Page 53 of Forbidden Surrogate

Delphine

Luigi hasn’t come back to the lake house since our argument. I don’t miss his ass in the slightest. Angela comes over every day and so far, she hasn’t brought him up, but apparently the two week-iversary of Luigi’s absence is the day Angela chooses to bring up her pig-headed brother. I should have been suspicious about her walking through the door with that lasagna but instead my pregnant ass dug right in without questioning the situation in the slightest.

“When are you going to forgive Luigi?”

“Did he send you here with this lasagna to manipulate me?”

“No. I chose to manipulate you with lasagna,” Angela says. “And it’s more like a goodbye lasagna.”

“Excuse me?”

“You can’t tell my brother.”

“Are you free from your family problems?”

Angela makes slow, pointed eye contact with me and I don’t want to jump to any conclusions, but something about the way she looks makes me not want to ask anymore questions. Something is definitely up with her, but I can’t tell if it’s about me and Luigi,or if there’s something deeper happening with this woman.

“I’m here because my brother needs you in his life. He’s been drunk downtown every night since he left.”

“I’m sure he’s found plenty of women willing to comfort him.”

Angela laughs. “He’s not like that. Deep down, Luigi is a complete romantic.”

My stomach lurches with guilt. I can’t shake what he said to me the last time we were in bed together out of my head. I have to believe this is just a game to him to keep myself safe, but hearing that he can’t contain his sadness around Angela makes it seem more real to me.

“Your brother has a lot of negative traits, which you’re well aware of.”

“He has his pride, yes. He’s Italian. But he loves hard, and I know he wants to take care of you.”

“What’s stopping him from enforcing the contract once I have the baby? How can I trust this is more than a game to him?”

“Is that what you’re afraid of?”

“You’re part of one of the scariest families in this city. I pay attention to what happens around here. How can I know we won’t end up at another club bombing? What if our kid gets kidnapped? I don’t belong in this world… and I’m sure your family would agree.”

“If anyone in my family wouldn’t accept you, they deserve my wrath and Luigi’s wrath, which is exactly what they’re going to get.”

“Does Luigi feel the same way? Or is he going to get tired of playing this game and give me up for someone fresh off the boat from Sicily.”

“Luigi loves you.”

“He’s never usedthosewords.”

“Is that what you really need? Because it seems like every time he says something anywhere close to that, you push himaway. He might not want to scare you with a bigger, scarier word.”

Angela’s insights hit me with the guilty gut punch you get when you know your friend is right about a situation you’ve been stubborn about. But what exactly am I supposed to do about this now? Luigi isn’t here.

“I’ll give him another chance. Maybe.”

Angela sighs. “Okay. Promise me. Luigi might seem tough but he’s a sensitive man. If I’m not going to be around, I need to make sure he has someone to look after him. You know my pasta recipes. You know how to make him happy and you know how to piss him off. I just… I need someone to love him.”

“Girl, why are you talking like you’re about to die or go to Mars or something?”

“I’m just taking more risks lately.”

“That’s not suspicious at all.”

“Eat that lasagna and stop asking questions,” Angela says sassily. She demonstrates more signs of anxiety. I’ve never seen Angela checking her phone this many times. She rarely leaves the house and when she does, she’s not this eager to see any of her cousins. She also doesn’t keep their meetups a secret.

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