Chapter 4
FABIANA
“I want you to know that I’m always here for you,” Vita said once the waiter had taken our orders. She held her coffee cup in both hands, watching me with the warmth of a woman who had already decided she liked me. “If you ever need anything—anything at all—don’t hesitate to reach out.”
Working at the UN, I’d met elegant women. Eloquent women. Women who knew how to command a room.
But Vita Ferraro? She was in a league of her own.
Now in her fifties, she was a retired runway model who’d never lost her slim figure or her ability to navigate the glistening marble floors of a restaurant in high heels.
Her silver hair swished in a mesmerizing curtain behind her as she walked.
We sat at a table by the window, and the sun caressed the flawless planes of her face like an old, greedy lover.
It was no wonder Gino Ferraro had fallen for her.
Even after thirty years together, they had a famously strong marriage, unblemished by scandals or affairs.
She also had a prominent role in the family business.
Rafe had mentioned she’d recently become the chairwoman of Ferraro Holdings, the company that handled the Ferraros’ legitimate business interests.
“That’s very kind of you,” I said. After my disastrous first meeting with Cosimo, we hadn’t managed to reschedule our lunch. Or, to be more accurate, his assistant had given me a date, then canceled it and told me he’d see me at our engagement party next week.
It was a relief that at least my lunch with his mom was going smoothly.
“I mean it.” She set the cup down on the saucer. “Marrying someone of Cosimo’s stature… It’s not an easy life to step into. But based on what I know about you, I’m sure you’ll adapt.”
Adapt. I smiled despite the word scraping against me. It sounded like something you said to someone about to start a diet.
“Is there anything in particular I should be aware of? In terms of what will be expected of me as Cosimo’s wife?”
“Well, most women don’t understand the rules of this world until they’re already in it, but you have an advantage. You were born into it. You’re the daughter of a don.”
I wondered how much she knew about my father. “Growing up, not once did I think that having the father I did was an advantage.”
Vita’s smile turned apologetic. “I’m sorry. That was insensitive of me. I know things were difficult for you growing up.” She sighed. “Your poor mother. How is she?”
I twisted the engagement ring on my finger.
“She’s much happier in the Hamptons.” Mom moved out there after Dad died, and she rarely came back to the city.
The physical scars he’d left might have healed, but the psychological ones remained.
She preferred isolation and a life away from the bustling city that reminded her of the decades she’d lived here.
I hoped she’d make it to the wedding, but I wouldn’t hold it against her if she didn’t. Given how her own arranged marriage had worked out, all of this was triggering her.
“All I meant was that you already understand the reality of this kind of a marriage. Cosimo’s primary responsibility is to the family, and your primary responsibility is to him.
That asymmetry is hard to reconcile for many people.
As are the sacrifices wives in our position all inevitably need to make. ”
“Did you give up your career completely when you married Gino?”
Vita peered at me over the rim of her cup. “Yes. Modeling was simply incompatible with the role I was expected to play by his side.”
“What role was that?”
“Creating a home. Raising his children. Being a friendly face he looked forward to seeing at the end of the day.”
“But now you do much more than that.”
She stirred her cappuccino. “I wouldn’t focus on goals like that if I were you. All Cosimo needs right now is someone steady. Someone who knows her place, and who won’t ask for what he’s not able to give.”
The waiter came around to drop off our plates, and I refolded the napkin on my lap.
Someone who knows her place. My mind latched onto that phrase and turned it over and over, trying to make it more palatable.
I’m sure Vita hadn’t meant to minimize me when she’d said it.
She’d been unfailingly kind ever since the first time we met.
But I could feel the cage forming around me, one bar at a time.
The waiter stepped away.
“Did I upset you?” Vita asked.
“No, not at all. I’m just processing.”
“It’s a lot to process,” she said kindly. “Cosimo will do his duty,” she went on. “And you must do yours. The rest, if it comes, comes. If it does not, a marriage can still be a strong one.”
“It came for you, didn’t it?”
She gave me an indulgent smile. “Your future father-in-law and I are an exception. Wise women do not build their lives expecting exceptions. An arrangement like yours and Cosimo’s—a strategic match—will keep everything a lot simpler.”
She picked up her cutlery again. The restaurant hummed quietly around us. I chewed on my salad and told myself that I could handle everything Vita was preparing me for. That it wasn’t even that far from what I’d expected.
And yet the thought of a quiet house, an empty seat at the dinner table each evening, and a husband who treated me like an ornament caused a pit to open up in my stomach, a pit I wasn’t sure how to fill.
When we were finished with our food, Vita paid, and we walked to the front of the restaurant.
She gave me a quick hug. “I’m in your corner, all right?
” She smiled at me, but a certain tension slipped into her expression.
“Cosimo’s stubborn. I’ll admit it’s taken some time to get him on board with this arrangement.
Nothing to do with you, of course. He—like any other man—simply doesn’t like being told what to do. ”
Oh. That was the first thing I’d heard all lunch that made me relax a little. So it wasn’t personal. I mean, how could it be personal? Cosimo didn’t even know me.
“If his behavior crosses a line, I want you to tell me,” she continued. “He doesn’t need to be happy about this, but he does need to cooperate.”
Tell her about the awkward first meeting. Tell her that his assistant never got back to you to reschedule.
Vita was leaving every door open, and yet something stopped me from confiding in her.
Inviting another person into our relationship this early on felt wrong. Business arrangement or not, Cosimo and I needed to learn how to resolve things without an intermediary.
I’d try to make some progress with him myself before asking Vita for help.
I just hoped I was making the right call instead of setting myself up for more disappointment.