Chapter 14
CHAPTER 14
“You’ve been in love?” He’d said as much to her when they were younger but they’d been kids.
“Yes.” He sat beside her again.
“With whom?” She turned her head away from him, not trusting the hurt that would probably be written all over her face if he named anyone but her.
“You.” Joseph touched an index finger to her jaw and turned her back to face him.
“Me? But. . .” Could it be true?
He held a finger to her lips. “Let me explain. I’ve loved you forever. I would have proposed to you at your sweet sixteen if I could. We were too young, but I knew what I felt. I think our fathers figured it out and didn’t want us to get hurt. Maybe Arlo told Roman I needed to go. I don’t know.” He rested his forehead against hers. “Who knows? I only know that after the dance, it was all he talked about. If people knew about us, they would come after you. My father, and Arlo, never gave up. Said if I really cared about you, I’d let you go. Since you hadn’t contacted me once, I was hurt, confused.”
“That’s insane. How could they do that?” They’d been manipulated by people who said they loved them.
Joseph cursed under his breathe. “We were set up.”
“It destroyed me. My heart broke into a million pieces.” Just thinking about all the special moments they could have spent together was heartbreaking.
His dark eyes seemed to ask for forgiveness. “As did mine. I never meant to hurt you, but they convinced me it was only way. The only way to keep you safe even if it meant we could never be together.”
“I don’t know what to make of any of this.” Could she trust anyone?
“Whatever reason they had for keeping us apart must be over.” He took her shaking hand in his. “We can be together for good now.”
“Seriously?” Angelina pulled her hand free. “You drop all this on me and expect me to say sure, okay, fine? Are you kidding me? I’m so confused.”
“I realize it’s a shock.”
“A shock? I’m furious. I’m so tired of people trying to control my life. Including you. Love me? How can I believe anything you say when you’ve been pretending to hate me for years? You should have told me.”
“We were both deceived and I did it to protect you. I thought it was best.” Joseph raked his fingers through his hair. “I was such a fool. But not anymore.”
“I am not a child. I can make my own decisions.” And yet, she’d never felt more lost in her life.
“I’m sorry. You wanted to know what was going on.” He squeezed her hand.
“I thought this was family business. Not my family in my business. This is fucked up.” Overwhelmed and exhausted, Angelina rose and stormed off.
“Come on, don’t leave. Let’s talk about this some more.” Joseph trailed her inside.
“I can’t even look at you right now.” She marched toward her room.
He jumped in front of her. “I know you still care.”
“I don’t.” She stepped to the side.
He mirrored her movements. “You do.” He pulled her into his arms and pressed his mouth to hers
It was a shock. Something she’d never expected. Something she’d dreamed of. He tasted of cocoa. It would be easy to drink him in, enjoyed the flutters in her stomach, but the man had lost her trust. Pulling out of his embrace, Angelina studied his eyes. They’d never lied to her and they didn’t now.
So many years had passed and yet time had stood still. Their affection for each other had been sealed up in a bottle and now, reopened to spill out and surround them both. Yet, it was too soon to restart where they’d left off. The wounds were still tender to the touch. How long would it take for her to get over their families’ betrayal?
It wouldn’t be tonight. Maybe never.
“I need time to think. I’m going to bed.” A whirlwind of emotions overwhelmed reason and common sense.
“I’m here if you need me.” Joseph kissed her forehead and let her pass. “I promise you, Angelina. If you give us a chance, I will never leave you again.”
Inside her room, Angelina leaned against her closed door. Her lips tingled from the kiss. Her brain swirled from his confession. Her heart pained, split in half from heartbreak. How had she been so manipulated all these years, and by those they trusted the most?
She kicked off her shoes and crumbled onto the bed not bothering to slip out of her clothes. It briefly flashed through her mind to call Bella, but it was late. This was something she had to deal with herself.
Tomorrow she’d call her father. Right now, the anger was too fresh. Too raw. Her cheeks were damp with tears. Pulling a blanket over her head, she cried quietly until sleep finally came.
Joseph
“She knows.” Joseph glared at his father’s face on his phone screen.
