“Ihavea bone to pick with you.”
I wasn’t even three feet into the foyer at Izzy’s parents, and her mother was already poking me in the chest.
“How dare you put her at risk?”
There was nothing I could say. She was right for yelling at me, and it wasn’t anything I hadn’t already chastised myself for since last night.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “It won’t happen again.”
She let out a loud huff, blowing a strand of hair away from her face that had fallen free from her bun. “It better not.”
“I promise.” I wrapped my arms around her and kissed her cheek lightly. “I love your daughter. I don’t want anything to happen to her.”
“If something does, I’m going to hurt you worse than you ever imagined.”
I didn’t doubt her words. One thing I knew about the Gallos, their word was gospel. None of them made idle threats. I’m sure if something happened to Izzy, they’d all slowly torture me until I died. That shit, I had no doubt.
“Ah, Rose.” Ma Gallo turned toward my mother as soon as I let her go. “It’s so nice of you to join us.”
“Thank you, Maria.” My ma held out a pan of flan. “I brought dessert.”
Flan wasn’t my thing. The slimy texture of it never sat right with me, but people went gaga over the shit. My mother’s was probably the best I’d ever tasted, and I swallowed it down while smiling just for her. But only because I loved her and didn’t want to end up with a hand to the back of the head.
“Come in. Come in.” Ma Gallo plucked the pan from my mother’s hands. “This is my favorite dessert.”
My mother’s face brightened as she smiled at the compliment. “Thank you, Maria. I made it just for you.”
It didn’t matter that they were both lying to each other. It was nice to see two of my favorite women in the same room together and happy. Although I married into this family, I was honored to call them both my mother.
“I’m going to go sit outside,” Izzy said at my side with a small smile. “I need the warmth to help settle my stomach.”
She needed a whole lot more than that, but whatever made her happy. “I’ll check on you before dinner.”
The boys ran past us, heading to the pool and stripping their clothes off before they made it through the open sliding glass door along the back of the house. They were in the water, cannonballing in for effect, before Izzy was able to take a step.
“You sure you want to go out there?” I asked her, laughing at the kids who looked more like a small army.
“I need sunshine, and the kids won’t bother me.”
I kissed her on the lips, dragging my thumb across her skin. “Love ya, doll.”
“You too, Jimmy. Now leave me in peace for a while.”
I laughed as she sashayed onto the lanai and practically collapsed in the lounge chair. She hadn’t even fully stretched out when the kids surrounded her like a swarm of bees.
Izzy
At the end of dinner, my mother stood up from the table and tapped her wineglass with her spoon. “I have an announcement,” she said, glancing around the table and waiting for everyone to be quiet.
The kids didn’t stop outside, talking and running around the table, but she had the full attention of the adults in the dining room.
“The doctor called yesterday—yes, on a Saturday.” She pursed her lips because I knew most of us were giving her a skeptical look. “Anyway, he wanted to give me the results of the biopsy.”
I sat up a little straighter, and butterflies filled my stomach. Doctors didn’t call on Saturdays unless there was something really important they had to tell a patient. Right? I mean, it must be bad news if he took time out of his weekend to ring my ma. I looked around the table, and I knew my brothers well enough to know they were thinking the same damn thing. I held my breath, waiting for the other shoe to drop.
James’s hand closed around mine. “Breathe, Izzy.”
I squeezed his hand because no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t. I was too panic-stricken to think, let alone breathe. My body had seized, and fear set in deep in my bones.
