5. Chapter 5
Grace
“There’s my baby girl!” My mom stood in the open doorway before I was even out of the car. She bounced quickly from one foot to the other and held her hands in the air like she hadn’t seen me in months. It had only been a week since the last family dinner.
“Hi, Momma,” I said, kissing her cheek when I got to the door. Behind her, my brothers stood expectantly. From the deeper-than-usual scowl on Giaco’s face, I assumed he already knew everything. “Sorry I’m late.”
My mom stepped to the side, ushering me inside as fast as she could. “Oh, you’re fine. Dinner won’t be ready for a few more minutes.” She slipped past my brothers, winking at my sister-in-law before she scurried into the kitchen.
“So, where were you, Grace?” Giaco asked, putting his arm around Aurora.
There was a contrast in the gentle way he handled her and the hardness in his voice when he asked the question, almost like he was already preparing to interrogate me.
I took a deep breath, counting evenly to five before breathing out in an effort to stop my voice from shaking.
“I was just taking care of a few things.” I shrugged, hoping I looked more casual than I felt. When Ronan scoffed, my confidence faltered. “Nothing unusual,” I added in a failed attempt to seem natural. Even Aurora lifted a brow. There was no way they believed me.
“Why did you say it that way?” Ronan asked, letting his nosiness get the best of him before Giaco’s frustration did.
I twisted my face in the best I-have-no-clue-what-you-mean manner and shrugged. “In what way? I was running errands.”
My brothers narrowed their eyes. “You’re hiding something,” Giaco accused.
“Yeah, what errands did you have to run?” Ronan asked. I chewed on the inside of my lip, trying to figure out the easiest way to tell them to back off.
“I needed groceries, and I had to go to the bank.” I crossed my arms.
Ronan grinned like he could see through my story. “What did you get at the store?”
“Will you two back off? Jesus!” I dropped my hands to my hips and sighed as dramatically, as only a little sister can. “I wasn’t doing anything. Don’t be assholes.”
They exchanged a look, but before either of them could push further, Enzo came into the room. “Just got off the phone with Carlo, and he’s—” My cousin stopped when he saw me. “Oh, hey, Gracey! Didn’t hear you come in!”
“Why don’t you girls go into the kitchen and get yourselves something to drink?
” Giaco suggested, planting a kiss on the top of his wife’s head while she nodded.
“We have to talk about a couple of things.” I scowled, torn between feeling relieved to be excused from the conversation so they could talk about work and wanting to insist I belonged in the room.
On the one hand, at least I didn’t have to come up with a fake grocery list, but on the other, I wanted to be included.
I shouldn’t have to be excluded because the family historically never let women into the business.
It was a new era—one that glued my feet to the floor where I stood. “I can help.”
“I don’t think so.” Giaco didn’t even consider it before shooting me down.
“Why not?” I asked, keeping my hands at my side and resisting the urge to pout the same way I always had as a little girl when my older brothers didn’t let me tag along.
He sighed. “Because it’s not safe for you.” Typical response.
“I’m not a little girl anymore, Giaco. You just don’t trust me.” I glared at them, even when I heard my mom and Nellie coming out of the kitchen.
“Don’t start, Grace. We’ve had this conversation before. It’s not going to happen.” Giaco’s face started to turn an angry red while Ronan put his hand on his shoulder. “We will talk about this later,” he added, turning his attention back to Enzo.
“Oh, Gracey,” my mom nearly sang as she walked in. “I forgot to tell you. I met the most handsome boy, and I can’t wait to introduce you. He’s Vicky’s oldest son.”
I sighed, and the guys looked relieved for the change in my attention. “Mom, do we have to do this right now?”
She stopped, looking at me like I’d taken away her life’s greatest pleasure—playing matchmaker for her only daughter.
“Honey, I just hate seeing you alone! Look how happy your brothers are. Giaco and Aurora just got back from their honeymoon, and Ronan and Nellie are getting married soon. Don’t you want that too?
” She tucked my hair behind my ear, looking at me with unneeded sympathy.
“I’m perfectly fine. I’m not lonely.” If only they knew how not lonely I was. What would they say if they knew I had a too-handsome-to-be-the-enemy Irishman occupying my mind? They would be infuriated to know about Connor, and I knew that. I swallowed the shove-it-in-their-face attitude and sighed.
“I just want you to be happy. Is that so awful of me?” Her infamous guilt trips got me every time, especially when she sniffled. “Vicky was telling me he’s a CEO, and he has his own private plane. Can you blame me for thinking you might be interested?”
On the other side of the dining room table, my brothers and Enzo gathered.
They were whispering something too quietly for me to hear, but judging by the frustration growing on their faces, it was serious.
When Giaco clenched his hands into fists at his sides and Ronan put his hand on his shoulder, I knew it was something big.
I still wanted to help. It’s not going to happen.
“Are you even listening to me?” My mom nudged me, drawing my attention back to the reality dating show taking place before family dinner.
“Yes, Mom. I’m listening.” She already knew it was a lie. She knew I stopped listening when she started trying to sell me on yet another one of her friends’ sons. She didn’t care.
“Good. Then that means you heard me say he wants to take you out to dinner.” My mom was so pleased with herself, and I hated to see her unhappy. “I’ll tell him you can go.”
I sighed when I realized it wasn’t worth the argument. “Okay, fine. I’ll do it. But it’s just one date. No more promising dates to your friends.”
“Yay!” My mom jumped up and clapped her hands. “I already did. He’s picking you up tomorrow at six.”