Page 12 of Friends Who Fake It

“Oh.”

“You don’t really talk about her.”

“Don’t I?”

“A comment here and there.”

“You’ve met her before.”

“Briefly, yes. This is the most time I’ve ever spent in her company, though.”

“Ah. And you’re surprised by her?”

“Frankly, yes.”

“In what way?”

“Honestly?”

“Of course.”

“She doesn’t seem to like you very much.”

At that, Willow burst out laughing.

“You find that funny?” he asked, obviously surprised.

“No, I really don’t. I just…the way you said that. I don’t know. It’s…hard to explain.”

“Try.”

Her smile slipped, and she sighed. “It’s not that she doesn’t like me; it’s just a little complicated.”

“You are her stepdaughter. The daughter of her husband. The sister of her daughters. You’refamily.What is complex about that?”

“I wouldn’t expect you to be able to understand.”

“Why not?”

“Because you have this amazing, big family. Look at the way you all rally around each other, all the time. Even Marcia,” she tacked on, because she knew enough to know that none of the brothers or cousins liked Raf’s new wife, but that they still kept that disapproval to themselves, in the aim of supporting Raf. Yes, the Santoros were nothing if not wonderful, and loving. The kind of family, if she were honest, that she’d always dreamed of belonging to.

She couldn’t think of Gianni and Maria and their warm, affectionate home without experiencing a sensation akin to stepping from the shadows into the morning sun.

“That is what family is supposed to be.”

She laughed then, a short sound of retort.

“You disagree?”

“Oh, I absolutely agree. It would be a wonderful thing—a much better world, to be honest—if all families were like yours. I can’t even imagine what that must have been like, to grow up just knowing that you’re loved and accepted as you are.”

“To be fair, my family was not exactly like that.”

She winced. She knew that. “I meant your broader family.”

“I know,” his voice, though, was the same as always. No hurt. No annoyance.

Of course. Because this was Francesco Santoro, level-headed, confident, in command.

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