“Me too.”
There’s silence for a couple of seconds. I know she’s waiting for me to speak.
“I’m sorry, Val. I’m sorry for pushing you away and I’m sorry for being such a bitch. I’m sorry for being morally pompous.”
That makes her laugh. “What?”
“Matteo’s the one who described it like that.” Her eyes gleam when I mention him, and I inwardly sigh. Here we go. “He means I think I’m better than everyone. And that I have superior morals.”
“I’m going to have to agree with him on that.” Valentina laughs. “But I’m glad you mentioned him yourself. What’s going on? When did it start? Tell me everything.”
I get comfortable, leaning back against the couch with a soft sigh.
“It started with a one-night stand.”
Her eyes grow wide. “You slept with him?”
“I’m not proud of it,” I mutter.
“But then it became more than that, right? You have feelings for him?”
And so I tell her how it all began with Matteo and me. The arguments, the fights, me pushing him away. And I tell her how somehow he always seems to find his way back into my heart.
“I’m scared, Val,” I whisper. “I have such strong feelings for him and I know I shouldn’t.”
“Why not?”
“Because he’s Matteo Vitale. I mean, I gave you so much shit about dating Salvatore, and now I feel like such a fraud.”
“Don’t. We can’t help who we love. If we could, I certainly wouldn’t have chosen a mafia Don.” She chuckles.
Valentina huffs out a soft breath before getting to her feet, dragging me along with her.
“Come on, I need to show you something,” she says.
We walk up a flight of stairs and down a corridor until we’re stepping inside a huge library. I take it all in, both awestruck and dumbfounded.
“Valentina,” I whisper. “What the hell?”
“I know, right.”
I take in the enormity of the place. Floor-to-ceiling shelves, a long wrought-iron spiral staircase. I catch sight of first editions, rare-looking, insanely expensive ones. The books in this library must be worth a fortune.
My heart soars at the sight.
“Who is responsible for this absolutely amazing gift to mankind?” I question.
“The late Vitale matriarch,” Valentina says on a smile. “She loved books and she worked painstakingly to build this library.”
She sounds like my kind of girl. Matteo doesn’t talk about his parents much. From what I’ve been able to glean, though, he adored his mother and she seemed like a great person.
“It’s amazing,” I tell my best friend. “I never want to leave here.”
“Tell me about it. Sal sometimes has to drag me out. Anyway, I brought you here to show you something in particular.”
She walks to a shelf that has a row of books that don’t quite fit in with the rest. There’s a huge “V” embossed across the spine of each one. Valentina slides one of them out. It’s a pretty fancy book, with gold leaf accents on the front.
When Valentina opens the front page, I gasp in shock at the family portrait. She hands it to me with a knowing smile.
