Chapter Eighteen
An hour later, as Willow walked to where her mother stood on the beach in front of La Dolce Vita, all thoughts about her feelings for Noah disappeared. Her mother looked as if she’d been crying for a week.
Willow ran across the sand and wrapped her arms around her. “Mom, what’s wrong?”
“Oh, baby, I’m so sorry,” she said, holding Willow tight. “I’d hoped and prayed that I’d never have to do this to you. But I don’t have a choice.”
Willow stepped back. “You’re scaring me.”
“I know.” She nodded and then lifted her chin at the almost deserted stretch of sand to the left of the restaurant. “Let’s walk.”
The other side of the beach was starting to fill with people saving their spots with chairs and umbrellas.
“Mom, if this is about Noah, you don’t have anything to worry about. He’s…” She trailed off and lifted a shoulder. “I think I’m falling in love with him,” she admitted.
Her mom stopped walking to stare at her, and then her face crumpled. She covered it with her hands, silently sobbing into them.
“Mom, stop,” Willow pleaded. She couldn’t remember ever seeing her mother this upset, and the muscles in her chest tightened with panic. “I can’t make it better if you don’t tell me what’s wrong. And if you’re worried about the Rosetti curse, you’re worrying for nothing. Zia and Lila broke it. We’re no more cursed in love than anyone else. We can fall in love and marry whomever we want.”
Her mom lowered her hands, revealing her pale, tear-streaked face and bloodshot eyes. “You can’t, baby. You can’t fall in love with Noah,” she whispered.
“Why? I don’t understand what you have against him. You haven’t even met him. If you had, you’d know there’s no better man than him. He’s beautiful and brilliant, and more than that, he’s kind, and caring, and thoughtful, and he makes me laugh. He believes in me, Mom. He makes me believe in myself.”
Her mother gave an angry shake of her head, shocking Willow by swearing. They heard a gasp and turned to see a family walking toward them, a woman carrying a toddler on her hip shooting an offended glare their way.
Her mother mouthed an apology at the woman before saying to Willow, “I think it’s best if we continue this in the restaurant.”
“No. Just say whatever it is you have to say.”
“I’m sorry, honey. I didn’t think this through.” She reached for Willow’s hand and squeezed. “But trust me, this isn’t something you’ll want to hear with an audience.”
Whatever her mother needed to tell her was sounding worse than Willow could’ve imagined, and she had to order her legs to start moving. She followed her up the stairs and onto the deck, barely able to resist the urge to tug her hand free of her mother’s when she opened the door. As she walked into the restaurant, Willow instinctively knew her life was about to change, and not for the better.
After closing the door behind her, Willow followed her mother to the family table and pulled out a chair, expecting her mother to do the same. But as Willow lowered herself onto the seat, her mother knelt in front of her, taking both of her hands in hers.
“I love you, Willow. I loved you from the moment I held you in my arms. You have been nothing but a blessing to me, to our family, and I would cut off my arms, my legs, I would do anything not to hurt you, but I can’t protect you from this.”
“I love you too, Mom. There’s nothing you could tell me that will change how I feel about you.”
Her mother’s bottom lip trembled, and a tear rolled down her cheek. “I pray that’s true because I don’t know what I’d do if I lost you.”
“Mom, please, just tell me.”
“Your father was Will Bennett. You and Noah are related, honey. You’re first cousins.”
Willow felt as if she was going to be sick and surged to her feet, nearly knocking her mother over. “No, no, it can’t be true.” She paced in front of the table. She couldn’t think straight. She couldn’t comprehend what her mother was telling her.
“You’re in shock, honey. Please sit down and let me explain.”
“Explain what, Mom? That you cheated on our father? That much I understand.” She couldn’t remember ever being this angry at her mother, and there was nothing she could do to temper the emotion that came out in her voice. “Why you wouldn’t tell me before now, before I was falling in love with… with my… Noah, is what I don’t understand, and I don’t think I ever will.”
