Page 84 of Vow

So, she had to also know he was lying.

Gio shot him a look.

Andino didn’t return it.

“You know,” his mother drawled, “I genuinely thought you might like that woman—the Calabrese woman, I mean. Ginevra. You spoke kindly about her. Men who run around with someone else don’t tend to … well, do that. Or is that the kind of man you are, Andi?”

Ouch.

He chuckled dryly, and set his now-empty glass aside. “Ma—”

“He was talking about Haven Murphy that day,” his father said. “In the kitchen at our home. You told me about it after, Kim. He was talking about her even if it seemed like it was about Ginevra.”

Andino shook his head, and scrubbed a hand down his face. Yeah, fuck his whole life. Because this was a mess he was never going to get out of. Or so it seemed lately.

Kim’s brow rose higher. “Haven.”

“Yeah, Tesoro.”

“Oh.”

That gentle, soft-spoken word felt laced with a heavy sadness that Andino didn’t want to hear at all. This was why he hadn’t wanted to bring his parents into this mess at all.

Yes, they were Marcellos. They were loyal to the family and the name. They knew this life.

But they were also his parents—they loved him so much. Far more than anyone else in his life … except for maybe Haven. All that meant was that the pain he felt or the struggle he dealt with would be amplified for them as they had to watch, and were unable to do anything.

They’d allowed him to live exactly the way he wanted to for so long. To grow, and be whoever the fuck he needed to be. They never stopped him from doing anything, and they never stepped in to change his direction.

Why would this be any different?

“What are you going to do, then?” his mother asked, her soft gaze turning on him. “What can we do?”

He wished he knew.

This was something he was going to have to do alone.

They wouldn’t understand.

• • •

There was no missing the smug smiles that Kev and Darren Calabrese wore as Dante and Andino met the two men at the bar. He couldn’t wait to wipe those fucking smirks from their faces, but now was not the time.

No, now was the time to play nice.

God knew how long that would last.

“June twenty-fifth,” Kev said.

Dante quirked a brow as he and Andino came to a stop in front of the two men. “For what, Kev?”

“The wedding. A month from today. We decided on the date, and thought you would appreciate knowing. Maybe have a drink with us to celebrate. Invitations were printed this morning by that place your wife suggested, Dante. Thank her for us. And some were already hand delivered. We will, of course, make sure your family has invitations for your side of things.”

What?

Did he just walk into the Twilight Zone?

Andino could feel his uncle’s gaze shift to him, but he didn’t respond in any way. They’d called them in for a drink? And to give a wedding date? What kind of fucking garbage was that? Andino wished he could be surprised, but he really wasn’t. This would be just like the Calabrese to make a show out of something like this.