Page 31 of Home to Me (The Andrades 2)
Chapter Fifteen
Rena rang the doorbell of the townhouse, and when no one answered she rang it again impatiently. She was hungry and tired, and she really wanted to go home. But there was someone she had to speak to before she did.
An older man, still tall and broad, answered the door with a smile. “Hello, we’ve met before, haven’t we? Gio’s secretary, Rena, right?” Rena nodded and was taken by surprise as he lifted her off the ground in a bone-crushing hug. “Welcome. The boys talk about you all the time.”
“Please put me down.” Once back on the ground, Rena stepped back and adjusted her clothing. She did remember meeting him. He was one of Nick’s uncles.
A beautiful older woman with a warm smile stepped into the doorway and held out her hand in greeting. “Did I hear him say Rena? I’m Maddy’s mother, Elise. I’ve been looking forward to meeting you. Come in, come in. Alessando’s manners have become awful as he gotten older. Are you looking for Maddy? She’s upstairs feeding Adam, but she should be down in a minute.”
Rena shook her hand, then followed the couple into the foyer of Maddy’s home. “This is probably a bad time. I can come back.”
“No, please,” Elise said warmly, “if you wait for a convenient time to visit a new mother you’ll never find one. We’re only here for a short time ourselves. Richard lured us over with a promise of fresh eggplant Parmesan. I don’t like to tell Maddy’s husband often, because it’ll give him a big head, but it’s as good as Alessandro’s mother used to make.”
Alessandro patted his heart and spoke to the heavens. “Mama, she doesn’t remember your sauce like I do.”
Elise laughed and told Rena in a confidential tone, “I do.” She motioned toward the living room. “Please, join us for coffee. Or stay for dinner if you’re hungry. We have more than enough.”
Rena reluctantly sat and accepted a cup. She’d come with the intention of giving Maddy a piece of her mind about her loose tongue, but there was also something very tempting about meeting one of the infamous Andrade uncles. Rena knew the stories of Alessandro and Victor well. She’d grown up hearing about their private island near Italy, and then had witnessed the fallout amongst the family after Nick’s father died. A situation which had gotten worse when the uncles had sold the island, which should have been Gio’s inheritance, to a stranger. Gio had come back from a family wedding several months ago and had simply said that not everything he’d thought about his uncles had been true. Luke had told Rena that Gio and one of his cousins now co-owned the island, an agreement the family had come to in the spirit of reunification.
Alessandro was one of the uncles Patrice had spent a lifetime raising her sons to distrust. Rena hadn’t expected to meet them, but she considered herself a good judge of character. She welcomed the opportunity to meet the people Patrice said had never accepted her.
She tested the waters, hoping to prompt a reaction that would reveal their true nature. “I’ll be honest, I’m not here because I’m happy with Maddy.”
Alessandro sighed and took a seat beside Rena. “What did my darling daughter do?”
“It’s more about what she didn’t do. I told her something in confidence and she told others about it.”
Alessandro nodded with understanding and called to Elise, who was walking back into the room with sugar for Rena’s coffee: “She’s upset because Maddy’s telling everyone that she’s seeing Nick.”
Rena covered her eyes with one hand and swore.
Elise sat beside Rena and touched her shoulder gently. “I told her it was none of her business, but Maddy thinks everyone can benefit from a little loving nudge. She’s not doing it to hurt you.”
Raising her head, Rena said, “How do I stop her?”
Alessandro shrugged a broad shoulder. “How do you tell the leaves not to fall from the trees? It’s her nature.”
Rena looked back and forth between Alessandro and Elise. They weren’t angry with her for having an issue with their daughter, nor defending Maddy. They appeared comfortable with themselves and their faults. Although that realization wasn’t helpful to her situation, it didn’t make them people Rena could imagine spending a lifetime despising. There had to be something she was missing. Had they hurt Patrice and been as careless about her pain? There was only one way to know. “So, you don’t care how much your daughter hurts others? It’s her nature?”
Alessandro sat forward. “Maddy would never intentionally hurt anyone. She’s all heart.”
Elise leaned in, concerned. “Rena, I’m sure she has no idea this is bothering you as much as it is. I’ll talk to her with you. She means well, but sometimes she crosses the line.”
“Who crosses what line?” Maddy asked as she breezed into the room with a young baby in her arms.
Alessandro stood and took Adam from her. He cooed his reprimand while making funny faces at his grandchild. “Madison, you owe Rena an apology for telling everyone something she told you not to.” The baby gurgled up at the large man. He tickled his neck with one finger and said, “Tell Mommy to apologize, Adam. You think it’s funny?” He tickled the baby again. “It’s not funny.”
Elise put her hands on her hips and raised her eyebrows at her daughter.
Maddy smiled sheepishly. “I didn’t tell that many people.”
Rena stared her down. “I asked you not to tell anyone.”
“Nick is lucky I haven’t seen him yet,” Alessandro said. “Andrades treat their women better than he’s treating you, Rena. One day you’ll be grateful Maddy made him step up and act like the man he should be.”
“Who did you tell?” Rena demanded.
Maddy didn’t meet her eyes. “My parents don’t count. I tell them everything. Same thing with Richard. A wife doesn’t keep secrets from husband.”
Rena waited.
“Does Nicole count? She’s family, and she also had a secret relationship that turned out well after the dus
t settled. So, I knew she would understand.”
Gritting her teeth, Rena held her silence, knowing that Maddy would keep confessing as long as the pressure remained.
“I may have told Abby Corisi and her sister, Lil, because we have a bet going about who is the best matchmaker, and I wanted to claim you as a point for Nicole and me.”
Rena raised an eyebrow.
“Okay, and I also told Nick’s mother, because she wanted to know why he was too busy to see her lately.”
Rena stood. “That’s where you went too far. Don’t tell Patrice another word about me. You understand? Nothing. By talking to her, you may have ruined everything.”
Maddy’s expression revealed her confusion. “I’m sorry. I thought she’d be pleased he’d found someone nice.”
Elise looked at her husband quickly. “Maddy, I didn’t know you were talking to Patrice.”
Maddy swung to face her parents, her confusion growing. “I have been for a while now. I thought I’d told you that.”
Alessandro’s expression darkened. “No, you didn’t.”
Elise wrung her hands in front of her. “Maddy, don’t go see her anymore. She’s not a happy woman.”
“Of course she’s not happy,” Maddy defended, “she’s very ill. Which seems like a reason I should go see her. She loves hearing about the family.”
Rena muttered, “I’m sure she does.”
Maddy threw up her hands in frustration. “She’s an old woman.”
Elise protested, “She’s not much older than us.”
“And from what I hear, maybe not as ill as she’d like people to think.” Alessandro handed his grandchild to his wife and walked over to his daughter. “Maddy, not everyone is as good of a person as you are. Some don’t deserve your trust.”
Rena put aside how she felt about Maddy’s betrayal long enough to agree. “You don’t know what Patrice is capable of. Don’t give her more ammunition to use against us.”
Shaking her head, Maddy said, “She’s not like that.”
Rena weighed her options, then said, “Did you tell her about Julia? Because Patrice threatened to break them up before the wedding. And she almost succeeded. She says she has photos of Nick and me that’s she’s going to send to the tabloids. She’s using you, Maddy. Stop helping her.”
