I trust you.
My lips upturn, heart inflating once again,simply because of her words. She’s talking about our dinner plans, but I take those three words as so much more.
Pushing my phone into my pocket, I look back at Enzo, and our eyes meet. Although he doesn’t say anything, his look speaks volumes.
I know you’re hiding something from me.
But he doesn’t know what.
And after his “suggestion” to take Vinnie, he’ll never have the privilege of knowing.
Keeping my mouth shut, I realize that my gut is telling me the truth—this interaction will only end in regret.
I used to be able to talk to my cousin about anything, but now I feel the rift between us is so vast, we may never return to how things were when we were younger.
Turning my back to him, I leave the room to seek out the rest of the family.
Today's intentions are to celebrate my aunt, so I plan to do just that until I can make an excuse to go back to my apartment and put the much-needed distance between me and my cousin, because now I need to figure out how to keep him away from amore mio.
Chapter 28
Vinnie
“What are you getting all dolled up for?” Cecilia asks, watching me from my doorway.
Our eyes meet in the mirror. She looks adorable, in an oversized fuzzy gray sweater coupled with distressed black jeans and her hair pinned back. I love seeing her in such casual clothing. It suits her.
Smiling, she quirks a brow, waiting for me to answer.
“Where’d you just come from?” I counter, knowing she just returned home from another mystery appointment. I’ve been trying not to pry, but her being so secretive about her whereabouts lately has my curiosity piqued.
“Are you helping your mom get ready for the Halloween ball next Friday?”
My eyes narrow in the mirror. “Yes, after brunch on Sunday. Don’t deflect.”
She shrugs and asks me another question. “Are you meeting Sly?”
I apply a thin layer of gloss over my lip stain for hydration. “Are you going to keep avoiding telling me where you’ve been disappearing to lately? You’ve had more appointments than I can keep up with.”
Lia sighs and walks over to my bed, sinking down onto the edge. Turning in my seat, I face her.
“You really want to know?” She looks down at her lap.
I’m out of my chair and sitting next to her in a blink, pulling her hands into mine. “OfcourseI want to know,” I stress. “Lia, if there’s something going on, you don’t have to face it alone.”
“There’snothinggoing on, and that’s the problem. I’m tired of waiting for my happily ever after, Vin. And I realize I say I’m waiting for it, and not actually doing anything to find it, but it’s not for lack of wanting.” She looks up at me. “I’m ready to become a mom. I’ve been meeting with doctors and sperm banks and adoption agencies to figure out what my best course of action is.”
My heart swells and simultaneously aches for her. “Oh, Lia, that’s amazing! Why didn’t you tell me?”
I reach for her neck and wrap my arms around it in a tight hug. She squeezes me back, but pulls away quickly. “Because it’s embarrassing? I’m in my late thirties, and I haven’t been in a serious relationship for at least a decade. And now, I’m so desperate to start a family, I’m going to do it on my own.”
“That’snotdesperate, Cecilia. You don’t need a man to get what you want out of life, and if that’s a family and babies, then there’s no reason for you not to.”
“I know,” she sighs. “I just thought things would be different, you know? I want the love story too.”
“It’ll come. Sometimes things happen out of order, that’s all.”
Looking across the room, she focuses on the wall. “I know.”
