Page 64 of Giovanna

Giovanna looks down for a second and then moves so she is further away from me. “He wants to be here for you. Give him a chance to make it right.” Her words don’t match the reluctance I hear in her voice.

“I. Don’t. Want. Him.” My hand shoots out and grabs one of her’s and she lets me intertwine our fingers briefly. Massimo is pacing near the back door, on the phone.

Giovanna drops my hand, stands, and comes to sit next to me on the daybed. My disappointment at the loss of contact is quickly soothed when she picks my hand back up again and presses a brief kiss on my knuckles.

“Look at me,” she whispers and for a moment I feel weightless as the strength of her gaze envelops me. “I know this is hard, darlin’. But, this is duty. I need you to give Elio another chance…even if it isn’t what I want.”

This is the closest we’ve ever come to acknowledging the attraction between us. The terror and pain I’m feeling is relieved by a hit of elation.She wants me.

She squeezes my hand gently and I just keep shaking my head. “O-only t-t-thing I’ve…ever wanted,” I whisper so quietly, I’m not sure she hears and I let the sentence drop, incomplete.

A couple of tears run down my cheeks and she lets go of my hand to swipe them away with her thumbs.

She gives me another intense stare. “I will always have your back. No matter what. I’m here.”

My heartbreaks. She’s going to force me to marry him even if she doesn’t want it to happen and I’d rather be choked again.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Giovanna

“Peta, this looks bloody delicious,” I collapse into my chair at the head of the table. My stepmother has made her classic Australian ‘Chicken Parma’. It’s Chicken Parmigiana, but Aussies had to ‘boganise’ it.

Massimo kisses his mother on the top of her head and sits down to my left. Peta beams over at him, her pride and joy. Matty is already tucking into his dinner on my right and Dad sits opposite his wife.

“Where’s Elio?” I ask the table. I’ve been trying to track him down all day, but have had no success.

It’s frustrating because in the week after the bikies threatened Francesca he was really good. He comforted her and looked after her. I could see her starting to relax around him again. Of course, I knew he spent several evenings at Peacock after she had taken herself off to bed in the guest room.

Both of my brothers shrug and I let out a sigh. Dad raises his eyebrows and I can tell he wants to ask questions, but he holds his tongue. Eventually, after a few minutes of quietly tucking into our dinner, he speaks, “Peta, did you get the venue booked for the wedding?”

“Yeap,Long Reef Golf Club. Invitations have gone out,” she reaches out and pats his hand as if to reassure him it is all in hand.

“Good,” is his punctuated response.

I received my invitation. It was left on my desk a couple of days ago. If the fireplace had been lit I would have thrown it in.

I don’t want to think about the fucking wedding. Don’t want to talk about it. I pretend to be bored by the whole thing, but the truth is it makes me nauseous that in just under four months Francesca will be a Marino, but not mine.

Dad’s voice booms across the table. “How is Francesca doing?” He directs the question at Massimo as the person most likely to know.

Massi finishes his mouthful of breaded chicken and glares at Dad. “She’s pretty messed up actually. Don’t know that she’ll ever trust me again…” he pauses, swallowing down emotions.

“You did what was needed for the family,” Dad tells him gruffly.

“What about what is best for her though? I am supposed to be the one who has her back when no one else does. She doesn’t deserve all this,” Massimo slams his glass of water down on the table and everyone jumps.

“Where is she?” I ask.

“At work.”

“What? She’s gone back there? Who allowed that?” I explode with a ferocity that surprises me.

He raises a shoulder. “She wanted to get back to normal. Bluey is going everywhere with her now.”

“Strewth. Make sure he doesn’t have a crack at her. All we need is her knocked up with a redhead,” Dad sure has a way with words. Matty snorts, but Massimo looks furious.

“Dad! What the fuck,” he slams his cutlery on the table.

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