Page 81 of Married With Malice

“Come meet Annalisa,” Sadie squeals with such eagerness you’d think I was a movie star.

Peggy comes to a halt and gives me a once over. “So you’re Annalisa.”

“This is Peggy,” Sadie explains. “She takes care of us all.”

“Nice to meet you, Peggy,” I say. Since she doesn’t strike me as the handshaking type, I keep my hands in the warm pockets of my coat.

Her response is a nod that seems to communicate I’ve met her inspection standards. Next her attention turns to Luca.

“Hello again, Peggy,” he says.

Peggy stares at him in silence. Her chin tilts up and her nostrils flare as she evaluates him from head to toe.

“We met when I visited last year,” Luca reminds her. “Cale’s brother.”

“Yes, I’m not senile,” Peggy snaps. “I remember you, Luca. Are you sick?”

He’s obviously confused by the question. “Uh, no.”

“You will be, since you don’t have the sense to dress properly. Follow me this instant.”

Peggy might be my new hero. She trusts that we’re all going to obediently traipse after her into the house and doesn’t even look back as we fall in line.

The cozy apartment where Peggy lives is attached to the main house. It’s also crawling with cats. One small brown dog is guarding the corner of the kitchen and issues a low growl but Peggy quiets the animal by saying, “Hush, Tinkerbell. These are friends.”

Cale pulls a chair out from the scarred wooden table and waits for his wife to sit down before he’s willing to retreat. Luca, looking restlessly out of place, leans against a wall.

Sadie pats an empty chair. “Anni, have a seat.”

Shrugging out of my puffy jacket, I slide into the wooden chair. After my wedding, Sadie texted me a few times. My replies were always short. I regret that now, seeing how she’s obviously thrilled to meet me.

The Connelly brothers occupy opposite sides of the room and Peggy hums an unknown tune while filling a kettle and then removing a set of mismatched ceramic mugs from the cabinet above the sink. The heady scent of cinnamon hangs in the air and I get a cringeworthy reminder of my last encounter with cinnamon. Or something that was supposed to be cinnamon.

Sadie leans on her elbows and surveys me with a playful expression. “I have a confession. I’ve seen you before. I’ve always loved figure skating. My talent is limited to observation, however. Any attempts to mimic the real things ends up with me belly flopping on the ice. But I’ve watched you compete. You were amazing.”

I’m used to running into people who remember my years of competitive figure skating but I never know how to respond, particularly when the inevitable question arises.

“Why did you stop skating?” Sadie says. “Were you injured?”

Underneath the table, the warm body of a cat rubs against my ankles. I already like Sadie very much. I know that Daisy and Sabrina would love her to pieces. Maybe that’s why I admit the truth instead of hedging. “No, I wasn’t injured. My father didn’t approve of my skating once I hit puberty. He thought it was…unsuitable for a young woman.”

Actually, he said my costumes were slutty and my skating routines were obscene but I don’t need to share every sordid detail. Bringing this up at all revives a familiar pain that threads clear through my soul.

Sadie’s eyes go round with dismay. Even Peggy pauses in the middle of slicing up a pan of coffee cake and turns around to share a glance of sympathy.

“I didn’t know that,” Luca says.

Though his deep frown of distress indicates this is true, I’m surprised.

How could he not know?

I assumed he would have heard years ago, given how tight his family is with mine.

Then again, maybe not.

At the time, I was embarrassed. Distraught. I let people think whatever they were going to think and neglected to correct them. And I suppose there’s been no reason to bring this old history up since Luca and I have been married.

“But I’ve been teaching skating to kids for years,” I blurt out because I can’t stand the way everyone in the room is radiating pity. “And that’s been very rewarding. Sadie, I forgot how many animals you said were living here at Bright Hearts.”

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