“Can both of you be there when she meets our parents tomorrow night?” He made a face as both of ours dropped into grim expressions.
“Look, man,” Francesco brushed his hands free of crumbs, “you know I have your back no matter what, but let’s be honest here. I’m not exactly welcome at your house.”
“Which is total crap,” I added angrily.
“It is, but it doesn’t change anything.” Francesco’s hand landed on mine. “Despite what people think about the Capri family, they’ve done good for Sicily.”
“Screw my parents.” Angelo’s face went red. “You’re a great man who loves my sister, and that should count.”
“It should.” Francesco took my hand and pulled me closer. “But it doesn’t change anything. Your parents made their minds up about the Capris long before they ever met me.” He leaned back and rested his head on the tree trunk. “I’m sure the fact that they met me for the first time with Piero didn’t help.”
“I’m still really sorry about the way they acted.” I lowered my gaze to my hands as I remembered how furious my parents were when we bumped into Piero Capri and Francesco at the shop next door. I was forced to introduce Francesco to them at a less than perfect time. They were very aware of who Francesco was with, and being in the insurance business, they were very aware of the crime that surrounded us. They forbid me to ever see Francesco again. Of course, I couldn’t stay away from him. I was madly in love, and we were now desperately trying to figure out what our next move was going to be.
“Fine, then. I get it.” My brother let it go. He knew there was no way Francesco could be there. “But you’ll come, right?” His eyes pleaded at me.
“You, in the hot seat with a girl, meeting our parents for the first time.” I laughed. “You couldn’t pay me to miss that.”
If only I had known the storm I would walk into when I arrived that night.
The sudden feeling of not being alone drew me from my memory.
“How long do you plan on watching me?” I asked without turning around. I felt the vibration as he pushed off the frame of the French doors and stepped out onto the hotel balcony with me.
“You always had a sixth sense when I was around.” He took a seat next to me and rested his ankle across his thigh. “What were you thinking about just then?”
“Angelo.” I flinched as I said his name, still feeling the sorrow that nipped at my core. “I miss him so much.”
“Me too.” He shifted and dropped his foot.
“Do you?” I murmured a challenge and stared directly into his eyes.
“Don’t.” He bit back a warning for me not to go there. It was the one topic we ran in circles with each other and had never come to see eye to eye on. It was the one topic that had nearly finished us many years ago. Only our strong love for one another held us together then, but, sadly, even it had run out along our painful path. He took a deep breath and changed the subject.
“I wanted to check in and see how you were after…last night. I saw that exchange with Noemi Capri.” The hairs on my arms stood when he said that Noemi was a Capri. The words started to come, but I locked my jaw, unsure I could trust him not to shut this entire thing down when he found out the truth.
“Don’t you do background checks on everyone?”
“Yes, and she had nothing to show.”
“Neither did someone else we know,” I countered then shifted my gaze off him. “We had a few run ins before. It’s nothing that important.” I waved it off.
“All right, Elenora, I’ll leave it for now.” He cleared his throat and waited a beat. “What do you have planned for today?”
“Well, I’m stuck in this hotel until I figure out what my next move is.”
“It’s not so bad.” He shrugged, and I ignored his comment. I was used to something much better, and I wanted it back.
“Have you spoken to Sienna since the party?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because she’s always surrounded bythem.” I tasted the hate on my tongue and let the comment linger in the air.
Francesco leaned forward and rubbed his face. “You’re back, Elenora, only you can choose what that means for her.”
“I planned on reaching out to her today.”