Page 144 of Thin Lives

It was selfish.

But he had more love to give.

And that wasn’t selfish at all.

The guilt was a killer, though. He had felt like his daughter’s struggles were his fault, and his burdens to bear. He’d asked for her, and then she’d nearly made her way straight into a grave before she could even live.

So when she did survive, when he finally brought Camilla home all swaddled in pale yellow with her sweet pink cheeks and soul-black eyes looking up at him, he knew right then.

He was never going to make choices for her.

He’d never push his wants on her.

She’d live as she wanted to—on her terms only.

Calisto made sure to give his daughter that as much as he possibly could.

This entire day—her wedding and marriage to Tommaso Rossi from the Chicago Outfit—was just one of those things. He’d thought his daughter was too young, and that maybe Tommaso was just another one of Camilla’s play things that had caught her attention for longer than the previous ones.

Calisto wanted her to take more time, to grow up a little more and explore the world. Find other things that might occupy her heart and her mind.

Something other than love at twenty-two.

But he didn’t say a thing.

Calisto had smiled, gave Tommaso the okay for a date, and let Camilla take it from there.

Now, here they were.

“Daddy?” Camilla asked again.

“I’m almost ready,” Calisto said, smiling at his girl. “And you’re not even in your dress. We have to leave in …” He glanced down at his watch. “Forty-five minutes, Camilla.”

“I’ll get dressed in a minute. I wanted to see you first.”

“For what?”

Camilla twisted her hands together a little more. “I just …”

Calisto took a step forward. “Nervous?”

“A little.”

“That’s normal, Cam.”

She nodded. “I know. But I was standing in my room and Ma was rushing around like she does.”

“And?” Calisto pressed.

“And I realized that it was going to be the last time I was standing there while she did that. At least, for a little while.”

Because she was leaving after the wedding, Calisto thought.

A honeymoon to Cancun, a business trip to Sicily, and then a flight back to Chicago. That’s what awaited Camilla and Tommaso after their wedding. She wouldn’t be coming back to New York. Not right away. Not for a few months, at least until a holiday rolled around and they made their way down for the occasion.

Camilla had a brand new home, built just for her, waiting in Chicago from her husband. She had the status of a future boss’s wife waiting for her, a whole new world to learn, and people to surround herself with.

She had every reason to be nervous.