Page 85 of Until August

Even worse, he showed up at the guy’s house and told his parents to keep their son away from me. I was mortified.

If it had been up to my father, I would have still been a virgin on my wedding day.

“Of course I did,” he said without a hint of remorse. “I did what was best for you.”

“That wasn’t your decision to make.”

He pounded his chest with his fist. “I’m your father, so itwasmy decision to make. You were still underage. And now this man is working for you?” He crossed his arms over his chest and glared at me like I was still a teenager and he’d caught me coming home drunk from a party.

I mimicked his stance. “Yes, he is.” There was a challenge in my tone as if to say, what are you going to do about it?

I swear I regressed whenever I was with my parents.

My response was met with a heavy silence. All eyes were on me. You would think I’d just admitted to committing a double homicide.

My parents looked concerned. Aunt Celia shot me a look like it was my fault Mia had started crying. Ari and Luca just looked curious.

Luca was the first to break the silence. “So you and August go way back, huh?”

“We only met once for about five minutes. It wasn’t a big deal.”

My mother arched her brows. “And yet, you were just accusing your father of keeping you away from this boy,” she pointed out.

Aunt Celia nodded, giving my parents her silent support. The whole thing was so ridiculous that I almost laughed.

“I can’t really blame her,” Luca said, defending me. “Dad can be a bit overprotective when it comes to Nic.”

“Is it so wrong to want to protect my only daughter?” My father’s eyes were on me, and he’d reverted to Italian. But his voice was soft, and my annoyance vanished in an instant.

It didn’t matter if I was thirty-two or twelve. My father still felt it was his duty to protect me. Everything he did came straight from the heart.

He was passionate about two things: food and his family.

I reminded myself that I was lucky to have parents who loved me. Even though my father could sometimes be stubborn and overprotective, he was a good man and a good father, and I loved him.

Life had worked out exactly how it was supposed to. I was meant to meet Cruz when I did. And maybe, like Scarlett said, August came back into my life exactly when he was supposed to.

I never used to believe in fate or destiny, but now I do. The universe knew what we needed and gave it to us when we were ready.

“No, Papa,” I said softly. “It’s not wrong. Ti voglio bene.”

“Ti vogliomoltobene,” he responded, holding his hand over his heart.

My mother moved to his side, and he wrapped his arm around her shoulders, kissing the top of her head.

Our family was nothing if not dramatic. And my parents were couple goals. Even after all these years, they were still deeply in love.

“You see?” My mother beamed. “There’s so much love in this family.” She pulled me into their circle, and my parents hugged me.

Behind me, I heard Luca snickering. “Talk about a weird family flex.”

Not missing a beat, my mother’s arm shot out to smack the back of his head. “Ow. Jesus. What was that for?”

“Just a love tap,” my mother said. Then she took my face in her hands. “You’re not alone, honey,” she said. “You have us.”

While I appreciated her words and was grateful to have them, there were some things a family couldn’t give you.

Later that evening, my mother sought me out again. “Don’t forget, Nicola. You’re still married.” She gave me a knowing look. “Remember your vows.”