“I didn’t know. I had no idea you even knew Noah, let alone that you’ve been living with him for almost a week!” Her mother shook her head. “I’m sorry. I’m not angry at you, and you have every right to be angry at me, to hate me,” she said on a broken sob. “But please, honey, please sit and let me try and explain.”
“I don’t hate you, Mom. I’m just… The way I feel about Noah…” She shook her head, unable to go on, and lowered herself onto the chair, feeling numb.
Her mother sat on the chair beside Willow, turning to face her. “I didn’t cheat on my husband with Will Bennett.”
“I don’t understand.”
“My sister, Camilla, isn’t your zia, honey. She’s your biological mother.”
Willow’s body went warm and then cold and then back to warm. Not from shock this time but from relief. “Mom, Cami was in love with Flynn, not Noah’s uncle. All she talks about is Flynn. She chased a teenager down Main Street…” She trailed off at her mother’s wide-eyed expression and realized what she’d just revealed.
Willow winced. “I’m sorry,” she said, and then she told her mother everything that had transpired in the last week and why she had done what she’d done.
“I can’t really get mad at you after keeping the secret of your paternity for all this time, and I understand why you did what you did. Though your zia and nonna might not be as understanding, but we’ll deal with that later.”
“Why, Mom? What did Cami do that was so horrible that you guys cut her out of your lives for decades? She’s family, and she loves you. She gave me to you to raise as your own.”
“It’s not as simple as that. But that can wait for another time. What I want to know is why you’re accepting this so well. I was worried you wouldn’t be able to forgive me, that you’d hate me for lying to you for all these years. But you’re more upset that Noah is your cousin.”
“We don’t know that he is. Not for sure. Flynn could just as easily be my father.” She prayed with all her heart that he was. “Cami hasn’t mentioned Will once. All she’s talked about is Flynn.”
“My sister believed Will was your father, honey. It’s why she named you Willow. In his honor. She was devastated by his death.”
“She was just as devastated when Flynn left her to go back to college that summer.”
“She was, and she did love him. And, according to Camilla, they’d been intimate just days before Flynn announced he was leaving.”
“So you agree, there is a chance Flynn’s my father?”
“Yes, there’s a chance. But it’s a very small chance. You and Noah can take a DNA test. We’ll talk to Sage about it. Right now, though, I’d like you to tell me why you’re not more upset about my sister being your mother.”
“She’s not my mother, you are. And nothing will ever change that. I might not entirely understand why you kept it from me, but there’s nothing for me to forgive. I’m grateful that you kept me and raised me and loved me like your own.”
“We’re the ones who are grateful for the gift that you are. And I didn’t love you like my own. You are mine, and you were from the moment Camilla left you with—”
A knock on the glass interrupted her mother, and they looked to see Carmen opening the door and poking her head inside, her worried gaze moving from her daughter to Willow.
“Your mother, she told you, sì? You’re okay? You’re not angry with us?”
“No, I’m not angry, Nonna. I love you, all of you, and that will never change,” Willow said. “But I have something to tell you, and I hope you’ll be as forgiving as me.” She pushed out a chair with her foot. “Come sit.”
Once her grandmother was seated, Willow cleared her throat. “So, Cami is here in Sunshine Bay. She’s been staying at the beach house with me, Noah, and his sister Riley. And before you start yelling at me, just remember how long you’ve been keeping me in the dark, and it wasn’t completely my fault that Cami’s here. She was in an accident and has amnesia. She thinks she’s seventeen, and she loves you, Nonna, so much. You too, Mom. You and Zia.”
Her grandmother bowed her head, and Willow’s mother reached over and rubbed Carmen’s arm.
“What happened? I think I deserve to know, don’t you?”
“She’s right, Gia. She deserves the truth,” her grandmother said, then looked at Willow. “You girls, you don’t think the Rosetti curse is real, but just ask your mother, she knows that it is. She didn’t listen to me and married that man, a photographer. Bah, he was a culo.”
“Ma.”
“What? Did he not leave you on your own with no money and two bambine to raise, while he followed your sister to Hollywood?”
