only they find it difficult to genuinely open up to strangers. You just need some time, is all.”
I chew on my lip and look back at all those interactions. Rella seemed a little strange about her questioning, but it could’ve easily been discomfort or nerves or something like that, and Susi did seem like she was messing with me sometimes with some of those questions, like when she wondered aloud if sleeping with your teachers is frowned upon (Charlie assured her it most definitely is everywhere but in romance novels).