Chapter Forty Two
Francesca
I’m just about to close up when Mia comes through the front door of the bakery.
It’s been two weeks since Sal and I got engaged, and Mia is taking her MOH duties very seriously. She has an entire binder dedicated to my wedding, complete with color dividers to separate my bridal shower, bachelorette party, and the wedding itself. I assured her she really didn’t have to help with the wedding itself, but then I realized how overwhelming it was going to be to plan a wedding in three months, so I handed off a few duties to her.
I didn’t even think Mia was into weddings when I first met her, so I’m pleasantly surprised.
“I’m almost done,” I assure her, grabbing some paper towels and glass cleaner. “We’ve been totally dead for the last half hour, so I did all the paperwork early.”
“Here, I’ll do that,” she says, taking the cleaner and spraying the front of the display herself.
“You really didn’t have to meet me here,” I tell her, grabbing tomorrow’s orders and going through them.
“I thought it would be more subtle. If I got to the house before you and then waited for you to get there, it would be kind of obvious. If I’m helping you close up at the bakery and we get there at the same time, it makes perfect sense that you’d accompany me to the study.”
Mateo apparently summoned Mia today since she’s handling the planning, but he’s footing the bill for my bridal shower. He asked her to pop over to settle the financials, but Mia asked me to come with her.
“Not that I mind, because I obviously don’t, but I can’t help thinking you probably could’ve settled this without me more efficiently. You would’ve been done and on your way home before I even got there,” I point out.
She wipes down the display, not answering me.
“What aren’t you telling me?” I ask, frowning at her avoidant behavior.
Her eyes widen in mild alarm. She pauses in wiping down the counter, glancing up at me, then shakes her head. “Nothing. I just thought this would be better so I don’t have to be alone with him.”
My stomach twists a bit and I drop the orders on the counter. “Why don’t you want to be alone with him?”
Since she’s not very slick, she just goes silent again. Mia is the worst liar.
“Mia?” The thought absolutely turns my stomach, but my mind goes to the worst places. “He didn’t… do anything…?”
“No,” she says quickly, shaking her head vehemently. “No, not at all. It’s nothing. Truly. I just don’t want to invite trouble, that’s all. Preemptive measure. No big deal.”
“I think trouble’s gonna show up whether it has an invitation or not,” I inform her.
“Nope,” she says, shaking her head with impressive confidence for someone who’s so wrong. “As long as we’re never alone together again, there’s no chance of anything going wrong.”
“That’s realistic, long-term thinking. Assuming you stay in this family you only have, what, 30 or 40 more years of avoiding being alone with him? No sweat. That’s definitely going to work.”
Mia rolls her eyes. “Whatever, it’s a perfect plan.”
“If he wants to be alone with you, he’ll just make me leave,” I point out.
“I don’t think he wants to be alone with me, I just don’t want to show up alone and tempt him.”
“Were you planning to show up naked? Because otherwise you’re just describing generally existing.”
“I’ve had moments of weakness, okay? Just let me be cautious.”
I lean across the counter, looking down at her eagerly. “Tell me more about these moments. Did he have them at the same time? I need details.”
Mia grins, shaking her head. “You’re terrible. I’ve done nothing wrong, and neither has he. I just want to keep it that way, so we need a chaperone.”
“Psh, I’m definitely going to find a reason to leave you two alone now.”
Her eyes widen as she pops back up and hands me the window cleaner. “You better not.”
“Watch me.”
“I’ll be so mad at you.”
I grin at her lame threat. “Oh, no, not anger. Whatever will I do?”
“You’ll… feel really bad because your maid of honor is totally pissed at you.”
“Eh, he’ll put you in a better mood with his mouth.”
Mia flushes about thirty shades from pink to red then buries her face in her hands. “Stop torturing me. I’m trying to be a good person, goddammit.”
“An admirable goal. I love it.”
“Then stop being such a bad influence,” she demands.
“I’m not being a bad influence. I don’t want you to cheat, I just want you to steal him back from the poacher who grabbed him in the first place and live happily ever after.”
“You have very unrealistic goals.” She misses a beat. “Why do you dislike Meg so vehemently? Meg’s my friend and she just so happens to love your brother.”
“She loves the side of my brother that’s effortless to love. You know you need to avoid being alone with him when he’s engaged to someone else, and you still want him. Maybe you have questionable taste in men, but you’re more realistic about Mateo than she is and I think you have a far better shot of keeping him happy.”
“She’s pregnant,” Mia states, like that settles it. “They’re having a baby, they’re engaged—he’s taken.”
“She had a baby with some other dude—where’s he at now?”
She stares at me for a moment, then realizing I actually don’t know, she answers, “Mateo had him killed.”
“Oh. Really?”
She shrugs. “Not over her. It was a gambling debt or something. He didn’t sound like a real catch.”
