“Mrs. Bianco, we missed you at the wedding.” Romeo was compelled to speak when I let the silence stretch too long.
It wasn’t a tragedy. And I didn’t want to see her. But she knew that, her cunning eyes glittering like cold gems. She reached out and squeezed Romeo’s biceps, clicking her tongue.
“You know, I was so surprised that Anita had made a match. Let alone a good one.” She waved her hands, coating her barbs with just enough sugar to seem plausible while she avoided the question of her absence. She cast me an adoring look, all for show and Romeo…didn’t fall for it.
His lips spread, a remarkable effort of a smile. But it was thin, and I could tell it wasn’t genuine.
“Why would you be surprised? Anita is perfect, as if god made her for me.” He looked at me as he said the last comment, and a shiver zapped down my spine from the intensity of his gaze. The honesty. As if he was slicing past layers of secrets I held and beholding my heart like a precious gift.
Mom concealed her disbelief with a flash of her white teeth.
“Of course, of course. I only meant Anita keeps so much to herself. I often despaired about whether she would do the right thing and marry.” She gave a conciliatory titter.
Paolo hovered in the background but didn’t approach. He didn’t want to interact with his aunt any more than I did.
I stiffened. Her insults were usually better packaged than this. She cared too much about public opinion, but this? Her charm was brittle, and Romeo heard her barbs for what they were. He moved behind me, hands anchoring down on my shoulders. His thumbs stroked, and my skin heated through the material of my dress.
“I adore your daughter. There is nothing she could do that would turn me away from her.” His words sent a lick of warmth through me. If only for the way my mom’s nostrils flared unflatteringly.
She was warring with herself. It was her habit to denigrate me, sweet and careful, but Romeo wasn’t giving her any room to work.
I leaned back on him to spite my mom. But his chest was a furnace, and I had to bite my lip. Romeo’s arm slid around my waist, hauling me to him in an obscene display of affection. I tried to signal for him to let me go, but he was glaring at my mom.
Did he feel protective of me?
A bubble of laughter choked my throat. My mom knew me better than Romeo, knew what I was capable of, at least. She’dseen me raised a spitting image of my father and witnessed the rage I could wield when he disappeared.
“I always wanted to see you settled, safe in a home with your husband to guide you,” she sighed, her dearest dream, realized.
The crowd from the funeral dissipated, but they would still expect us to attend the wake later. I tried to think of what excuse I could make to escape her presence. My skin itched at her closeness. She had always treated me like a doll, and when I didn’t perform the way she wanted, she discarded me. It made me sick that I’d almost given her exactly what she wanted when I first got married to Romeo.
“It’s such unexpected news, Mr. Vani’s death.” She shivered, wrapping her shawl tight over her shoulder. “I didn’t know food poisoning could be fatal.” I would have stiffened, except Romeo was digging his thumbs into my shoulders. Not in a warning, but a reminder of his silent support. It mollified me, which should have sent a warning through me, but I was already exhausted from pretending all day.
“Life is a gamble. Some get what they deserve. Some of us are lucky and stumble onto a treasure.” His thumbs coasted up the side of my neck, and I swallowed a noise. I should have moved out of his hold, but it was intriguing to see my mom disturbed by Romeo’s ‘affection’ for me.
She sniffed, fiddling with the strap of her leather purse. I had once thought my parents were in love, but time and age resolved that.
“I’ll be in Greenich Bay for a while longer. I could certainly rearrange my plans to attend the birthday soiree I’m sure you’re having. I have a gift I think you’ll appreciate.”
Romeo chuckled as I groaned internally.
“Anita’s birthday?” His chest vibrated against my back. “I’m afraid I’m a greedy man, and I’ve insisted on having her all to myself.”
I didn’t know whether to celebrate or scream. First, Romeo had rescued me from spending any more time with my dreaded mom, but second, he’d maneuvered himself into spending more time together.
My mom made a noise of approval and leaned in to coast her lips over my cheeks. The smell of her heady perfume turned my stomach.
“How wonderful, darling. Do you still enjoy playing with your plants? I know someone who makes adorable macrame hangers.”
Bile rose, and I answered before Romeo had a chance.
“I’m a wife now. I left all those frivolities in the past.”
Let her think Romeo had done what she never could. Tame me.
She lingered, a tight smile stretching as she expected me to say more.
We left soon after, to attend the wake. Romeo made excuses as the hour neared midnight. He could tell my sullen displeasure and was a quick learner, another thing that irritated me.
