Page 135 of Say It Isn't So

He snarled. “You say that now, but when it’s most convenient for you, you’ll take what you want and never look back.” He lifted his hand and pointed a finger at me. “Men like you don’t care what they have to do to get what they want. They cause damage and ask for forgiveness later. Well, I’m not my daughter, I don’t forgive and forget. Bianca has a big heart, so she may think she’s in love with you, but really she’s in love with the notion of you.”

The notion of me?What was that supposed to mean?

I heard a sound come from Bianca, like she was about to say something, but then she clamped her mouth, leaning back.

“I don’t know what it’s going to take for you to see that I don’t care about your family’s status or your money.” There was really no other way to put it. “I care about Bianca. I want to be with her and make her happy.”

He rolled his eyes.

I could’ve ended it there, but I had so much more to say to him, so much more that I had been pushing down so I wouldn’t stir the pot and cause more trouble for Bianca and their relationship. But Angelo didn’t need any help in that department, he was making a dumpster fire of it all on his own. “You know what, I don’t care.”

“Excuse me?”

“I don’t care,” I said in a louder voice. We both knew he’d heard me the first time, but he had wanted me to repeat it, so I did. “I’ve been looking for you to like me when, if I’m being honest, I don’t really care for you. The way you’ve been treating Bianca is appalling, and you sit there acting all high and mighty, saying you don’t want to see her hurt when you, in fact, are the only person hurting her. Bianca is a strong woman, and yet every time she talks to you, she ends up in tears.”

I turned to look at Bianca and saw her staring at me, a small smile on her lips. “You don’t have to like me. You can think I’m a mooch or whatever else you want to call me, you can even disapprove of us being together, but I’m not going to sit here for one more second and let you make her feel bad for loving me.”

Silence.

I sat there, waiting for him to say something, anything. But there was only silence.

He narrowed his eyes at me.

He turned his head toward Bianca.

Then he pushed back in his chair and stood up.

Bianca’s head whipped in his direction, the corners of her mouth falling, her eyes filling with tears again. “Where are you going?”

Angelo shook his head. “I’m leaving. If I can’t get through to you, then you’ll have to go through with this and come out on the other side to see for yourself that I was right. But, baby girl, I’m not going to watch as he destroys your life. So when you’re left heartbroken and wish you’d made another choice—because that will be the case—don’t come to me.” He cleared his throat. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve lost my appetite.”

“But Daddy, he’s not—” Bianca’s voice cracked, but she didn’t get to finish her thought because Angelo didn’t let her. He merely said his peace and walked out of the restaurant.

I got up and wrapped my arms around her as she wept against my chest.

My heart broke for Bianca and I wanted to make things better, to make this all go away, but there wasn’t a thing I could do about it. That might have been the hardest part about loving someone—knowing that sometimes all you could do to help was be a shoulder to cry on.

Chapter Forty-Two

Angelo

Martin had stoppedin front of Angelina’s house just as he did every Sunday after church to drop her off.

“Thank you, Martin,” I said, getting out on my side.

Angelina made a move to get out, too, but I popped my head in before closing the door behind me and put a hand up. “No lady should open her own door.” It’d been the same routine we’d had almost since the start.

Opening her door, I extended my hand and she took it, craning her neck to look in the mirror at Martin. “As always, it’s been a pleasure. Thank you for driving me,” Angelina said.

Martin nodded. “The pleasure is all mine.”

Angelina squeezed my hand as she got out. I shut the door behind her and walked her to the front door.

“You got lucky when you found Martin,” she said.

I chuckled. “I wish I could take all the credit for that one, but Regina actually hired him.”

“You got lucky with her, too.”

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