“Well, it doesn’t matter. Look at our dad, he had babies by four different women—and if Adrian would’ve been our brother, it would’ve been five. So maybe it was almost five, I don’t know. I don’t know if he actually thought Adrian was his or he just wanted to fuck with Mateo, but my point stands. Mateo’s only up to two. You can totally be lucky number three.”
“Vince would be thrilled to know you’re trying to pimp out my womb,” she says, rolling her eyes.
“Well, he doesn’t want to put anything in it,” I say, shrugging like this is a reasonable alternative. “If there’s a vacancy, it’s his fault.”
“I don’t think that’s how that works,” she tells me.
“Honestly, I love Vince, but I don’t understand why you two are still together.”
“He doesn’t want to break up. He doesn’t trust me, he obviously resents me, I think I piss him off more than anything even when I’m not doing anything wrong, but he doesn’t want to let go. I get it, ‘cause I’m not exactly begging to leave myself, but…” She shrugs, her gaze dropping. “I don’t know. I still care about him; there are just so many more issues now. He doesn’t trust me and I’m a little afraid of him, so we’re just walking on eggshells and doing the best we can.”
I scowl. “Afraid of him?”
“Not like that,” she says, shaking her head. “It’s complicated. There’s stuff you don’t know and I can’t get into it. He’s just a bit of a wild card sometimes. He’s done some things I never thought he would, and…” She trails off, shrugging. “I don’t know. I’m gonna go wait in the car or we’ll be here all night talking.”
“Wait, I want to keep fixing your love life!”
Mia rolls her eyes at me over her shoulder and heads out the front door, using her own key to lock it behind her and heading to the car.
---
I’m feeling pretty cheerful as I sit in the wing chair in front of Mateo’s desk. There’s only one chair and I made it there first, so Mia had to walk over and stand next to Mateo’s chair, right beside him as she flips through the binder on his desk to show him the financial breakdown of all her plans.
At one point her hair falls over her shoulder and he must catch the scent, because he turns his head and looks directly at her. She ignores his eyes on her like it’s her job, but I’m not discouraged. They can’t both be strong for the rest of their lives. He’s with the wrong person. Fate will correct this mistake. I refuse to believe otherwise.
I still wish I could make them walk down the aisle together at my wedding, but having her walk down the aisle with Mark may be just as effective. I don’t think he’ll like the realization that as long as he lets her float around in the world, other men will have Mia. He knows Vince isn’t going to last forever. He’s known that since day one when he decided to break them up. He also told Mia she could leave our family when that happened. He may have wanted to let her go when he thought that’s what she wanted, but I can’t believe he’ll remain firm in that decision knowing she has feelings for him. If he does, I’m going to be so pissed off at him. I’m not even going to feel bad for him down the road when the maid stops loving him; I’m just going to say I told you so.
That’s probably not true. I’ll feel really bad, because I’m a sucker.
I just want my difficult brother to have peace and happiness. He hasn’t had anyone who fit him the way Mia does in his whole damn life. I want them to stop being stubborn and just go to each other like the perfect little heart magnets they are.
Mia is giving me a dirty look. I must be mooning at them. Yep, Mateo looks utterly amused. I’m definitely mooning.
I try to stop, but they’re dancing at their wedding in my mind and I can’t.
They’re going to make adorable babies. Their son can have baby play dates with my little Alessandra at our house in the suburbs. We’re all going to be so happy.
As if she can read my mind, Mia’s blue eyes narrow at me.
“I have to pee,” I announce, pushing up off the chair.
Mia’s mouth opens and closes twice before I turn my back and abandon her alone in the study. I don’t even feel bad. She’ll thank me someday.
Or, she would’ve, but she comes running out after me.
“You’re the worst buffer in the world. Next time I’m bringing Vince.”
I snort. “That’s a lie if I’ve ever heard one.”
“You totally blew my cover. I couldn’t be subtle. Now he definitely knows I just didn’t want to be alone in there with him while you went to pee.”
I lean in and sniff her hair. “Why do you always smell so good? You smell like a Hawaiian vacation—and Mateo loves the beach.”
She tries valiantly to bite back a smile, but laughter escapes her. “You have to stop. If Meg and Mateo ever break up on their own, then we’ll talk. But I don’t see that happening, and unless it does I’m not interested. They are happy together. I will not get in their way, no matter how much you try to convince me.”
“But that could take years,” I argue.
“Then it takes years.”
“You and Vince do not have years left,” I state, shaking my head. “Maybe you should date Mark. It would keep you in the general vicinity until Mateo gets his shit together.”
Mia blinks. “What now?”
I wave her off. “Never mind, don’t worry about it. I’m making various tentative plans for your life, just sit back and relax; I’ll let you know if I need you to do more than look pretty.”
