Chapter 18
Isabella
As I pour cups of coffee for Emilia, Vinnie, and me, I realize this is only the second time I’ve had guests at the house I share with Antonio. The first was when my friend Giulia visited, shortly after I got married. She dropped by with Matteo and we drank wine until Antonio came home and scolded us as if we were naughty teenagers. It was fun to spend an afternoon with my two closest friends. Today is different. It feels more like I’m at an interview, being assessed for my suitability for my role within the family.
Though I’ve met both of my brothers-in-law’s wives already, our husbands were there to smooth over any lapses in conversation. With Ava unable to make it and Livvy missing in action, I’m alone with two women I barely know. I have to admit the prospect of spending time with them makes me nervous. It doesn’t help that they arrived together, Emilia looking fabulous in pink cropped trousers and a white shirt and Vinnie wearing a gorgeous floral dress. From their relaxed manner with one another, it’s clear they’ve already bonded. I can’t help but worry whether they’ll make room for me.
If I’m being honest, I’m envious of them both. Emilia is head over heels in love with Alessandro, despite their marriage coming as the result of an arrangement between his father and her grandfather. I caught glimpses of her adoration for Alessandro when we were at the hospital. In unguarded moments, she looks at him as if he hung the moon.
Vinnie also appears to be blissfully happy. That’s nothing short of a miracle since she’s shackled herself to Leo, a man whose thirst for violence makes me shudder.
“So, how did you and Leo come to be married?” I ask Vinnie because I’ve only heard snippets of the story so far.
Vinnie picks up her coffee cup and takes a sip. “Well, I needed a husband to get out of a marriage my father arranged for me. You’ve heard of Umberto Gallo, right?” She looks at me and takes my grimace as confirmation that I do indeed know of the ageing mobster she’s referring to. “Well, I was not going to marry him without a fight, so I met with Antonio and said I wanted one of his brothers.”
Now I get why Antonio thinks Vinnie is too forward. He’s not used to women taking control of their own destinies.
“And Leo stepped up?”
“He did.”
“Just like that?”
It’s hard to imagine Leo Volante doing anything noble, so I wonder what’s in the arrangement for him. I mean, Vinnie is a beautiful woman, but surely that’s not enough to convince a rampant playboy to settle down?
“Well, I did put fifty million dollars on the table, but he didn’t want it.”
I almost spit out my coffee. “You offered him fifty million dollars to marry you?”
“I did, but he turned it down. He put it in our marriage contract that the money remains mine, no matter what. I can do whatever I want with it.”
“Anything?” Emilia asks.
“Well, he told me I can’t hire a hitman to bump him off.” Vinnie smiles fondly. “He’s so funny at times.”
I try not to let my skepticism show. Leo Volante is not a man I’d associate with a sense of humor or any positive personality trait. Then again, he was kind to me that day at the beach house, so perhaps I’m misjudging him.
“What will you do with the money?” Emilia takes a piece of the chocolate cake I baked, along with a carrot cake, to eat with our coffee.
“I’m thinking about a charitable endeavor of some sort. Sick kids or abused women, something like that. Leo’s got enough money to keep the lights on, so I can put mine to good use.”
As the other women chat enthusiastically about all the potential charities Vinnie could start, my mood drops. These two women will achieve great things. Emilia already runs her own hotel, and Vinnie can do whatever she wants. The most impressive feat I’ve achieved lately was baking a couple of cakes and laying everything out nicely on the table in the living room. I also arranged the flowers in the vase at the center of the coffee table, but that’s hardly going to put me in line for a Woman of the Year award.
“Are you okay?” Vinnie reaches across and touches my arm.
“Uh, yes.” I shake myself out of my slump. “Just amazed at how good a husband Leo seems to be.”
“Well, we haven’t been married for long,” Vinnie says, “and he has had his moments, but I think we’re good for each other.”
“I’m glad.” I mean what I say. Right now, things are still uncertain between Antonio and me, but I’d never be selfish enough to resent other people for having what I want.
“Are things okay with you and Antonio?” Emilia asks.
I shrug. “You know our story, presumably?”
The other women’s grimaces tell me they know the reason for my exile.
“Well,” I continue, “Antonio knows now that I didn’t intend for him to get hurt and we’re trying to put that night behind us. It’s not been easy.”
“Yes, but Antonio came for you.” Emilia’s expression is one of hope. I guess she’s a romantic. “That must count for something.”
“He had to come for me after I killed one of his men.”
Both women look at me, stunned. Vinnie puts her cup down on the table as if she’s afraid of dropping it.
“You didn’t know about that?”
“No,” Emilia and Vinnie say in unison.
My stomach drops. Is Antonio going to be angry with me for divulging that information? Perhaps he told his brothers not to tell their wives anything about it.
