TWO
Emily
I had no idea what to do. Tony wasn’t in his room, and his phone went straight to voicemail. The idea of meeting his family alone was freaking me out.
Sure, my mom was Italian, so I spoke the language fluently. Talking wasn’t the problem. But facing his entire family on my own wasn’t appealing. Especially since I didn’t know much about them. The only thing I knew was what Tony had told me before. His father had died when he was still a boy, and later his mother married his uncle. That marriage gave Tony a younger half-brother, Brando. There was also a cousin named Carlo, his uncle’s son from another relationship.
After thinking it through, I figured Tony had probably already gone down and was waiting for me. No such luck. When the blonde maid led me into the dining room and I didn’t see Tony there, it felt like someone dumped a bucket of ice water over my head.
Still, I tried to hold on to my American confidence and walked toward the table like I had every right to be there.
An old, frail-looking man sat at the head of the table in a wheelchair. Drool kept sliding down his chin and soaking his clothes, while the nurse beside him kept wiping his face to make him look halfway decent.
Next to him sat a short man, broad around the middle, in a black suit. He looked at me like I was dirt under his shoe. After just one quick, dismissive once-over, he took his beady eyes off me as if I wasn’t even worth a second glance.
I definitely didn’t see that coming.
“Hello, love,” said a younger man sitting next to Mr. Rude.
His black T-shirt hugged a broad chest and muscular arms, the dark fabric making his pale skin stand out even more. His light blond hair was cropped short and his blue eyes were locked on me.
Across from him, on the other side of the table, sat a woman whose face I couldn’t see. Even though the younger man had greeted me, she didn’t bother to turn her head. The heavy tension in the room pinned me in place, all the words I’d ever known had vanished.
The young man spoke again, his tone cool but definitely mocking. “Cat got your tongue, little bird? Last I checked, we’ve got a dog in this house, not a cat.”
I tried to force a polite smile. “Hi… I’m Emily. Tony’s girlfriend.”
“Of course you are.” He grinned. “Otherwise, you’d be dead before you even set foot in this room.”
What the hell?
The pudgy man chuckled, pulling my attention back to him. He looked genuinely entertained.
“Don’t mind him, sweetheart. He’s a dumbass with zero manners.”
Tony’s voice made me turn around. He was walking toward me with that same calm, measured stride. He wore a crisp blue shirt, hair slicked back to perfection. His cologne reached me before he did, but it wasn’t the scent or his appearance that caught my attention.
It was the woman beside him. No, not a woman. She was a queen, with the kind of beauty that almost hurt to look at. The kind you’d expect from a Greek goddess.
Her long, straight, blonde hair shimmered like moonlight and fell all the way to her waist. Ocean-blue eyes, small sculpted nose, full lips, high cheekbones... she looked unreal, like she’d stepped out of a painting. Unlike most blondes, her skin wasn’t pale. And even without makeup, her cheeks had this soft, natural flush.
She got to me first and held out her hand, her smile warm. “Welcome to Rome, Emily. I’m Lucia. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Finally, someone in this family who seemed normal. Thank God for small mercies.
I shook her hand with a smile. “Thank you, Lucia. Nice to meet you too. I’m guessing you’re the birthday girl. Happy birthday.”
All the warm energy around her vanished in a flash. Like someone flipped a switch, gone. I wondered if I’d said something wrong. Tony had told me she was turning twenty-one, so it couldn’t be some birthday blues. It had to be something else.
It took her a few seconds to pull herself together, and when she finally did, all she gave me was a soft, bittersweet smile.
“For your information, the birthday celebration’s been postponed until her dear husband gets back from some very important business trip,” the blonde man said mockingly.
Tony placed a light kiss on my cheek, then gently guided me toward the table. We sat next to the blond, and Lucia took the seat beside the woman I hadn’t gotten a good look at until now.
She was most likely in her early fifties, elegant, and composed. There were fine lines around her eyes and mouth, but her posture was flawless, and her features still striking.
Tony made the introduction. “Mother, this is my girlfriend, Emily. Emily, my mother, Carmen.”