Now Mia rolls her eyes. “God, you are such a Morelli.”
---
Mia returns to the study with me but leaves as soon as she possibly can with the excuse that she needs to pick up groceries so she can make Vince dinner.
I remain in the study with Mateo. He watches Mia leave, then leans back in his chair and waits. I know he’s expecting another speech. I’m tempted to give him one, but I still haven’t asked him to walk me down the aisle and that’s more pressing.
“I need to ask you something,” I begin.
“I figured,” he replies, lightly.
It’s not what he’s thinking, but I’m suddenly nervous and I want to fidget. I don’t even know why. He’s the head of our family and peace between the families is a large part of all this; he probably already assumes I’ll ask. It still feels intimidating.
“I didn’t get you a card because they were all stupid, and I haven’t asked because… well, I don’t know why.” I roll my eyes at my own stalling and force myself to look at him. “Will you give me away?”
His eyebrows rise slightly, so maybe he didn’t expect it. “Give you away?”
I nod, feeling my face warm up. “You know, walk me down the aisle at my wedding. Obviously I don’t have a father to do it and I wouldn’t have wanted him to anyway. You’re the only person I can imagine in that role, honestly.”
Mateo watches me for a moment, expression unreadable, then he nods his head. “Of course I will. Thank you.”
I grin, a little relieved. “Good. I don’t know why I was so nervous about asking. I know you don’t like weddings. I wasn’t sure you’d want to be involved.”
“It’s your wedding; of course I’ll be involved if you want me to. Salvatore seems like a pretty decent guy. I wasn’t thrilled about the way it happened, but it’s all worked out much better than I thought it would and I’m glad you met him. He seems to make you happy.”
Smiling softly, I nod. “He does. He’s wonderful. Thank you for forgiving us for framing your dumb maid and whatnot.”
Laughing shortly, he laces his hands together across his torso. “Well, in this instance an alliance was far more beneficial for everyone than revenge.”
Now I roll my eyes at him. “Ever practical.”
He shrugs unapologetically.
“Are you really going to marry the maid?”
“I don’t know,” he says, casually.
“I really don’t think you should,” I inform him.
At least he’s amused instead of irritated as he tells me, “Yes, your opinion has been recorded many times over.”
“I honestly could not believe it when I saw that ring on her finger. You were with Beth for years and you never popped the question.”
Smiling slightly, he says, “I know. I couldn’t even figure out how to ask. I bought the ring but I had no idea what to do with it.”
“How’d you do it?” I ask, since I never got the story.
“The night she got shot. I took her to the piano bar where we had our first date and while we were dancing I just started talking about getting married and had her grab the ring out of my pocket.”
“That doesn’t even sound like a proposal.”
He shrugs. “She seemed to like it just fine.”
I think on that for a moment, because it’s not like I’m against his happiness. If the maid is the one for him, of course I would adjust. I just really don’t believe she is, and I’ve seen nothing to indicate otherwise.
“Well, if you marry her, I’ll hope for the best.”
“Thanks,” he returns, dryly.
“Can you tell me something to make me feel better about it? What is it that compelled you to propose to her so fast? Why do you even want to marry her?”
“Why do you want to marry Sal?” he tosses back.
“Because he’s wonderful,” I say, easily. “Because he has a great heart and it’s all mine. He’s protective of his loved ones and he puts others before himself. He looks out for his own people, and he’s smart and funny. Why wouldn’t I want to marry him is a better question. I can’t believe I got so lucky. We haven’t even been together for long, and I’ve known for months he was the end of the line for me. I knew I’d never want anyone else ever again, because no one else could ever be him. I guess that’s what I’m struggling with. If you and Meg fit together so perfectly, if your connection is so great, then why do you still have feelings for Mia?”
He doesn’t deny it. His head rests more heavily against the back of his chair and he stares at the fireplace across the room—the place where he tried to drink away his interest in Mia. “I had misinformation,” he says, simply. “I liked Mia first, but I realized it too late. I had already crossed a line I couldn’t uncross. There would’ve been no going back from that with a normal woman, but Mia is… Mia doesn’t respond to things the way she should.”
Nodding faintly, I murmur, “I’ve noticed.”
“I realized that Sunday morning she was still workable. I changed my plan accordingly. I didn’t want to test her yet, I wanted to keep her, experiment a little, see what I could build there.”
“When you told me she only served you from then on.”
He nods once. “But Vince shook everything up at dinner when he took her back. I was trying to make her hate me those few days, I’d only decided a few hours earlier to change tacks. I didn’t get to act on it, to see how she’d respond. I shouldn’t have made her go to dinner that night. I needed another week. Another week and she wouldn’t have gone back to his room. Another week and she would’ve been mine.”