“Oh.” Vinnie’s eyes widen as realization dawns on her. “Is that why Leo ditched me when we were at the zoo?”
Leo Volante at the zoo is a topic we’ll have to circle back to later.
“Maybe. He came to the house after it happened.”
“He took care of it?”
“I guess.” I’m not sure who did what to clean up after me, but I know Matteo got rid of the body.
“The man you killed was Rico Mancini?” Emilia also sets her coffee cup down. “He’s the one who’s missing, yes?”
“Yeah. He was an asshole to me. For months, he threatened to hurt me. When he tried to do it, I fought back.” I take a deep breath. “I keep asking myself if I overreacted.”
Vinnie shakes her head. “Don’t do that to yourself. He tried to hurt you and you defended yourself.”
Emilia nods in agreement. “If it was me, I would have shot the son of a bitch.”
Alessandro’s wife has an innocent aura. Coming from her, the curse sounds all wrong.
“I didn’t shoot him, though. I hit him with a frying pan.” The image of it pops into my head and nausea rises in my throat. “Repeatedly. There was so much blood.”
After that gruesome admission, an uncomfortable silence shrouds the room. This is not how I wanted the afternoon to go. I invited the women over so we could lay the foundations for a friendship. Now I feel as if I’ve ruined it. I try to think of something to say but come up short. Thankfully, Vinnie finds a different topic.
“So, what do we all think about Ava’s Russian romance?”
Now this is a subject I’m happy to talk about. I want to know if I’m the only one who thinks Ava should be allowed to live her life as she sees fit. After all, it’s not like Boris Reznov is the enemy. Antonio does a lot of business with him.
“Alessandro’s waiting to see which way the others go,” Emilia says, “but I know Matteo is on Team Ava.”
“That doesn’t surprise me.”
“You’ve known him a long time, haven’t you?” Vinnie takes a bite of carrot cake and then moans appreciatively.
“We were friends at school. Three of us hung out together, me Matteo and Giulia Costanza.”
“What does Antonio think about your friendship with his brother?”
I shrug. “He doesn’t like that Matteo and I were so close, but he doesn’t make a big deal out of it.”
Vinnie nods. “Leo’s pretty cool about my best friend being a man.”
“That’s different,” Emilia says. “Beniamino is gay.”
“Yeah, but Leo wouldn’t care if he wasn’t. He’s too sure of himself to be threatened by another man.”
“That I can believe.” I take a sip of coffee. “But how does he feel about his mom and Boris?”
“He was shocked more than anything. He didn’t like that she’s been hiding things from the family, but he’s softening.” Vinnie flashes a wicked grin. “I threatened to take a vow of chastity if he didn’t at least think about things from his mother’s perspective.”
“I tried that with Antonio, but he pointed out I’d suffer just as much as him if I went on a sex strike.”
Emilia blows out a breath. “If that’s how this conversation’s going to go, I think we should open the bottle of wine I brought.”
“Good idea.” I get to my feet. “I’ll get the wine. Help yourselves to some more cake.”
Leaving the two women in the living room, I go to the kitchen and retrieve the bottle of Pinot Grigio from the wine cooler. Emilia said it was from a vineyard near her home in Italy. I can’t wait to try it. I’m not a wine connoisseur, but the way Emilia presented it to me suggests this bottle is something special.
It takes me a minute to find a corkscrew in a drawer beneath the window. The cork splits as I try to open the bottle, but thankfully I manage to ease it out without any pieces dropping into the wine. It would be sacrilege to ruin such a thoughtful gift. Grabbing three glasses in one hand, I take the bottle of wine in the other and head back to my guests.
When I get to the living room, Emilia and Vinnie are standing in the center of the room, hugging.
“What’s going on?”
The women step apart, and I see that Emilia’s crying. The smile on her face tells me they’re happy tears.
“Alessandro just texted Emilia.” Vinnie answers for the other woman who doesn’t seem capable of speaking right now. “Gio’s awake and talking.”
The sense of relief that washes over me is so powerful it almost makes my knees buckle. I quickly set down the bottle and glasses I’m carrying in case I drop them.
“That definitely calls for a celebration.”
My hands shake as I try to pour the wine, so Vinnie steps in. She fills three glasses, almost to the brim, emptying the bottle. She passes out the glasses to Emilia and me.
“To Gio.” She raises her glass. “And his speedy recovery.”
“To Gio.” Emilia and I both raise our glasses.
Sinking onto the sofa, I take a huge gulp of the wine. It’s refreshing, but I’m too overcome with joy to taste it right now. As Vinnie sits at the opposite end of the sofa and Emilia retakes her seat on the armchair adjacent to it, I smile tremulously. Antonio will be so happy his brother is awake. He’ll heal the rift with his mother and he and I will build our future together. Everything will be alright. Won’t it?