Page 80 of Mafia Scars

“Without whom, doll?”

“My mother.” Another tear trickled down my cheek. “She was like the fuel to my soul, and I lost her. I’d see her and feel emotions I never thought possible. They’d all transpired into my dancing. That was why I was so good. She inspired me to be the best. And my dad, he took me to my first class. Both my parents had such a great influence in my life, and then it just fell apart.”

“Hey.” He cupped my face. “They influenced you to find your thing in life that you’re good at. The rest was you. My dad always said that I should always remember that my talents, whatever they are, are part of me. I do what I do. Others inspire you, and not having them around doesn’t mean you should stop. I can’t even begin to compare myself to you, but I know that you have to try to recapture some of what you lost.”

Words spoken directly to my heart. Maybe just like Odette, I’d met someone who could love me the way I loved him.

“Will you help me?”

“Oh yeah, doll, I give you my word I will.”

“Thank you.” I offered a weak smile. “Luc… my mother’s death and finding out that my father was involved in the mafia, those were the reasons why I left here. In a nutshell, that’s what happened to me.” He’d asked the other day. It was perhaps clear now after Dad had explained, but I owed him an answer.

“Yeah, I figured that was why.”

“I saw an ugly side of my dad I never imagined existed.” I still kept the promise to never say anything. Doing it instinctively made me omit talking about Agent Peterson.

“Did you see him kill someone?” Luc guessed just from looking at me.

I realized that Luc was perhaps the one person in this world whom I could confide in.

“I didn’t see him, but I knew he did. It was enough to make me flee from here. But he did it to protect me.”

“No more thinking about the past. I have a checkered past too that isn’t so hot. How about we move on together?”

I loved that. “Yes.”

He smiled.

“You know that vineyard in Italy?” he said after a few minutes of silence.

“Your vineyard?” I chuckled. We hadn’t talked about it in a long while.

“I still have that fantasy of you in the garden amongst the sea of gardenias.”

“The one with me naked?” I smiled.

“You’re not always naked. Sometimes you’re dancing. I have to see that for real. There’s a hall inside the villa that would make a beautiful stage.”

I thought I could figure out the one he meant. The villa was beautiful, everything imaginable that depicted period art from Renaissance Italy.

“That would be amazing. Still part of the dream though. I’m sure the historical society would never just allow us to build a stage in the villa.”

He laughed. “Nah, they wouldn’t. But the owner might.”

“Don’t they own it?”

I narrowed my gaze at him.

“No, not anymore.” He gave me a cunning look and dropped his hands to his side.

“Who owns the villa, Luc? You said the vineyard was nearby.”

“Forgive me. I didn’t mean to lie about that. The vineyard is the said vineyard around the villa, and the villa is mine.”

I sucked in a sharp breath. “You’re kidding?”

“No, I’m kind of not. I bought the villa last year.”