I can’t believe he’s being so open with me. I’m almost afraid to ask any questions and make him clam up, but I risk it to ask, “Why didn’t you just take her back, then?”
Smiling without humor, he says, “I always think the worst of people, Francesca. You know that. I shook it off and went back to the original plan. Once it was fully played out, Mia came home and told Vince how desperately she wanted to put me behind her. Mia isn’t a good liar, and I believed her. I didn’t want to damage her anymore, so I let her go. All of my information pointed to Mia wanting to get away from me. All of it. There was not a single indication from that moment on that she might actually care about me until I sat at the dining room table and listened to her lie to Meg—and even then, I took it to mean the wrong thing. I don’t think that way, so I didn’t see it as her looking out for my happiness. You know when I started to realize I’d been wrong because you’re the one who told me. You know how late in the game it was. Once again, it was too late. You want me to admit I never would’ve brought Meg here if I’d known then Mia wanted me for herself? Of course I wouldn’t have. But I did. Maybe I made the wrong choices, but I thought I was making the right ones. I thought moving Mia out and letting her move on with her life was right. I thought moving on with someone who actually wanted to be with me was the right choice. I didn’t think it would be hard to shake Mia. Meg is great, and a good partner for me. She’s smart, funny, strong and peculiar. We have things in common, and she has a pocket of love that’s all mine. Mia is no match for me. She’s the opposite of me in every way—simple, sweet, soft and easy. Stepping over her should be the easiest thing in the goddamn world, so why isn’t it?”
My heart is full, aching, and somehow sinking at the same time. As cavalier as I’ve been about the maid, it’s because he was resisting. Right now he’s being open with me, and now I can acknowledge that his situation is not as easily resolved as I want it to be. I don’t know why I keep trying to convince them both it is.
“I think it’s because you want what only she can give you—things you didn’t even know you needed. I think Mia is your perfect counterpart. The last person you were this hung up on was Beth.”
“That’s not exactly a glowing recommendation,” he points out.
“I know, and I think that’s why you’re rushing into things with the maid. You’re running from something scarier. You’re trying to sabotage something you consider to be higher-risk, someone who reaches you in a way no one else ever has—not even Beth. You know how much that hurt, so you know Mia could do worse, but she won’t. You know she won’t. Beth didn’t love the way Mia does. Beth would never sacrifice her own happiness for yours—never. Beth was selfish; Mia is the least selfish person I’ve ever met. That makes an enormous difference.”
Shaking his head with mild amusement, he says, “I don’t know why I even let you into this study. All you ever do is cause trouble.”
I can’t help grinning. “I resent that. I give you first-rate information. I’m a perfect mole.”
He watches me for another moment, his wheels turning. I can’t anticipate what he’s thinking, so I just wait to see if he’ll share.
Eventually he completely throws me by saying, “I’m sorry I hired Luca instead of killing him. I should’ve killed him.”
I feel a little dazed, both because Luca Delmonico is the last person on the planet I want to think of ever again, and because I don’t think Mateo has ever apologized to me before.
“I’m going to shut down his operation,” he states. “I don’t trust anyone else to run it and it’s…” He trails off, shrugging. “I don’t want to do it anymore.”
“You’re going to fire him?” I ask a bit dimly.
“No.” He meets my gaze, then he says, “I’m going to give him to Salvatore.”
“Give him…” I stop, eyes wide, and shake my head. “Sal knows?”
Mateo nods. “He really loves you. You found a good one this time.”
I can’t help smiling. “Yeah, I did.”
“I’m glad. You deserve it.”
Heaving a sigh, I haul myself out of my chair and walk around his desk. He has to know it’s coming, but he still manages to look surprised when I bend down and hug him. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
“I love you,” I add, pulling back and standing.
He’s already made more emotional contact in the last half hour than he’s made in the last decade, so I’m not at all surprised when he smirks and replies, “I know.”
I don’t know if I’ve just made him so uncomfortable that he’s breaking his own habits, or he’s already setting things in motion, but he pulls out his cell phone. Mateo doesn’t typically pull his phone out in company, but now he types out a text while I stand here in front of him.
I don’t glance at his phone—I would never—but I do ask, “Are you doing it now?”
He shakes his head. “No, I need a little time to make that happen. This is Vince.”
My eyes widen. “Vince? You’re texting Vince?”
Flicking an amused glance my way, he says, “He does work for me; I have to talk to him on occasion.”
“Oh. I thought you meant… Never mind.”
Slipping his phone back into his pocket, Mateo rises. On instinct, I do, too. I can feel him about to dismiss me. I’ve gotten far more out of him today than I ever expected to, and now he’s done. That’s fine. I know he’ll always be who he is, but I won’t lie; it’s reassuring to get these little glimpses of humanity. My brother is not always easy to love, he’s not always easy to root for, but every once in a while he does something to convince me he’s worth standing by.