Page 102 of Anyone But You

The tightness in my chest eased. “Lorena,” I said softly. “Thank you. That means more than you know. And for what it’s worth, I don’t want anything from him except to love him and be loved back.”

“Thank you, Victoria. I want to spend some time getting to know you if you don’t mind.”

“I don’t mind at all,” I replied, returning her smile.

* * *

“My Heavens! Who needs enemies when you have sisters?” Lorena exclaimed after I gave her the cliff notes of my long-standing feud with Hope and Faith.

“You can say that again.”

“My sister and I no longer speak,” Loreno mentioned..

I raised a brow.

“Word?”

“Word.”

“Well, spill the tea,” I urged. I held back my sigh when she gave me that blank, owlish look Knox gave me when I said something and was reminded we grew up decades apart. “Tell me what happened,” I rephrased.

“Oh! The hussy stole my boyfriend right from under me. His name was Rocco Romano.” I folded my lips in to hide my smile and prevent myself from asking if Rocco had beef with Elmo.

Focus, girl. You’re supposed to be bonding with your mother-in-law over your ain’t shit siblings.

“Tell me more.”

“He was the most handsome man in Little Italy. He had the most lustrous dark, wavy hair, these beautiful amber eyes, and a smile that could make your heart skip several beats.”

“Not one beat?”

“Several,” she reiterated.

“And how did you and Rocco cross paths?”

On Sesame Street? Ha! Let me stop.

“He worked at the local butcher, and his body showed it, too.”

“I bet.”

“When I visited, he’d always wink and smile at me. He’d tell me he put a little extra for me in my order and suggested I visit closer to closing so we could get to know each other better.”

“Please tell me you didn’t fall for that.”

Lorena tutted under her breath. “Of course not. I was young, not dumb. He wanted to slip me his salami.”

“Not slip you his salami,” I drawled.

“Pun intended!”

Lorena continued telling her story about her sordid love affair that ended in heartbreak, betrayal, and humiliation when her younger sister set her hooks—pun intended—into her man.

“They married, and a few years later, they were swimming with the fishes.”

Wait… did this woman put a hit on her sister?

“Hold on. You said you don’t talk to her any longer.”