Beatrice looked up at Nico. “If her stepmother is a queen, that would make her a princess, right?”
“That’s right. Princess Snow White.”
The girls made a face and then said in unison, “Lame name.”
Nico nodded. “It is, isn’t it?”
“Do you know the story?” Sofia asked.
“I do.”
“Can you finish it?” Beatrice asked.
“I could. Or I could tell you a different version. One you wouldn’t find in this book.”
Their eyes opened wide.
“Yes! Do!” they cried, gleefully.
“But wait!” Sofia said as she jumped up from the sofa. “We need chocolate.”
“Most definitely,” said Beatrice, running after her.
“But we just had gelato,” Nico cried.
Rocco approached the door to his suite. He was happy—really, truly, happy.
Tonight, when they all met up to celebrate, he’d find a moment to pull Nico aside. He wanted to explain that cockroach business. He really wanted to do more than explain. He wanted to apologize.
But over the last couple of days, he’d never been able to get a moment alone with her. Someone was always around. When they were at the track, there were team meetings, practice sessions, and qualifying. Off the track, there was his family, who lived only a couple hours from Monza.
He entered the code, heard the click, and opened the door. He paused when he heard a voice. It was a woman’s voice, but not Isabella’s.
“The stepmother wasn’t evil,” said the voice. “She was just smart, tough, and a woman who wasn’t afraid to speak her mind. And like other women of her ilk, she was both misunderstood and maligned.”
He shut the door softly behind him, crept down the hallway, and peered around the corner.
“What doesilkmean?” Beatrice asked.
“Andmaligned?” Sofia added.
“Ilk means type. So, women who were like her.”
“Smart, tough, and not afraid to speak their mind?” Sofia ventured.
“Exactly. And to malign someone means to put them down, make them look bad.”
Beatrice nodded. “Like Uncle Rocco calling you a cockroach.”
He cringed.
“Well, I don’t think he called me that. Not exactly.”
“He said you were encroaching,” Sofia said. “He didn’t want you on the team.”
Beatrice nodded. “Yeah.”
“Well …”
