14. Rocco
14
Rocco
The food we’re served is great and all, but nothing comes close to getting the opportunity to twirl Aurora around in her summer dress.
I know Camellia’s supposed to be the prettiest in the lineup of women here, but my angel is taking that title.
Her smile is so warm, her laugh helps me regain a few years of my life each time she tilts her head back, letting out the sweetest of giggles.
Somehow, I haven’t spun us into a wall from losing focus.
Once my eyes are on her, there’s no tearing her away.
Even when Ren wants to take a turn.
“Please don’t let him move in with us,” she whispers, her eyes drifting toward him as he impatiently waits.
Even if most of the women here avoid his one-eyed stare, some have asked for a dance or two.
I’m hoping one of them will catch his eye and he can stop watching us so carefully.
“He’ll want to visit every day if he doesn’t,” I remind her, grinning at the thought.
Now that he’s not trying to kill me for touching her, I don’t mind his presence too much.
“As long as he doesn’t stay the night, then I’ll live,” she murmurs, her cheeks dusted with a pretty pink.
Oh, whatever she’s thinking about is not an innocent thought, I’m sure of it.
Grinning, I dip down and kiss her.
Despite it making her sputter, the second kiss is far smoother than the first.
Like she doesn’t know how to multitask, she stops dancing and slips her hand from mine, moving her fingers to my cheek.
Damn. Just a few kisses are all it takes to make me want to whisk her away from here and see if this estate has any empty rooms we could borrow for a few minutes.
There’s a clearing of a throat next to us, and Aurora sputters at the sight of Camellia.
All pretty and pink, she tries to smile.
“I was hoping to borrow Rocco, if that’s alright.” Her smile is gentle as she takes in Aurora.
“I may have to borrow you after.”
Looking toward Ren, I give him a knowing nod, and he’s happy to come swoop my fiancée away.
“She’s excited to meet you,” I tell Camellia as I watch the siblings drift away.
Camellia moves to grab my hands, pulling my attention back to her.
The music is soft and slow, thank goodness.
Putting my attention on her, I can’t think about the movement of my feet.
“You know, Bia has a point. You really do look like Dad.” Her smile remains as I spin her around.
“I wish he could’ve been here to see this. He loved big gatherings.”
Feeling a lump grow in my throat, I nod.
“He would’ve given a whole speech. One that would have made Santino’s seem short.”
We both chuckle at the thought, but even with the lighthearted surroundings, the weight of the past is still against us.
“Mom—” She starts, her voice wavering.
If I have to guess, it’s from my refusal to talk about her in the past. “—Do you think she’d be happy?”
“I think…” Sighing, my brows come together.
“I think she’d beg you to marry a normal man. She didn’t like marrying into this life, and she’d get gray hairs if she knew all three of her kids did the very same.”
We slow as one song melts into another.
“You know Rocco…” Ruining the gloss on her lips by chewing on her bottom lip, she looks hesitant.
“Santino’s mother, Bia? She’s a really good mom. Thanks to her, I’ve gotten to see what our mom wasn’t. If she were here, I don’t think she’d be happy at all.”
“She’d be miserable,” I agree, my voice softer.
“It’s a good thing she isn’t here. She’d ruin the party.”
Camellia nods, her eyes softening.
“It’s a good thing she isn’t.”
The more we chat about our mother, the more my thoughts feel heavier.
“Rocco? Can I ask you something?” Her hand squeezes mine tightly, more than I’d expect from a small thing like her.
“With complete honesty?”
Fuck.
I’m never prepared to be honest when it comes to her.
I’ve always lied to myself, and my sisters.
After a few passing seconds, I remember to nod.
“I’m happy to put the past in the past, seriously. But, I have to know, what happened? The man who came to my wedding… seeing you smile and laugh… It’s like you were my brother from back then. I can see who is making you happy; that’s obvious. But, what I want to know is, what made you so miserable?”
She looks at me so innocently, so caring.
“Camellia, there’s a time and place for this kind of conversation. If you haven’t been able to tell, I made the last few years hell for you. Do you really want me to spoil your happiest day?”
We stop dancing, and she nods.
“I’m not a kid anymore, Rocco. All I want to know is the truth. Please.” She inhales sharply, like she’s preparing for a blow.
Okay. Fine. I can tell her the truth.
But not here. Not in front of all these people.
“Will Santino shoot me if I try to take you to the back? I wouldn’t mind seeing those flowers again.”
Her smile grows.
“As long as you promise this won’t be an attempt to kidnap me.”
Glancing at the ring on her finger, I scoff.
“A little late for that, I believe.”
