Page 23 of The Next Chapters

It had to be some sort of delivery or drop-off, she’d decided. She opened the door with that in mind, already speaking, “Sorry for shouting just there, but we have–” She abruptly cut herself off, blinking as she found herself face-to-face with, “Giulia?”

She voiced her name as if it were a question, but there was no denying who this woman was. She’d only met Giulia Gallo three times in the nearly fifteen years since she’d known Gianna – which was insane. Or, it should be insane, given how close she and Gianna had been for over a decade and: oh yeah, they were now married. With a child.

But that was Giulia.

Though Gianna’s blonde hair, blue eyes, and height had come from her father, there was still an undeniable resemblance to her mother. Their tan skin tones, high and sharp cheekbones, the literal shape of their bodies.

For the millionth time since knowing Gianna, Riley couldn’t help but marvel at the genetic lottery Gianna had won.

Unfortunately, that physical lottery had come at quite an emotional cost. And that reminder set Riley immediately on edge as she narrowed her eyes.

“Can I help you?”

“Raleigh?” Giulia asked, and it took Riley a moment to realize she was saying her name. And that, no, the pronunciation had absolutely nothing to do with Giulia’s slight-yet-present Italian accent.

Riley blinked at Giulia, a disbelieving laugh falling from her lips. “I – wow. It’s Riley, actually.”

Sometimes, when Riley thought about her own mother’s emotional detachment from her life, she would be confronted with thoughts about Gianna’s parents. At the very least, her mom undoubtedly knew Gianna’s fucking name.

“Perdonami, Riley,” Giulia annunciated, very clearly not sorry.

She slid her sunglasses up to rest on the top of her head, pushing back her perfectly professionally dyed glossy dark curls. And then stared, expectantly, at Riley.

Who stared back, her arms crossed over her chest. “Can I help you?” She repeated slowly, punctuating every word.

“I’d like to speak to my daughter,” Giulia answered smartly, her own hand coming up to rest on her hip as she peered over Riley’s shoulder and into her house. As if she could summon Gianna’s presence and bypass Riley, as she so clearly wanted to.

“Well, Gianna isn’t home.” Riley was so glad that was the truth because she would have wanted to send Giulia packing even if Gianna was inside. “And, furthermore, I don’t think she knew you were coming. Does she?”

She deliberately framed it as a question because Riley knew damn well Gianna had no idea about this visit. If she had, she would have told Riley.

Giulia deciding to drop into Gianna’s life was never good, and an unexpected drop-in was even worse. Riley was both suspicious and defensive.

Giulia’s dark eyes narrowed at Riley, even though she kept an icy smile affixed to her mouth. “It was an unplanned visit. Since I’m in town, I thought I should stop by.”

“And… you didn’t think you should plan to stop by at any time during Gianna’s pregnancy? Or when she gave birth? Or in the months since?”

God, the reminder of Giulia’s negligence toward Gianna made Riley’s blood boil.

Though Gianna hadn’t expected anything from her parents – she’d voiced as much to Riley many times – Riley knew that it still upset her on a deep level that her parents hadn’t reached out to even congratulate her on their pregnancy or Anya’s birth.

It took everything she had not to slam the door in this woman’s fucking face right here and now.

Giulia’s smile slipped into a disdainful look as if Riley were echelons beneath her. “Gianna knows how busy I am. I suppose, since I’m here, I can meet the baby.”

Riley wouldn’t have stopped the incredulous scoff even if she’d been able to. “No, you won’t be meeting our baby.”

“Ah, yes. Your baby,” Giulia’s voice absolutely dripped with disdain. “Gianna chooses to have a baby with your genetics, she changes her name, and then gives the baby she birthed your name as well. Dio santo. We send her to one of the best schools in the world, and she continues to make these stupid choices.”

Riley didn’t know what shocked her more – the fact that Giulia knew and retained any of these facts or that she seemed to… care?

But she wasn’t shocked enough to miss, “Stupid choices? Excuse you?”

Gianna’s decision to take Riley’s last name several months post-marriage had been a surprise to her but a very welcome one. Of course she’d love to share her name with Gianna, but Riley would have never suggested it. Even when Riley believed she’d marry a man, she’d always imagined keeping her own last name. She, quite simply, was Riley Beckett. So, it would have felt very hypocritical if she’d ever expected Gianna to give up her own name.

But Gianna had – in true, perfect Gianna fashion – gone to city hall to file for a name change on her own accord, simply saying, “I want to be your family in every way.”

She’d also told Riley while she’d been pregnant, “I want us both to have the same last name as our children. And I’m not a monster; we would never saddle our children with a hyphenated last name that includes Mäkinen.”

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