Page 26 of The Convenient Cosentino Wife

Adriano’s chin jutted, his expression mutinous. “He should have said goodbye.”

“That would have been better, yes.”

“Why didn’t he?”

“Well, that may have been my fault,” she said carefully. “He knew I had a lot on my mind and I think he was trying to make it easy for me.”

Adriano’s hand gestured as only an Italian could gesture.

Clare just looked at her son, uncertain how to handle him like this. She’d never seen him so fierce and fiery and after a moment she began to eat again, hoping he was ready to move forward and let it go, but as the minutes passed, he continued to sit there, arms folded across his chest, his face that of a martyr.

Finally she set her fork down. “Adriano, why won’t you finish your dinner?”

“I’m mad.”

She suppressed her smile. “I know. I can tell.”

He looked at her, dark eyes bright and indignant. “I finally have an uncle, Mama, and he leaves.”

“He will be back you know.”

“When?”

“A week? Two? I don’t know, but it won’t be that long—”

“Call him.” Adriano pointed to her watch which he knew she sometimes took calls on.

She laughed even as tears burned the back of her eyes. “Can we finish dinner and then I’ll let you call him?”

Adriano studied her for a moment than nodded. “Okay.”

The moment dinner was over Adriano jumped up and pulled her to her feet, leading her upstairs to where her phone was charging on her desk. Clare had a strict policy of no phones during family time and so when they entered her office Adriano ran to her desk and unplugged it, then handed it to her.

Clare was just about to tell him she had to find his uncle’s number when she saw the business card in the middle of her desk. It was Rocco’s card, with a number scrawled on the front.

Her heart fell a little, a swoosh that made her breathless.

“Call, Mama,” Adriano urged her.

She smiled at him and then pushed the numbers and waited. The phone rang, and rang and rang. “I’m going to have to leave a message,” she said to Adriano, anticipating getting Rocco’s voice mail, but then at the last moment Rocco answered.

“Hello?”

“It’s Clare,” she answered, putting a hand to her chest, trying to slow the wild beating of her heart. “Adriano was disappointed you didn’t say goodbye to him. Would you mind talking to him?”

There was silence at the other end of the line and then Rocco cleared his throat. “Of course. Put him on.”

Clare handed the phone to her son. “He wants to talk to you,” she told Adriano.

Adriano put the phone to his ear, but after glancing up at her, he gave her a look that made him look thirteen instead of almost three, and then walked away, the phone still pressed to his ear. “Zio Rocco?”

“Sì,”Clare heard Rocco say before Adriano had moved far enough away so that she couldn’t hear anymore.

A few minutes later Adriano walked back to her, holding the phone out, the call ended.

“Well?” she said to him.

“Zio is going to take me to the coliseum.”

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