Willow’s jaw dropped. “Cami had an affair with your husband?”
“No. He thought he was in love with her, but Camilla did nothing to encourage him.” Her mother rubbed her finger along an initial carved into the table. “She came to live with us in New York when she was five months pregnant. Camilla was in a bad way. She was angry and depressed. I tried to get her help but she refused. A month after she had you, my husband encouraged her to consider modeling. He helped put together a portfolio for her, and he’d accompany her on go-sees in hopes of landing himself a job in the industry.”
Carmen nodded. “He used both my daughters.”
“He used Camilla, but he didn’t use me. He didn’t, Ma,” she said when Carmen opened her mouth to argue.
“He saw what you didn’t, Gia. He knew one day your talent, your art, would bring you fame and fortune, and he’d ride on your coattails, just like he did your sister’s.”
“Oh, Ma, please. I wasn’t that good. I’m a mediocre artist at best.”
“Mom! Your paintings are incredible.”
Gia rolled her eyes. “You’re biased, just like your nonna. But we’re not here to talk about me. We’re here to talk about Camilla. And as beautiful as she is now, she was absolutely stunning as a teenager, and the camera loved her. It didn’t surprise me when she landed a lucrative modeling contract in LA, and I encouraged her to take it. I didn’t encourage my husband to follow her to LA, and neither did Camilla, but he did.”
“It sounds like Nonna’s right, and he was a culo. Although I can think of a few other expletives that fit the bill.” Willow smiled at Carmen when she snorted and then said to her mom, “I’m guessing Cami asked you to keep me when she went to LA?”
“I offered before she could ask. The plan was for you to stay with me until she got on her feet. But then a year went by and Camilla rarely checked in anymore, let alone visited, so I asked her for legal custody of you.” She placed her hand over Willow’s. “In my heart, you were mine, and I couldn’t think of giving you up. Sage would’ve been as devastated as I would’ve been.”
It wasn’t until that moment that the fact Sage wasn’t her sister, but her cousin, sank in. Willow briefly closed her eyes, fighting back tears. It didn’t matter, she told herself, just as it didn’t matter that Gia wasn’t her biological mother. They were the mother and sister of her heart, and nothing changed that.
Willow cleared the emotion from her throat. “What did Cami say when you asked for custody of me?”
“She asked for more time. She wasn’t ready to give you up.” Her mother smiled at Carmen. “So I called my mother and asked to come home, and she and Eva arrived at my door seven hours later, helped pack up the house and you girls, and moved us home.”
“You see, this is exactly why I don’t understand how you could cut Cami out of your lives. You guys are always there for one another no matter what.” Willow, Sage, and Lila were the same.
Her mother and grandmother shared a look. Willow was about to call them on it when her phone pinged. She glanced at the text and grimaced. “So, uh, Sage wants to know what’s going on. She’s planning on bringing Cami to the restaurant. We told her you were coming home today.”
Her mother’s lips flattened, and she crossed her arms. “I don’t want to see her.”
“Mom!” Willow looked to her grandmother for help. “Nonna?”
Her grandmother bit her bottom lip, casting a tentative glance at her daughter.
Sensing she might have an ally in Carmen, Willow pushed on, “Whatever happened between you guys was a long time ago. Isn’t it about time you let it go? Don’t you think Cami’s been punished long enough? She doesn’t have anyone, and she loves you. All of you.”
“If Willow can forgive Camilla, maybe it’s time we did too, Gia.”
“She doesn’t kn—” Willow’s mother clamped her mouth shut.
“Mom, Cami has no memories past seventeen. She’s lost and lonely, and she needs her family. All of her family. Please, for me, can’t you just try and remember the sister you once loved?”
“Tell your sister to bring Camilla,” her grandmother said, raising a hand when Gia sputtered a protest. “If you don’t want to be here, that’s fine. But I want to see my daughter.”
“As if I’m going to let you deal with her on your own. Just don’t expect me to fawn all over her. She always got away with everything, and I don’t plan on letting her waltz in here thinking everything is forgiven.”