I study Valentina. I can believe she’d want to take baby steps.
“Did you know about my foster care? How I went from home to home?”
Gianna takes over. “We don’t know much, Francesca. We focused on getting your name and where you were. It felt wrong to dive into your life.” She pauses, her face softening. “I’d like to hear about how you grew up. If it was good or bad. If you were happy. I pray that you were.”
I shake my head. This isn’t the time or the place. “I’m still wrapping my head around this. Why haven’t you contacted me since then?” I direct my gaze at Valentina. She’s obviously in charge.
She nods. “We’ve been working up to it—”
Gianna flicks her hair. “Valentina was scared you might cause a scandal.”
Valentina sighs. “That’s not the whole truth. Scandals blow over these days, but we do care about the family business and have a reputation to maintain. We weren’t ignoring you. We’d been grieving for our parents, and the letter—well, it kind of blindsided us. We were mulling over how to approach you, and then we saw you at the gallery wearing the locket, and it hit home for us. We were planning to approach you after that, but—”
“My fiancé broke up with me a week later,” Gianna interrupts. She sniffs. “I’ve been a mess these past few weeks.”
“Gianna, I’m so sorry,” I say. “Your tattoo ...”
She waves me off. “I’m keeping it as a reminder not to fall for jerks again. I’m doing better. Trust me. I’m just sorry we took so long and now you’re here finding us.” She walks over to me, stares at my locket, and smiles. “That was a wedding gift to our grandmother, Frances. He may have pawned everything else, but he made sure he left it with you, the eldest grandchild.”
“I’m not giving it up,” I say wryly.
She smirks. “I am a little jealous that it’s an heirloom, but it’s yours. I prefer diamonds anyway. You’re also entitled to an inheritance from our grandfather. Even though your father was cut out of the will, his descendants were not.”
Mr.Darden rubs his hands. “Now we’re getting to the nitty-gritty. How much is it?”
I glare at him, and he shrugs.
Valentina pops an eyebrow at him. “If the DNA fits, our lawyers and accountants will figure it out.”
Gianna scoffs. “Come on, Tina; look at her. She’s you! But way more fun!”
I blink as Gianna crushes me in a hug. “I enjoyed my time in your tattoo chair. And that Edward—I wanted to kill him.” She pauses as she considers my face. “Would you like to get to know us better, Francesca?”
There’s silence in the room as everyone looks at me.
I hear the hushed tinkle of dishes as the housekeeper brings in coffee and croissants.
Darden’s breathing. Mine.
Theirs.
Dante was my father. I know it in my soul.
He was a wreck but left his mother’s locket with me. He never sold it, so maybe his family did mean something to him. Why else would he write the letter to his brother to let him know about me? Maybe he never came back home because of blame and guilt over his mother.
He walked away because he was an addict. Perhaps he was devastated with grief. Perhaps he would have been a better man if she’d lived and they’d raised me. Or perhaps I was always meant to walk a harder journey. Or maybe my life was the better journey.
I inhale sharply, connecting a faint similarity between Tuck and Dante. Dante may have wanted a family with my mother—I’ll never truly know until I read his letter—but he gave me up because he didn’tthink he was good enough to take care of me. In a way, Tuck feels the same.
After a hellish last few days, a sense of peace settles around me. I reply to Gianna’s question. “I have family. We all live on the Upper East Side in the same building for the moment. Cece is moving to California soon.” A breathless laugh comes from me as I hug Gianna. “I’m also pregnant, so you have a cousin coming, and yes, I’d love to get to know you and Valentina.”
Valentina watches us stiffly from her chair, but I see a sheen of tears in her gaze. A smile, a very small one, crosses her face.
I glance over at Darden as he dabs his eyes with his hankie.
“Allergies,” he grumbles under his breath, and I smile.
Chapter 22