Page 63 of Enzo

“To the past and my own mistakes,” she stated wearily. When I shot her a blank look, she continued. “You were too young to remember, but I did something similar when I married your papà.”

“Huh?” There was no fucking way that my papà tricked her into sleeping with him and then trapped her into a marriage. So, yeah, definitely not “similar.”

“I learned he deceived me,” she explained. “Or maybe it was just a combination of many different things. Anyhow, it all led to me running away with you.”

“I’m not following.”

“Fine, let me start at the beginning.” She sank deeper into the couch, folding her legs under her and getting comfortable before she resumed speaking. “The first night I spent with your father… I hadn’t known who he was.”

“What do you mean?”

“It was a ball,” she explained. “And he wore a mask. So, yeah, he kind of tricked me.”

“No fucking way.” Okay, maybe somewhat similar after all.

“Yes. And I got pregnant that very first time. My family tried to marry me off, but my potential husbands kept dying. One by one. Take a guess why?” I gaped at her, the parallels in our stories almost too wild to believe. Minus the pregnancy, of course. “Anyhow, when the fourth… or was it the fifth? I can’t even remember… Whenanotherhusband candidate died, I’d had enough. I ran, and I found myself in Italy. The only problem was that the Callahans weren’t allowed here due to a feud with the Marchettis. So, one thing led to another, and Luca and I struck a deal to get married. He also struck one with Enrico Marchetti to keep me protected. That deal was the marriage between Luca’s firstborn daughter—you, as it would turn out—and Enrico’s eldest. However…”

“He didn’t tell you,” I guessed.

She nodded.

“Correct. Long story short, when I learned about it all, I took you and ran. It was the wrong thing to do, Penelope. Luca missed out on the first years of your life. Nothing got resolved while I was gone, and your papà was almost killed.”

“What?” I breathed. “Who almost killed him?”

She waved her hand like it wasn’t important.

“The point is, I should have stayed and worked through it with Luca. We should have faced our problems.”

“Makes sense, I guess.” My shoulders slumped. “I just feel so… betrayed.”

“I don’t know what Enzo did, but are youcertainit’s something that can’t be resolved? I see the way he watches you…” My head whipped to the side to find my mama smiling softly. “It’s the way your papà watches me.”

“He doesn’t watch me likethat.”

“Oh, he does,” she claimed. “You can’t see it, but I sure as hell can, and so can your papà, which is why he’s so terrified.”

“What?”

She chuckled. “No father wants to see someone else rock his daughter’s world.”

“Well, he doesn’t have to worry about that. Enzo definitely does not.”

“We shall see,” she muttered.

“He doesn’t,” I protested, but the words tasted off on my tongue.

“Okay, okay, no need to get all defensive.” She smiled knowingly. “Now, I need you to promise me one thing.”

“Okay.”

“Give the man a chance.”

I rolled my eyes. “Two days ago, you snuck a knife and a gun into my suitcase.”

“I know. I still believe the Marchettis are hiding something, hence the weapons. Besides, it never hurts to have those on you.”

“True.”