Page 30 of Till Death Do Us Part

“You met him?” she croaked out.

“Youmet him?”

Lo looked a little guilty. “Sorry I didn’t tell you, Y. You were in the hospital and Isabella took me to your room. He was there, sitting with you. He looked just like…”

“The guy I described to you?”

She nodded. “I didn’t want you to be disappointed.”

We both knew what she meant. She didn’t want the man I dreamed up to appear out of nowhere and I have no chance with him. Because if I decided to marry on my own, I would be giving up my family. Even though my father never pressed the issue, it was understood we would be out of his life if we denied him this. And there was no way Babbo was ever going to approve of Felice. Period. His crimes looked different from Jack’s. They didn’t fall under the guise ofdoing good.

Lo sighed. “If it’s the business side of this that’s tripping you up, look at it this way, I’m sure John’s is worse.”

“No, Lo,” I said. “It’s different. I know what Felice does, but he doesn’t seem to hurtinnocentpeople.”

In fact, he made sure those assholes never hurt anyone again. I knew Felice wasn’t the hero, but he was no villain to me. I couldn’t tell my sister that, though. It would lead to the truth of what he did for us. It seemed like delicate information and could only go so far. I trusted Elsa and Lo, but I didn’t trust them enough with Felice’s future. If they were ever questioned about anything, they didn’t know anything.

“Who’s Felice?” Lo asked.

“John,” I said. “That’s his real name, but not everyone calls him that.”

“You ever thought about talking to Dr. Corvo?”

Lo and I looked at Elsa. She lifted her hands in aI had to askgesture.

“It was stupid of me to bring up business.” Lo spun the new ring around her finger. “I know it’s not about that. I’m just trying to find something helpful to say.”

“I know.”

A knock came at the door. We all looked at each other before Elsa hopped off the stool and went to answer it. Sandro stood on the other side. He smiled when he noticed Lo standing behind her.

“Just give me a few—”

“No,” I said, touching Lo’s shoulder. “We should go back. This is a day for you and Sandro.”

She asked me if I was sure. I assured her I was. Nothing was going to change by us stewing on it.

On the walk back, Elsa hip bumped me, smiling when I met her eyes. I smiled back, but it was hard to do. Lo and Sandro were holding hands as she laughed at something he said in Italian, her body swaying in to his every so often.

They seemed so right, and I couldn’t help but wonder how everything had gone so wrong for me.

Chapter11

Roma

We’d made a deal. Felice would give me driving lessons during our time together. If he couldn’t make it, the motorcade escorted me. The entire situation had really pissed me off at first, how bullying it seemed. But after I’d seen his face at the Farmer’s Market, when he admitted he’d been worried about me, it changed my mind.

Mamma used to say, “Do not waste people who worry about you. There are not enough of them in the world.”

It brought back memories of the brunch and Jack Maggio as I drove to meet Felice. I wasn’t sure if Jack was one of those people. I didn’t know him all that well, but something told me Jack loved Jack more than anyone. He was good at charming people and being the center of attention.

When he wasn’t talking to me at the brunch, he had a crowd around him, always making them laugh. I could count how many words I’d said to him that day. All he needed was a little encouragement and he went off like a rocket.

At some point Lo had passed me and whispered, “Give him a chance.”

Truth was, I didn’t want to. I wasn’t attracted to him. There was nothing that pulled me toward him. My body yearned to be next to Felice’s all day, every day. And when he didn’t text me or show up when we made plans, it almost felt like something was missing in my life.

It was the craziest thing I’d ever felt, and I didn’t understand it, but there it was. I admitted it to myself because what’s the point of lying when I felt it? It was like Paisano chasing his tail. It would only drive me mad.

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