So, she lets me lead her down the hall toward the garden area.
She’s happy to take a seat on the bench to rub her sore feet.
While I take in the flowers, my heart races.
“You know how Dad died. You found him. I never told you who did it. Both of you, I tried to keep you away from the information.”
Behind me, silence.
Just this once, I excuse my inability to look at her.
“Our mother didn’t run away,” I continue, my voice wavering.
“She took him away from us due to her misery and greed, and… I…”
I hate getting emotional.
Even when I saw her earlier, I didn’t shed a single tear.
Our father taught me how to stay strong, and most of the time, I’m good at it.
I’ve learned how to shut down.
“You did what you had to do,” Camellia finishes for me, her voice soft.
“I did. After that, nothing was the same. I looked at you and only saw her.” Eyes growing misty, I stare at some wilting petals.
“Every time I looked at you, I was reminded of what she’d done. Instead of helping you get over the loss…”
If the topic isn’t what makes my voice crack, it’s her arms wrapping around me that makes me break.
Makes me wish I had accepted the alcohol I’d been offered throughout our meal.
It would’ve made this easier.
Instead, I wanted to make Aurora proud.
As Camellia hugs me, I’m the one who gets emotional.
She hardly even sniffles.
Maybe a couple of times at most.
“Dad would’ve been proud of you, Rocco. Sure, we can both say some things didn’t go too right, but you kept us afloat. I can see that. Perks of marrying a Don, I have to deal with Santino slipping away a lot. He has a whole support network. You had… not a lot.”
Sniffing, I blink away what’s left in my eyes and turn around to return her hug.
“I did it to myself. If I didn’t push you away, Eliza wouldn’t hate me as much as she does. If I had just been honest with you both from the beginning, we could’ve healed together.” Sighing, I hug her tighter.
“I’ll make it up to you one of these days. Whatever you need, Camellia. I’ll make it happen.”
Laughing against my neck, she pulls back.
“You’ll make Santino jealous. He insists on doing the same thing. You’ll make amends with him, I hope?”
Lifting my gaze, I sigh into her hair when I see who is watching us from the glass doors.
“I think you’ll have to worry more about him than you will me. But sure, I’ll stop picking fights. We’ll stay in our own lanes.”
Turning to follow my gaze, she scoffs with annoyance.
“You may be right. I need to work on his trust issues with you. He really doesn’t like you.”
Pressing a smile to my lips, I give Santino a wave.
Jealous and possessive.
Is Urzo the same way with Eliza?
“Eliza…” I pull my attention back toward her.
“I’ll tell her about Mom. She’ll want to hit me again, I’m sure.”
“I’ll do it.” Camellia sighs and squeezes my hand.
“Even if I don’t know all the details, I can ease her into it. She’ll think you’re telling her what she needs to hear to forgive you. Let’s give her time to absorb it. Plus, Urzo knows how to deal with her when she gets worked up. He’ll be happy to help her get through it.”
Thanking her, I pull her in the direction of the glass door.
Ignoring Santino, I decide to take her around the estate just to piss him off.
“Aurora may be exhausted from dancing by the time we make our way back in. Why don’t we just eat some more cake, and you can meet each other properly? She doesn’t have many friends. It would be nice for her to make a few here.”
Her eyes light up, and she nods.
“We’ll get an invite to your wedding, I hope?”
Heat rushes my ears, and I nod.
“Won’t be as grand as this one, I’m afraid.”
“Oh,” she swats her hand, “that’s fine. I tricked Santino into throwing this to help get you here. I figured if we dragged it out, there’d be more of a chance of you coming.”
She really did want me to come.
Even if Aurora pounded the idea in my head, it still hits hard.
Pausing our walk back, she sputters a laugh when I pull her to my chest.
“It worked. If you had given up on me like everyone else, I wouldn’t have made it here.”
Squeezing her tighter, I try to make her understand just how much her care means to me.
If I hadn’t gotten that invitation, I wouldn’t have gotten to meet Aurora.
I would have ended up dead one way or another.
Camellia might never understand how much her meddling had changed my future, but I’ll owe her for it for the rest of my life.
Already feeling better by her sneaky nature, I let out a laugh.
“Sounds like you’re going to be giving him a run for his money. Please, keep it up. If I can’t make him want to pull out his hair, then at least keep him on his toes.”
Pulling away, she nods all too seriously.
“Don’t tell him, but it’s fun getting him worked up.”
“My lips are sealed.” Promising to keep her secret, I lead her back to the party, happy to pull her toward Aurora so I can tell her all about the fun I had during my time spent locked away in a cabin in the middle of the woods.