Page 125 of Falling for Mr. October

Christopher nods consolingly, but I’d like to rip off his mustache. It’s not a gracious urge, but there it is.

Giovanni tries to take my hand, but I pull away. All of my nerve endings are supercharged.

Christopher presses on. “And your grandmothers…”

“Are we going to be answering questions about the apple fight too?” Giovanni asks with a sigh, rubbing his scruff.

I feel a stab of worry for him. He’s been doing so well, feeling so motivated, but this is the side of fame that doesn’t sit well with him. The hunger other people have for every single secret locked away in his soul.

Even the secrets of the people closest to him.

“I’d like to know the truth about it, of course,” Christopher says, turning to address me. “I did hear whispers that it had something to do with your great-uncle Ted.”

“That’s ridiculous,” I say confidently.

Ted was the mildest-mannered man alive. He was like Theo on a constant stream of Xanax. It seems impossible he’d be the root of any sort of conflict. In fact, I’d always assumed the apple fight might have been sparked by my grandfather, who’d been a difficult man.

“Only whispers,” Christopher says, having the grace to seem a little embarrassed. “They say it might have been some kind of love triangle.”

“Love triangle?” I sputter.

Giovanni’s jaw hardens. “Dead men can’t defend themselves.”

“No, of course not. I was…it was honestly just a question.”

“And are people really going to care about all of this?” Giovanni asks. He seems shocked. I feel shocked.

“Yes,” Christopher says. “Because they care about you. I’ve also heard rumblings about an affair with a married woman back in Maine. A few people have suggested that’s the real reason you’re here.”

“And who’s their hot source?” I snap. “I’m guessing it was his ex. Did you know she stalked him? Is it any wonder he wanted to leave?”

“I thought he came here for you,” Christopher says pointedly.

“I did.” Giovanni squeezes my hand. “But I didn’t ask for this kind of attention. Neither did my girlfriend. It’s not fair to bother them to get at us.”

“Life’s not fair,” Emily interjects. “But sometimes you have the chance to control the map, Giovanni. Remember that.”

He nods, but I can tell he’s not really listening. He’s deep in thought, and that feeling of misgiving swells inside of me. Because I know he’s already planning on doing the decent thing.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

GIOVANNI

Later that night, I knock on Bianca’s wall after the nonnas are asleep, and she tiptoes into my room and slides under the sheets next to me.

I hold her to me, her body cradled against mine, my chin on top of her head. “I just want to hold you tonight. Will you let me?”

She burrows in closer. “Okay, but don’t try talking to me about anything serious. I don’t want to worry about Miles or any hot love triangle involving my great-uncle. I’ve never seen him with a woman, and I don’t want to start imagining it now. He had three-inch-long ear hair.”

I laugh, or half laugh. It’s the most I can manage right now. I’m not feeling amused by the implication that my nonna might have cheated on my nonno.

If someone publishes an accusation like that, I know it would destroy Nonna Francesca, who says a rosary for her lost husband twice a day and kisses his photograph every night before she goes to sleep. But how can I hope to stop them?

I can leave Apple Ridge.

If I leave, they’ll have no reason to write about the apple fight or do any deep dives into the accident. The Murphys would be part of my past, not my present.

The thought brings me no peace.