Emmanuelle traveled quite often, staying in New York with her cousins, and sometimes going to Italy to stay with relatives there, but after a few months, she would return and bury her face in little Crispino’s neck and proclaim he was the love of her life and she could never leave him again.
“Why is Eloisa so cutting to Emmanuelle, Taviano? She visits Lucia often, and sometimes Emmanuelle comes with her, and when she does, Eloisa says really snarky things to put her down in front of Lucia. I mean, she says them about me, but I expect that.”
Taviano frowned. “What do you mean, she says them about you? I specifically asked Lucia to report to me if Eloisa was upsetting you with her visits.”
“She isn’t upsetting me. I was asking you about Emmanuelle.”
“I was asking you about what Eloisa says to or about you,” Taviano said, his voice turning hard. “Answer me, Nicoletta.”
She rolled her eyes. “Oh, for heaven’s sake, Taviano. You know very well the kind of sneering voice she uses and the cutting remarks she makes.”
He stood up, towering over her. His face became stone, eyes glittering down at her, two twin gems that looked suddenly frightening. “Answer me, Nicoletta,” he reiterated.
She didn’t hesitate, heart kicking into overdrive. “I’m beneath Lucia, and Eloisa has no idea why Lucia and Amo would take me in. I’m old enough now for them to kick me out, and they’ve done their good deed and don’t have to continue to flog themselves mercilessly for sins they never committed in the first place. I’m going to turn on them and rob them blind. I’m going to stab them in their sleep. I’ve already brought trouble on the Ferraro family, look what happened to Vittorio right outside their home because I was crawling out the window trying to have a rendezvous with some boy. I’m a slut and whore and I sleep around, she has that on good word, and she’s only trying to spare Lucia heartache. Naturally that isn’t all said on the same visit; she spreads it around. Lucia, of course, stands up to her, but there it is.”
His face darkened as she spoke, and she could tell he was having trouble holding the infamous Ferraro temper in check. “You should have told me. Lucia should have told me.”
“It doesn’t bother me. Eloisa is never going to like me. A lot of her friends don’t like me.” She gestured toward Pia and Bianca. “Their mother pretends to like me, but she doesn’t. Pia and Bianca are probably my friends because I’m a stepping-stone to you. Their mother is hoping you’ll marry one of them.”
“Are you fucking kidding me, Nicoletta? Why would you arrange to take them on this trip if you know that?”
She gave him a half smile. “I’m a little slow on the uptake. I didn’t get that until I watched them with you just now. I could be wrong. I hope that I am. I think Clariss is a genuine friend, but at this point, I’m still not sure I’m that good a judge of character. Lucia is still helping me with that. She’s amazing in that department.”
“Don’t do that again, keep something from me, like Eloisa talking shit about you.”
“She talks shit about Emmanuelle, Taviano. I would think you’d be more concerned about that.”
“She’s done that since the day Emmanuelle was born, tesoro. My sister has never been good enough for our mother, and she never will be. Francesca will never be good enough. I don’t suppose any female ever will be in Eloisa’s eyes.” He shrugged his shoulders. “You don’t see her at Stefano’s home for a reason. If she keeps talking shit about you, you won’t see her at Lucia’s, either.”
“She’s Lucia’s friend, Taviano,” Nicoletta said, trying to be gentle. She could feel his fury. He was really angry with his mother.
“I don’t much give a damn. Go have fun with your friends. I’m going to talk to Lucia and find out how long this bullshit has been going on.”
“Please don’t upset Lucia.”
“I would never upset Lucia,” Taviano said, his voice softening. “I mean it, piccola, go have fun. You have this one more night and then we’re talking.” Abruptly he was gone, walking down the aisle toward the front of the plane where Demetrio and Drago, his second cousins, were sitting looking very relaxed, but again, Nicoletta knew better. They might be related to Taviano, young and good-looking, but they were trained bodyguards and they were very good at their job. Her friends weren’t any more of a distraction to them than she was.
Nicoletta stared after Taviano, unsure what to think. She pulled out her cell phone, wanting to call Lucia for reassurance. She’d come to rely on her. Lucia was an older woman, steady, sweet and unfailingly strong. She’d had tragedy in her life. First the loss of her young daughter to cancer and then the loss of her remaining son after he came home from serving in the military and was shot by a random murderer outside a theater.
Nicoletta had come to Lucia and Amo, seventeen and wild with grief at the loss of her parents and striking out with anger at the terrible things done to her by her three step-uncles for the past three years while she’d been in their custody. Her foster parents seemed to understand her and had the patience needed to let her grieve and strike out. They connected to her on every level, and it was impossible to love them any more than she did.
“Aren’t you going to join us?” Pia asked, her voice petulant. “I thought this was supposed to be a party.”
Nicoletta looked up with a small smile. “You look like you’re partying to me. For your twenty-first birthday, on a private jet, drinking the best champagne, going to the concert of your choice, I’d say you’re partying.”
“What was all that?”
Nicoletta shook her head. “All what?”
“You and Taviano? You looked as if you two were having a private conversation.”
She shrugged. “Just family stuff. Nothing huge. We were talking about Francesca and Stefano mainly.”
“Family stuff? You’re family now?” Now there was a bite to her voice.
Pia was definitely jealous. She’d had enough to drink to show it. Nicoletta stood up with another smile. “Yep. I’m family. If I wasn’t, we wouldn’t be on the jet, headed to the Kain Diakos concert, now, would we? Let’s get some dancing in before we get there.” She caught Pia by the arm and hurried back to the other two girls.
Immediately they were laughing and dancing. Clariss had more strawberries than champagne, but she still pronounced it the best she’d ever tasted. Nicoletta indulged in eating quite a few strawberries, found whipped cream and added that to them just for fun. Bianca drank two more flutes filled with strawberries and champagne, but Pia was mostly just drinking. That worried Nicoletta. They weren’t even at the concert yet.
“Slow it down, girl. If you drink too much, they won’t let us in.”
“Who cares,” Pia said. “We can just stay on board and spend the night here. Why did we need the hotel when there’s a bed? Or you three can go to the hotel and I’ll stay here with Mr. Hotness. He’s been looking at my boobs all evening.”
Nicoletta tried not to smile. Taviano was looking down at his phone, and even though he was wearing that stone expression the Ferraros tended to wear in public, she knew he was not happy. He certainly wasn’t staring at Pia.