“Matteo!”
“I know, Ma. What’s done is done, right?” With his hand scraping through his umber waves, he looked at her and shrugged. “Just leave Gina alone. Trust her to know what’s in her heart.”
He stormed off, the kitchen door slamming shut behind him.
So, there it was, the ever-present elephant in the room, out in the open at last. Teo and Lina dated all four years of high school. They used to be that sickening couple who finished each other’s sentences and couldn’t keep their hands off one another. Until the autumn after their graduation, that is.
Gina was fourteen, a freshman in high school then.
It was nothing big—a little tiff. They’d break up one day and make up the next, as they had a million times before.
But they never did.
Lina was gone for a while. She reappeared at Christmas, a diamond ring on her finger. The wedding was a rushed affair for obvious reasons. A small ceremony in St. Vincent’s chapel, with only the parents of the bride and groom in attendance.
In all the years since, it hadn’t been spoken of or addressed. Teo had been forced to squash it all down for the sake of “appearances” and a baby that wasn’t his, but should have been, while having to look at the face of his betrayer every day.
“Fuck’s sake.” Tony waved his hand in the air as if his brother wasn’t worth a second thought. “He knows it wasn’t like that.”
The fucking audacity…
Maybe he’d convinced himself otherwise, because how else could he live with what he’d done? But no matter how Tony spun it, an ultimate betrayal is exactly what it was.
With her mouth hanging open, Gina’s gaze went from her brother to her parents. “Did any of you ever stop and think about it from Teo’s perspective—or even acknowledge his feelings?”
“They were over, Gina,” Tony shouted, not allowing anyone to speak.
“Were they?” She glanced over at Lina, who had the decency, at least, to hang her head in shame. “Well, you made sure of that, didn’t you? Regardless, Teo’s entitled to feel the way he does.”
“Yeah, you can’t blame him for it,” Luca said.
Nick nodded in agreement. “You forgot the bro code, dude.”
“See that?” Tony abruptly stood, knocking his chair over, and pointed a finger at their youngest brother. “He’s gone and torn this family apart.”
“You mean you just noticed?” And Luca rose from his chair.
“No, Tony, it wasn’t him. You and your wife did that.” Gina glared at him, then, turning to her mom, she lowered her voice. “You and Dad, too.”
“That’s not fair, Gina,” she whispered back.
Pathetic.
“You still don’t get it, do you?”
“People can’t help who they fall in love with, dear.”
She glanced at the clock on the wall. Gina didn’t have to leave for another hour, but she didn’t want to be here a minute longer.
“Right.” And she let a sardonic laugh escape. “I have to get to work.”
“I’ll take you,” Luca offered, putting his arm around her.
Nodding, Gina picked up her work bag and paused when she reached the door.
She turned around.
“And Mom, don’t ever tell me who I can and cannot love, because I’ll be sure to remind you that you said that.”
