Page 81 of The Crowned Garza

“Wow, he breathes,” she says dramatically. “Good to know. I’m just calling to check if that wretched sister of yours has run a chainsaw into your back and taken control yet.”

Always straight to the point. “She already has control.”

“Only as much as you give her.”

“I’m also giving her the benefit of the doubt.”

She scoffs. “I would not trust that girl to wipe my ass if I were bedridden. She is everything like your papa.”

“Did you just call me to ream me out again,Mamma?”

A long pause, and then a sigh. “I miss you.”

I miss her too, but voicing that would be rewarding bad behavior, so I remain quiet.

“My sources keep me abreast of all you have been doing for the families. Brilliant, going legit. Smart. That is how yourbisnonnodid it several generations ago. Ahead of the curve. And look at us now. If we keep clinging to the past and how ‘things used to be,’ we will be erased. We have to pivot and turn with the tide.”

Her pep talk is a little too late. Where was she years ago when I was embarking on this journey and needed her advice and the reassurance that I was making the right decisions?

When she receives nothing but silence on my end, she says, “I know you believe you are last on my priority list, but that is far from the truth. I love you, my sweet boy. I’m just…not very good at showing it.”

“Love you, too,Mamma.”

“Thank you.” Something akin to a stifled sob can be heard on the other end. “Thank you for not hating me.”

I could never.

A sniffle follows. “Listen, now that your papa is a bag of bones in the dirt, I have reopened your access to the Rossetti accounts. Besides, you have already proven that you can turn shit into bars of gold, and I do not think you even need our funds at this point...it is moot. But I just want you to know you are a Rossetti, too. You always will be.”

“Grazie, Mamma.”

“That said, the marriage clause on your endowment fund will remain.”

Ah yes, the endowment fund she amended by throwing in a slew of clauses because she didn’t want me using a penny of it to help Papa. I’ve long forgotten about it. The obscene largesse that won’t be accessible until I’m married, half of which will be transferred to my wife—that last addendum no doubt meant as a wagging finger for me to choose my wife wisely.

When all she gets from me is a snort, she goes on, “You have more Rossetti blood in you than Luciani. And it is in a Rossetti’s veins to be fiercely driven workaholics. That fact is not lost on us. I do not want you to live a life married to your work and the needs of others while neglecting your own needs. Your needs matter, Santo. You deserve love. You deserve rest. You deserve peace. You deserve a happy, fulfilling life. So find a wife, my sweet boy. Fall hard in love. Treat her like a queen. Build a family. Andlive. That is what I want most for you.”

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

“You’re supposed to be having fun.”

Tillie

SUNNY POUTS ON MYphone screen. “I’m so jelly. I’d love to be spending my weekend in Ibiza.”

“We could be going toallthe places together if you move here to live with me.”

She rolls her eyes. “Walked right into that one, didn’t I?”

“I’m tryna be your sugar mamma, but you playing, girl.” The chauffeur drives onto the tarmac. “Anyway, we’re here. Gotta go.”

“Send pics and videos, pretty please, so I can enjoy Ibiza vicariously through you. And tell hotshot Creed hiiiii for me.”

“Will do. Love you.”

The town car rolls to a stop alongside the private jet and I excitedly spring out.

As the driver gets my suitcase from the trunk, Creed appears in the doorway of the jet and flashes me his sexy, cheeky grin before he jogs down the steps and scoops me up into a bear hug, spinning me around. Creed is always,alwayshappy to see me, and that does something for a girl’s ego and self-esteem. Who doesn’t love to feel wanted and their presence appreciated?