My cheeks heated. “I—” I was about to defend myself or apologize, I wasn’t sure which, because she’d surprised me, but a woman sitting next to Lina, the older one, cut her off.
“Ginevra,” she said. Her voice had the same warning tone that Peppin’s had when he’d said Paul’s name.
The woman sitting next to Lina, the older one, was a family friend. I remembered Lina telling me they had been friends in Italy and stayed friends after they both immigrated to America when they were fifteen. They were like sisters. I assumed Ginevra was the woman’s granddaughter. Maybe Ginevra was Little Lina’s mother? Which could have made sense.
Maybe they loved Lina enough to name the baby after her? Little Lina didn’t have Ginevra’s features—hers were sharp, and her hair was the color of caramel—but she had similar eyes. Except Ginevra’s seemed greener than blue.
Ginevra ignored her grandmother, or whoever she was, and stormed outside with Little Lina.
Alessa rolled her eyes. “Don’t worry about her. She’s jealous because Aniello lets you call himNiello, if you catch my drift.”
“Alessa,” Lina said, that same warning tone to her voice.
I’d caught her drift, and I wasn’t sure if I liked it. It was the same feeling I got whenever Sharon looked at Aniello like she did.
I excused myself from the table and went to the window, looking outside. Quentin and Abe were in the yard. They were talking to the men. Sharon was with them. She was playing bocce.
Ginevra stood next to Paul, holding Little Lina, and as soon as Aniello came from the side of the house, Peppin behind him, she charged toward him. Paul took Little Lina from her while she said whatever she was saying. I could tell by her body language that she was pissed.
Aniello stared at her face with indifference, but something about it bothered me, because for some reason, I could tell it bothered him.
Even if no one else could sense it, I could. He was pissed.
Ginevra crossed her arms her over chest, waiting for him to speak, but instead of responding, Aniello took Little Lina from Paul and started toward the stairs. They watched him as he came up the steps and disappeared inside of the house.
Was the baby Ginevra and Paul’s? Why didn’t Ginevra want me holding her? Had I done something before that I had no clue I did? Maybe I’d been misreading the mood of the house—maybe they were only being polite to me for Aniello’s sake?
My mind started working overtime, and my heart started pounding, a thin sheet of sweat coating my body from the strain of trying to remember.
It was so fucked up that I couldn’t. Especially since Alessa alluded to Ginevra being jealous.
Shit. Maybe that was what stood between the brothers? A woman? Ginevra? Because there was no doubt, there was something more there.
Without giving me a chance to react, Aniello took me by the hand, leading me into the room where the women were sitting at the table. He leaned down and kissed Lina (the older one) on the cheek and thanked her in Italian for having us. He handed Little Lina to her a second later.
Sensing that we were leaving, I also kissed Lina’s cheek and thanked her for having me. Instead of kissing the baby, I waved to her. I didn’t want to upset her parents.
As soon as we turned our backs, she started to wail. She seemed to really love Aniello.
Aniello’s grip on my hand became tighter as we walked away from her.
“Bambina—” I said, realizing we were leaving her behind. My heart was doing this crazy thing I couldn’t understand, and the thought of leaving her behind made me feel almost weak in the knees.
“She’s safer here,” he said. “For now.”
“We’ll come back for her?” I heard the panic in my voice. “I—”
“I vow to you, Rosalia,” he said, stopping on the steps for a second to meet my eyes. “We’ll come back for her.”
I dallied for a second before I nodded.
“Where are we going?” I asked when we bypassed the people in the yard and started heading toward the duplex next door. I didn’t even get a chance to tell Peppin goodbye or say hello to Quentin and Abe.
“Out,” he said.
“That doesn’t tell me anything, Niello!”
He stopped before we made it to the steps of the duplex we were staying in.
