"Okay," she says, her voice still a little shaky. "So, my sister is marrying a hot mafia boss who's apparently not as terrible as most mafia bosses, our mom used to be a Castellano, and our dad is in hiding because he's an idiot." She takes a long drink. "Cool. This is fine. Everything is fine."
I laugh. "Sofia—"
"No, no, I'm processing." She waves her hand dramatically. "Give me a minute. Or a year. Possibly a lifetime."
Mama shakes her head, but she's smiling. "You're handling this better than I expected."
"I mean, Val's clearly happy. I don’t know what you, dad, and this guy has done to my sister but, I guess she doesn’t seem to be in any duress." Sofia shrugs. "What am I supposed to do, tell her not to fall in love? That ship has obviously sailed."
"It hasn't," I start to protest, but both of them give me a look.
"Honey," Mama says gently. “The ship hasn't just sailed, it's docked, unpacked, and settled into a nice little villa in Tuscany."
I bury my face in my hands, but I'm laughing.
When Salvatore returns an hour later, he pauses in the doorway.
"Ready?" he asks carefully.
Mama stands, crosses the room, and does something that shocks all of us.
She hugs him.
It's brief, just a few seconds, but when she pulls back, she keeps her hands on his shoulders, looking up at him with an expression I've never seen before.
"Take care of my daughter," she says quietly. "Love her the way she deserves to be loved.” Her voice hardens just slightly. "And if you ever hurt her, I don't care how powerful you are, I will find a way to make you regret it. Do you understand me?"
Salvatore holds her gaze without flinching. "I give you my word, I will spend the rest of my life making sure she never regrets choosing me."
Mama studies him for a long moment. Then she nods, just once.
"Good." She releases him and steps back. "Now, I believe we have a wedding to look forward to."
* * *
The car ride home is quiet, but it's a different kind of quiet than before. Peaceful, almost.
Salvatore places his hand out and I place mine in it. He intertwines them on the leather armrest between us.
"What did my mother say to you?" I ask finally. "When she hugged you?"
"She told me to take care of you. To love you properly." He pauses. "And she threatened to destroy me if I ever hurt you."
"I like her." He sounds almost surprised by the admission. "She's fierce. Protective. I can see where you get it from."
I laugh softly. "I can’t believe how in the dark I have been about all of this. About this other world, about my parents."
He brings my hand to his lips and places a soft kiss on it.
“I’m sorry I fell for you and brought you into it. But I can’t say I regret it.”
He's quiet for a moment, his thumb tracing circles on my hand.
"I can't promise you a normal life, Valentina. But I can promise you that I will protect you. Choose you, every single day, for as long as I live."
The rest of the drive passes in silence.
Salvatore's hand tightens around mine, a silent offering of support, but I can't bring myself to look at him, or to ask the question that I can’t get out of my mind.