“What do you mean she knows?” Roman was wide awake and already dressed in a suit for the day.
“You and her father. Why didn’t I see this sooner?” Joseph headed out to the deck again.
“You have to be more specific, son.”
“You guys told me to leave her alone. My feelings for Angelina were a youthful crush. Angelina was too young to know what she wanted. You convinced me to let her go so she wouldn’t be a target. Yet here I am pretending to me her fiancé. What kind of game are your playing?”
Roman ignored the question. “No matter who you’re with, any person will be a target. Your wife, your kids, your friends.”
“But it was never about anyone else, Only Angelina. Until now. I want to know why.”
“It’s complicated. Arlo and I thought you guys were too close. We could see you getting married right out of high school. You both had to find your way. If it were meant to be, you’d find each other again. This time we just helped it along.”
“That wasn’t your decision to make.”
“Maybe not. Arlo is her father, and I had to abide by his concerns as much as mine. You’re with her now. If it’s meant to be, it will be. We gave you this chance to rekindle your feelings— if they were real in the first place. Make her yours and don’t let go.”
“What the fuck? How can you blow this off like it was nothing? This is my life. Is it because I won’t be the head of the family? I’m not true Caponelli blood?”
Roman set the phone down to adjust his tie. “Look we’ve been over this already. No need to rehash it again.”
“I want to know where I stand. Is Angelina my consolation prize or something? We give you the girl but not the job?” In a second, he would throw his phone off the deck. Let it smash on the ground below, like they had smashed his heart to pieces.
There was a long pause. Footsteps sounded as if Roman was heading into another room and closed a door. “I can honestly say you are a leader. One whom I will always be proud to call my son. Blood or not.”
“You want to explain that?” He tapped his fingers rapidly on the bulletproof glass.
“No. How’s Angelina?” Roman changed the subject.
“In as much shock as I am. Plus this engagement has the sharks circling. We’ve had one hit on her already.”
Roman frowned. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“Some Irish rogue who followed her to a café and offered for her hand.” He didn’t reveal Sean’s real reason for being there. If Roman could have secrets so, could he.
“What did you do?”
“I took care of things. He won’t bother her again.” Or anyone in their family.
“Careful, Joseph. Don’t go stirring things up you don’t understand.”
“Or what?”
“I’ll pull you both back home.” Roman took a deep breath. “I’ve indulged Madison enough with this fashion house. Not to mention the shit I had to do to ensure Angelina’s safety while at school.”
Which in itself had seemed strange. It was rare the mafia in Milan would allow her to study there as if she were a normal person.
Shaking his head did little to clear Joseph’s thoughts. It started to feel like Angelina and he were chess pieces being moved around a board. There was a game playing out, and Roman wasn’t giving any clues.
“How long do we continue with the masquerade? Anyone seeing us together is going to know we are not in a good place. Angelina can’t even look at me right now. She’s shattered.”
“You’ll figure it out. You always do. I have to go.”
The call ended and Joseph tossed the phone on the loveseat. “Fuck!”
You’ll figure it out he’d said which didn’t sound like his dad. It sounded like a hint of things to come. They were always careful on the phone not to share much, but Roman was definitely telling him something. Too on edge to sleep, Joseph went inside, poured himself a glass of water, and paced.
It was a riddle he couldn’t put his finger on. They’d spent every day together as kids. Yet after her sweet sixteen party, things stopped.
Was it a ploy to prevent an accidental pregnancy? There was no doubt he would have waited until she was old enough. Hell, they’d never even kissed until the party. They were both raised in strict households. If they had slept together, there would have been hell to pay and huge consequences for all parties involved.
Then she was allowed to go abroad. Again, an unusual occurrence. He’d dismissed it as a favor to Madison. But was it? Now, they were thrown back together as a couple.
The Irishman. Who sent him to spy on Angelina? What had happened to that man’s poor sister? Like Roman said, he’d figure it out. Hopefully, it would come to him soon before anything else bad happened.
He picked up his cell and sent Dante a text before heading out the door. If they put their heads together, maybe together something might shake loose.