He shrugged.
“That’s sweet of you to say,” I said. “Thank you. And thank you for having me.”
“No, no, no.” She pulled away and gripped both of my hands in hers. “You’re welcome here, honey. I’m so happy you’re here. Your hair is just beautiful. And you’re nice and tall—”
“Ma.” Constantine put his hand on his shoulder. “We’re holding up the line. Can’t let people go hungry, right?”
“Of course,” she said. “You’re right. We’ll catch up later.” She moved farther down the line, letting everyone else get their food first.
We walked a few steps forward, the people ahead of us slowly making their way to the kitchen, where the food was on display so people could load up their plates. All the dread I’d felt at meeting his family suddenly felt ridiculous because they’d all been so lovely. The matriarch was usually the least accepting, but she’d brought me into her arms like I was welcome before she even met me. “You have a really nice family.”
“Yeah, they’re pretty great.” He moved into me, his arm curling around the small of my back, embracing me in the presence of his family the way he did when we were alone. “A little bit drunk and crazy, but still great.”
“I’m excited to meet your dad.”
There was a quick hesitation on his face, his eyes shifting away.
I knew him well enough to know that wasn’t the right thing to say. “Oh, did he pass away?”
“Yeah, he’s been gone awhile.”
“Shit, I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay, sweetheart. You didn’t know.”
A man had never called me sweetheart and he probably called everyone in his bed by the endearment, but I still loved it when he called me that. It made me feel special, even if it was overused.
He quickly changed the subject. “So, if youreallywant my family to like you, I have some advice.”
“I’m listening.”
“Eat.A lot.It’s the greatest compliment you can give my mother.”
“I already eat a lot. You’ve seen me.”
He chuckled. “That’s not a lot. You’ll see.”
We were the next in the kitchen, every flat surface containing a platter of fish, a fresh salad, roasted potatoes, lemon-crusted asparagus, octopus, marinated red shrimp in olive oil, giant pots of pasta in homemade ragu, arancini, freshly baked bread ... more things than I could even see. “How did they make all this?”
“Generations of experience.” He handed me a clean plate. “Ladies first.” He gave my ass a playful smack.
“Con!” A woman with dark hair moved over to him and gave him a hard hug.
“Hey, sis.” He gave her a one-armed hug and kissed her temple. “Everything looks good.”
“Well, I almost killed her to make it.”
He chuckled. “Yeah, I heard when we walked in. Where are the boys?”
“With Aunt Chiara. Probably climbing on her like a tree.”
“I’ll help out after I eat. Beatrice, this is Aurelia.”
I awkwardly held the plate as I extended my hand to shake hers. “It’s lovely to meet you.”
Beatrice clearly wasn’t expecting me like her mom was, because she quickly glanced at Constantine before she looked at me again, a silent conversation passing between them. “You too. I’ve heard so many stories about the two of you in town, so I’m glad I can finally put a face to a name.” She didn’t hug me like his mother did, didn’t even try to shake my hand. “Enjoy the food. I almost killed my mother when I made it.”
I laughed, but I would have laughed a lot harder if it weren’t obvious she was disappointed by me.
