Page 127 of The Great Dating Fake Off
“When you say this place is fancy, how fancy are we talking?” Ro yells, as if there is a canyon her voice must traverse between the third row and driver’s seat. “I’m not sure I did enough with what little warning I had that we were going out to lunch.”
Her glossy hair, curled to perfection, spills down her shoulders in mockery of the claim that she could ever be anything other than stunning.
I untwist her dress strap. “You look like a goddess, as usual. This outfit is perfect. Elite. Fetch, if you will.”
This gets a smile out of her. “I couldn’t decide if the vertical color block thing was cute on this dress or if I look like a black-and-white cookie.”
“You are the cutest cookie in the bunch,” Mamma V pipes in. She then turns full sniper as she aims toward the front seat. “I told you to wear a sport coat, Giuseppe. You’re underdressed. Even Benjamino dressed up.”
“Everyone looks fine,” Benji grumbles, laying a heavy foot on the brake.
Now, amid their back-and-forth harassment and laughter, feels like as good a time as any to take care of a pressing item on my to-do list.
I unzip the plain duffel bag at my feet and pull out a bouquet of red roses—the same ones I’ve been sending Mamma V for months.
One last apology. This time, in person.
“I don’t know when else I’ll have a chance to give you these today.” My smile is sheepish as I lift the flowers over the seat. “But these are for you.”
Her dark-eyed gaze darts to mine. “It was you sending the roses? All this time? I thought Benjamino was playing coy.”
“I told you directly, emphatically, and multiple times it wasn’t me,” Benji replies.
I clear my throat. “I wanted to make sure you knew how sorry I was.” I look around the car. “Benji and I never meant to hurt anyone.”
Mamma V lifts the blooms to her nose. “They’re lovely. I hope you can understand why I reacted the way I did. I’m a mother. I will always hurt for my children. I will always overreact for my children. I only ever want to protect them with all that I am, and I was worried for my son. I also hope someday you can forgive me for the things I said.”
“I already do,” I say in a rush. “I would’ve felt the same way.”
“And so we put it to rest.” She winks and adjusts to face forward, treating me to an eyeful of her black bob.
Benji’s dark eyes search the rearview mirror. I shoot him a smile, just in case he can see me all the way back here.
Ro slides her mirror back in her clutch. “Yippee! We can let that brunch from hell go once and for all. Now, where are we eating?”
“I could eat an ox,” Giuseppe groans.
Benji flicks on his blinker and pulls into the tiny parking lot of a brick building with dormer windows on its sloped, shingled roof. A white sign centered above the door features bold blue typeface.
Deli.
To the left of the entrance, Vinny Mazzelli, in a suit, leans on the side of a black Tesla with his arms crossed and a bored look on his face.
“Even Vinny dressed up— Wait.” Mamma V sits up straighter. “What’s he doing here?”
“And why are we at a deli?” Giuseppe gripes. “I thought this meal was formal. I wore my fancy shoes.”
The doors of a Honda CRV I don’t recognize open on the other side of the Tesla, and Enzo, Alessia, Sebastian, and Eloise pour out.
Ro freezes with round, unblinking eyes. She is a marionette without strings.
Benji’s voice from a few days ago fills my head.
I can’t believe what I just agreed to, but I’m going to need your help. Enzo has a plan, and he needs me and my family’s help—which includes you.
Benji throws the SUV in park and looks over his shoulder, a rare smile transforming his face. “Recognize this spot, Ro? I’ve been told it’s an important deli.”
Ro casts a longing look out the window. “This is where Enzo and I met. He took me back here on our first date.”
