“The people in the right circles care, Andrea.” She reaches for her purse and extracts a make-up compact. A tube of Dior emerges, and she expertly applies a fresh coat of lipstick.
“I’m quite happy with the circles I move in. I’m well-respected in my field.” Honestly. I can’t believe I’m even having this conversation.
“Yourfield…like some sort of working-class woman. You could be doing so much more with your life!”
“More with my life? I’m a freaking pediatric specialist, Mother! You think I’d want to give that up to work in a soup kitchen once a month to convince my friends I have a charitable streak? You’re a hypocrite!”
“Mind your tongue, Andrea. You have no idea of how much good work I do in the community!” Although I know I’m being firmly chastised, my mother is now keeping her tone so conversational that anyone might think we’re discussing the weather.
I roll my eyes. “Maybe I would if you and Daddy hadn’t thrown me out after I’d been fucking abused by that bastard!”
“Oh, do grow up, Andy! You’ve let that awful man put ideas into your silly little head. Don’t think I didn’t see how you gloated when he stood up for you that day.”
“Hah! Don’t think I didn’t see howyougloated when you thought you might be able to get your hands on another of my men.” My mother’s expression when Mateo had ignored her flirtation had been truly priceless.
“My hands on your men? I’ve never heard anything so ridiculous!” She’s lying. My mother’s always gotten a kick out of trying to seduce my lovers. The fact that she’s succeeded more than once says a lot about my shitty taste in men. My mother snaps her make-up mirror shut sharply. “You ruined your reputation – tainted our family name, and now you refuse to do what you should to repair it. You should be marrying Mark Whitlock to fix things.”
“Come on, Mother! What era do you think we live in? Mateo… Matt doesn’t care about any of that shit. He loves me just as I am!” I feel like a fraud as I say it, though I don’t see why I should. He said the words himself. Maybe it was in the heat of the moment. Maybe it was just for show. But it felt real. Why can’t I let myself feel like a fairytale princess for just a little while?
“Love?” She spits the word. “What the hell do you know about love?” Her tone has risen again, and she quickly modulates it when a nearby couple aims a curious look at us.
“I know plenty. I loved Kyle! More than you ever did, that’s for sure.”
“I was hismother, Andrea! Nobody loved him more than I did!” She rummages around in her purse again and I notice with interest that she’s found a small bottle of tablets. She palms two and swallows them with a mouthful of water.
“If that’s the case, why did you let them lie about his death? You know it could never have been suicide. We all did!”
My mother shakes her head mutely, her eyes wide.
“You don’t know…”
“Don’t know what, Mother? What I’m talking about? Of course I do! Kyle would never have taken his own life.”
She clasps a hand to her throat. “No. You don’t know what…what business they were into!”
“What?” I stare at her in confusion. “What are you talking about? What business?” But she’s shaking her head again, rising to her feet.
“You stupid girl! We’d all have been killed if we’d done the wrong thing!” Snatching up her purse, she shoves her chair back and spins away from the table. Tony’s on his feet, his huge bulk between us in a moment. It’s not necessary. My mother is practically running from the restaurant. And for the first time ever, she doesn’t seem to care what anyone is thinking.
Chapter 11
Mateo Ricci
“Well, look what the cat dragged in! And by ‘cat’ I mean ‘pussy’.” Raoul’s voice is typically mocking as I make my way from the office reception area into the boardroom. Dario’s lounging in a tall-backed executive chair and Raoul’s leaning against a mile-long boardroom table as the pair pore over a sheaf of papers.
“Morning,” I reply, ignoring the sarcasm.
“Hey, bro,” Dario greets me. There’s almost no sign of any of the animosity we went through just a few short months ago. It’s like business as usual. Except I’m no longer in the business. I’m here to ask a favor.
“What’s up?” Raoul asks as I pull out a chair and take a seat beside them.
I splay my hands. “You know the deal. Got Andy back at the apartment. And fucking Whitlock’s still out there.”
“Yeah, that’s a tough one, dude. Not to mention that you’re two weeks away from getting yourself hitched to that cart.” Raoul chuckles darkly. “I sure hope you’re at least getting some bang for your buck. But then again, I have a feeling that chick’s as wild as shit in the sack.”
“Fuck off,” I mutter. I’m not normally ruffled by Raoul’s sexual innuendos, but for some reason, it pisses me off to hear him talk about Andy this way.
“Cut it out, Raoul. That’s his woman you’re talking about.” Raoul blinks in surprise as Dario steps in and pulls him in line. To be honest, I almost do to. I turn to him when I speak again.
