Page 41 of Useless Love

I swallow. “Yes, Mother.”

“Sorry,” Carmine says. “You ladies have fun. I have some work to do.,”

Mrs. Gaudino clears her throat and gives her son a pointed look. He adjusts his jacket, and says, “Well…maybe I can have one drink.”

“Good,” my mother says, her eyes full of warning.

***

All four of us head to a fancy Italian restaurant. I’m a bundle of nerves by the time we arrive. I trust Mother, but one can never be sure in our world. What if she’s plotting something? She was against this arrangement from the start.

As we approach the entrance, Carmine whispers to me, “I get the feeling your mother doesn’t like the marriage proposed by Bencivenga?”I nod, and he continues, “Guess I have to win her over then. Unless you two aren’t close.”

Shaking my head, I glance up at him. “You couldn’t find two closer people.” Another lie. I’m close to my mother, but I’d never tell her Carmine stuck his face between my thighs. She’d have a heart attack.

A server shows us to a table and we sit down awkwardly.

After ordering drinks, my mother gets right to it. “Our families have been at war for so long. I have longed for peace but didn’t imagine it would be this way.” She stares hard at Carmine. “Forgive me for being blunt, but it feels like your family is taking another one of my children. This time, one of my daughters.”

I stiffen. “Mother…”

“Princess, let her finish,” Carmine advises.

She nods at him and says, “My husband thinks this is a great idea, so he picked out the strongest daughter.” She shifts her gaze to me and I squirm. “Arianna is strong enough to survive anything, so it’s good you were matched with her. Her sister simply isn’t suited for your family.”

I sip my water nervously. What is mother doing?

“Regardless,” she continues, “a part of me feels there has been too much blood between our family to start mixing it.”

Mrs. Gaudino is very calm and folds her hands on her lap. “What other way do you see us making permanent peace?”

“The men could come up with something if they put their heads together.”

Mrs. Gaudino nods. “I understand your position. I would also be wary if my Clara was asked to marry your remaining son. But, mother to mother, I can assure you that I only want to welcome your daughter as one of my own.” She takes my mother’s hand, smiling warmly. “We’ve never had a say in what our idiot husbands decide. All we’ve gotten to do is watch our children die. I don’t want that anymore. And I know my son doesn’t either.” She wipes a tear from her eye.

My mother softens. “Thank you for that. It gives me some comfort.” She turns to Carmine.

“What about you, Carmine? Can you assure me, on your mother’s life, to be gentle, forgiving, and honorable to my daughter?”

Without hesitation, he says, “Yes. I know we’ve been enemies, but I’m loyal to my family. Arianna will be my wife, so I will be fiercely loyal to her. Trusting her with my life.”

Trusting her. I gulp more water and Mother glances at me, raising a brow. She probably understands that the look on my face is one of pure guilt.

Trying to distract myself from the guilt, I say, “Carmine won’t hurt the mother of his child.” Pointing in his direction, I add, “His words, not mine.”

Mrs. Gaudino laughs.

“Grandbabies already?” Mother says with a smile.

Carmine waits for the two mothers to stop laughing, then says, “Mrs. Bencivenga, I can understand how scared you feel marrying her into my family. I’m thirty-two, and she is months shy of twenty-one. But please don’t worry. Once we get married, I plan to honor my vows. No harm will come to your daughter. I swear on both my mother’s and sister’s lives.”

Mother reaches for Carmine and pats his hands. “I’ll hold you to that.” Then she asks something I’ve been needing to know too, “When is the date?”

“Good question,” Mrs. Gaudino says, eyeing her son.

Without hesitation, Carmine replies, “I have a big project to complete this month. After that’s finished, we can pick a date.” He looks at me and winks. “Promise.”

Leave it to my mother to get the job done. I’m relieved but also…soon he’ll be bedding Arianna. No more kisses for me.

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