Didn’t her mother teach her any manners? Not that I had any room to complain. I ignored my mother most of the time when it came to anything proper but I wasn’t a caveman either.
While everyone around the table was dressed appropriately for dinner, Donatella looked as if she was ready for a rock-em sock-em mud wrestling match down at the local pub. She looked so out of place sitting with my family it was ridiculous. To make matters worse, my brother Giovanni invited the young hellion to stay at the family compound until he could figure out what was going on. Then to add insult to injury, he put me in charge of making sure her stay was comfortable.
What the hell did he expect me to do with her? We didn’t live on a farm. There were no animals in the backyard for her to corral. We did have a couple of stray cats roaming around the property. Maybe I could sick her on them. She looked like the type to know how to catch wild animals…with her bare hands. I did good most days to take care of myself. What the hell was I supposed to do with Penny’s sister? I wasn’t a damn babysitter and there was no way in hell I was going to have her follow me around like some lost puppy. I had a fucking reputation to uphold. If my friends got one look at the youngRebecca of Sunnybrookfarmgirl, I would never live it down.
No. I had to find someone else to watch the farm girl. Maybe Layla could do it. Planning a wedding couldn’t be that hard. Then again, if I asked her, she would tell Gio and then I’d be back in his office again for another lecture.
Nope. Layla was out.
Illyria could do it. Her social calendar wasn’t as extensive as mine, plus she was still in college. They would have loads to talk about and Illyria could introduce Donatella to a bar of soap and maybe some designer clothes. Yet I did hear her the other day say something about Aspen. I wondered if the farm girl knew how to ski? Probably not and I could already hear Gio shouting at me for letting her get hurt.
Damn.
“So, Donatella,” my sister Illyria said. “What college do you attend?”
“Georgia State and please call me Donnie. Everyone does.”
“Are you a freshman?”
“No, I’m a senior.”
“Wow, you look too young to be a senior.”
She smiled at that. “Yeah, I get that a lot. I graduated high school early. I’m actually nineteen but I will be turning twenty next month.”
I had to admit, she did look pretty when she smiled.
“What are you studying?” My brother Giovanni asked reaching for his glass of wine.
“Bio-medical engineering. I am working on a program that will hopefully someday detect the early stages of Alzheimer’s. If I can pinpoint the exact cause, maybe someday I can help find a cure.”
The table was silent as everyone just stared at her in shock at what she just said. Even I had to admit, I wasn’t expecting that. I thought she was going to say something like barmaid or bull trainer. Hell, I didn’t know what southerners studied. I barely made it through college myself and that was only because Penny rode my ass the whole way. If it wasn’t for her, I would have surely dropped out.
“Lorenzo, you better watch yourself around this one. She has the beauty and the brains,” my brother Antonio said, smirking.
God, I wanted to knock that smile off his face.
Smug bastard.
None of them understood the strain I was under. It wasn’t easy being the brother of Giovanni Valentinetti. It was bad enough being the twin of the golden boy but add in Antonio and Salvatore. Nothing I did was good enough.
I was the family fuck-up.
So I owned it.
I tried it my father’s way, Gio’s way and when none of that worked, I did what I did best. I did what I wanted. While my family lived their lives, I lived mine. I partied, hung out with friends and on occasion I volunteered. It was my way of giving back to the community. It wasn’t much but it was something.
Sitting before them all, while they all laughed and enjoyed each other’s company, I just stared at the young woman who was now my responsibility and I had no clue what to do with her.
To make matters worse, Giovanni refused to tell me what he believed was going on. I knew he was hiding something and when I asked, he said to me that the family would handle it.
As if I was just some stranger.
What the fuck.
Last I checked I was still a member of this family.
“Lorenzo,” Gio said my name gaining my attention. “The cleaners are done with your apartment. You may return home whenever you feel like it.”