Page 89 of Marry Me Not
He was lying to me. He was lying to himself. Soon enough, these fragile lies wouldn’t be enough to protect us from ourselves.
My phone rang. The name on the caller ID made my stomach bunch into knots.
Vita.
Why was she calling me?
I hadn’t seen her since the wedding. Even then, we’d only exchanged a quick greeting. I’d spent most of the evening by Cosimo’s side, and she didn’t approach him once. Just like at the funeral.
I lifted my gaze from the screen, searching the crowd for Cosimo, but I couldn’t find him. What if Vita was calling because something had happened? To Rom, to Alessio… Maybe she’d tried to reach Cosimo, and he was ignoring her calls.
He didn’t want me talking to her, but I could answer a call. I’d tell him about it as soon as he came back.
I picked up. “Hello?”
“Fabiana, I hope this isn’t a bad time.”
“Is everything all right?”
“Yes, everything’s fine,” she said, but her voice didn’t sound as steady as it usually did. It was slightly reedy, as if she’d been crying. How much of that could I trust? After what Cosimo had told me about her, I knew she was manipulative and cunning.
I kept my guard up.
“I’ve been meaning to make this call for a while now, but I couldn’t find the right time. And… Well, judging by the way you’ve avoided me since my husband’s death, I figured Cosimo must’ve told you he and I haven’t been seeing things eye to eye recently.”
“He did.” Where was she going with this?
“My son is upset I’m making a bid to get the position instead of him, and I’m afraid this rift between us has gotten out of hand.At the end of the day, we both just want what’s best for the family.”
The position? What position?
Realization trundled through me.
Vita wanted to be the next don. What else could she mean? She wanted to lead the family instead of Cosimo.
My God. He hadn’t told methat.
“I’m appealing to you woman to woman,” Vita said. “Cosimo might listen to you when it comes to this. His brothers are… Well, they’re men blinded by their egos. You’re different.”
Unease slid down my spine as my mind raced to keep up. “I don’t understand what you mean.”
“When we spoke at lunch all those months ago about your expectations for the marriage, I could tell that some of the things I said didn’t land well. I told you this marriage was first and foremost a political alliance, and that you’d be smart not to hope for more.” She paused. “But my perspective has shifted.”
I frowned, my grip tightening on the phone. Her perspective had shifted?
“Now that Gino is gone…” She sighed. “Losing him has cracked me open. It’s made me reconsider some things. I failed my sons in my attempts to prepare them for their roles. There is nothing more important than our relationships with those we love.” Her breath trembled. “And I taught Cosimo otherwise.”
She sounded so sincere. So remorseful. But I wasn’t buying it. She was working up to whatever it was she wanted from me.
“I saw how Cosimo looked at you at the wedding,” she continued. “My son feels something for you, Fabiana. I think, given the chance, he could find the same kind of strong, enduring love with you that I had with his father.”
Inside my chest, something twinged. God, she was good. She’d picked up on exactly what I’d wanted back when we first spoke, and now she was dangling the possibility of me getting it right in front of me.
“But the life of a don is a difficult one. And once he takes control of the family, I’m afraid his duty will crowd out anything that could bloom between you.”
She paused, letting her words linger. I rolled my lips. “What are you saying, Vita?”
“He thinks I’m trying to steal his birthright, but I’m only trying to give him a chance to experience love before the weight of leading the family crushes that possibility. Convince him to put his ambitions on hold for two years, and you can have the relationship you dream of.”
