Page 150 of Vicious Intentions
“I’m glad. Would you like something to eat? I got a little excited and made more than my boys could manage.”
I step closer to her, my gaze drifting over the counter beside her. Platters crowd the surface, fresh bread, fruit, pastries, while pans on the stove hold eggs, bacon, and sausages, warm and waiting.
“I could fix you a plate?”
“That’s okay. I can make my own, thank you,” I say with a smile.
I fix myself a plate and sit at the table, acutely aware of Paolina’s gaze on me the entire time. She moves around the kitchen as if giving me space, but I can feel her eyes on me just the same. It’s only when I reach for my coffee, preparing to finish, that she finally sits beside me.
“So,” I start weakly when she makes no attempt at conversation, “do you always do the cooking?” Paolina nods with a joyful smile.
“The doctor says it’s therapeutic for me. I’m not sure she’s right, but I do know I enjoy it. This room,” she adds, eyeing the four walls enthusiastically, “is my safe space. I find peace here.”
My brows furrow at the remark, but I quickly smooth them out, offering her a smile of my own when her attention returns to me.
“That’s nice. Still, it must be taxing to do all the cooking. Don’t you have any help?”
“No,” she laughs. “I don’t do well with… um… strangers.” Her bright smile is still intact, but I catch how her steel-blue eyes dim a little. “Matteo has some cleaners that come by every other day to do the housework, but I’m used to them now.”
“Oh, I see,” I mutter, placing my mug on the table. “I hope my presence here hasn’t caused you any discomfort.”
“Of course not,” she lets out another giggle, placing a hand over mine on the table. “You’re not a stranger. You’re family, Annamaria.”
“Please, call me Anna,” I say, reading the sincerity in her eyes.
As I look at her, I’m reminded of the son who looks at me the same way. So earnest. So genuine.
Is she a liar, too?
No. My intuition might be a little off-kilter lately, but I can tell Paolina has a kind heart. More than that, there’s something fragile behind her eyes, almost as if she might break with any sudden movement.
“I… um…” she says nervously, “I was just about to go to the terrace to check on my plants and flowers. Would you like to accompany me?”
“I’d love that, thank you.”
I’m once again struck by how her smile takes up most of her face.
Paolina picks up my plate and mug, rinses them, and places them in the dishwasher. I mutter a quiet prayer, thanking God that at least there is one person in this house who doesn’t confuse me. She is what she is—good and kind-hearted to her very core.
However, I then frown, because good, kind-hearted people get used in our world, and to my shame, I’m about to use her kindness to my advantage too.
Chapter 32
Annamaria
After spending most of the morning watering, pruning, repotting plants, and arranging flower vases to be placed throughout the house, I’ve gotten to know a little more about my new mother-in-law.
I’ve learned that with each task she does, she likes to hum, sometimes even sing to herself. I’ve learned that she’s affectionate, touching my hand or shoulder every so often. I’ve also learned that when Matteo’s soldiers come in for lunch, she already has a plate fixed for them, but she never stays in the same room with them for more than a few seconds.
I’ve learned a lot just by watching her move, but it’s the way she talks about her sons that tells me everything I need to know—she loves each and every one of them, which means her loyalty will always be to them, not me.
By the time we finish making the necessary preparations for tonight’s family dinner, the sun is higher in the sky, and Paolina insists we take a break out on the terrace.
We sit on plush patio furniture beneath a large umbrella, glasses of lemonade she made from scratch in hand, the mid-June sky clear above us. The distant hum of traffic below barely registers, softened by the gentle music drifting from her phone.
When my gaze lingers a little too long on her phone, Paolina seems to sense where my thoughts have wandered. She carefully pulls it closer to her, placing a protective arm around it on the table.
“You must be missing your family a great deal.”
