Page 43 of A Valentino Reunion

No matter how old she gets, I will always consider her my baby girl. And I’ll do anything to make sure I always get to see that fucking smile on her face.

We turn a corner and walk into the shop. “Buongiorno, Mr. Valentino, Miss Valentino,” the owner greets as soon as he sees us.

“Buongiorno, Luigi. How’s business?” I ask him.

“Good, good. Take a seat. I will bring you everything.” He waves a hand towards the glassed-in dining area.

Tilly says she likes this place because of how beautiful it is, not just because the gelato is the best in the city. I look around to try to see the world as she sees it. A bunch of colorful potted plants hang from baskets above our heads. A white cloth covers the table while red linen napkins and a little vase of flowers sit in the center.

True to his word, Luigi lays out bowls of every flavor a few minutes later.

“Thanks for bringing me here,” Tilly says around a mouthful of gelato.

“I will always bring you here, Till. Now tell me what’s going on in your life?”

“You mean you don’t already know everything, Dad? Are you slipping in your old age?” She raises an eyebrow at me.

“Humor me and pretend I don’t know a thing,” I tell her.

“I’ve been seeing someone new. It’s serious and I think I’m going to move in with him,” she says. Her words come out so fast my head spins.

That,I did not see fucking coming. “No,” I tell her.

“What do you meanno? I’m not asking permission, Dad. If I love someone and I want to live with them, I will. You do know I’m twenty, not thirteen,” she says.

“I don’t like it. Just a few weeks ago, you were heartbroken over some idiot to the point you were asking me for a fucking gun, Tilly. So,no. If you don’t have a ring on your finger, you’re not living with some fucker who’s not ready to show you the respect you deserve,” I tell her.

“So, if I get a ring, you’ll be okay with it?”

“Not one single fucking bit.” I throw my spoon down into the bowl, my appetite suddenly gone.

How the fuck did I not know my daughter was seeing someone new? I thought we’d at least have a few months before we had to go through the boyfriend drama again.

ChapterTwenty-One

I’ve been observing my parents closely for the past week. My father has always been my mother’s shadow, but recently, it’s been so much worse. He rarely leaves her side, and if he does, he continues to monitor her from a distance. Even the day all the girls went to the winery, Pops and Theo went along too and watched them. They claim it was for their protection. I think they’re a bunch of paranoid fuckers who need to take a chill pill.

I don’t care what anyone says. Something is definitely wrong with my mother, and I need to find out what it is. I inhale a deep breath. I’m fucking petrified of having another panic attack and having someone other than Romeo find me like that. So I decide to go in search of my twin brother. I haven’t seen him all morning. I don’t find him but I do find the better part of him.

“Hey, Liv, where did that husband of yours disappear to?”

Livvy startles, jumping nearly three feet in the air at the sound of my voice. “Jesus, Luca, don’t do that,” she scolds me.

“Do what? Speak?” I ask her.

“Yes, try that for a change.”

“So, where is he? I need to talk to him.”

“He took Tilly out for gelato,” she says, squinting her eyes at me. “Why? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. I just want to know what’s going on with our parents. I mean, Pops is retiring. Am I the only one who thinks that’s a little off?” I ask her. Livvy is the smartest person I know. Surely she’s worked out that something is off by now.

“Yes, you are. Your father has worked extremely hard over the years. He deserves a break.”

I consider her words for a moment. She’s right. I know that, but I can’t help feeling like something more is going on. “You’re right,” I say aloud. “It’s not easy being the parents of the gods. I guess they do deserve a vacation for the next fifty years.” I grin.

“Are you really trying to say your parents, Theo and Holly, aretheOceanus and Tethys?” Livvy asks me.

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