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“I’m glad they don’t. All the parties I’ve been allowed to go to are boring, and most of my relatives are there.”

Natalia poured herself more wine. She wanted to drop the subject, but she forced herself to continue with the embarrassing conversation.

“Their parties aren’t ones you’d be comfortable attending with your parents.”

Instead of being discouraged, Lucia seemed even more eager. “You’re making me wish it were Friday already.”

Natalia drained her glass then refilled it.

“You’re drinking a lot,” Lucia observed. “Are you worried about me going to the party? Don’t be. Jesus will protect me if any of the men get too forward.”

The woman was too innocent for her own good.

After drinking most of the bottle, Natalia finally managed to choke out, “Lucia … Jesus might have been seeing you for a month, but that hasn’t stopped him from being intimate with other women.”

Unexpectedly, Lucia seemed unfazed. “I suspected as much.” She shrugged. “He’ll remain faithful once I tell my parents, we become formally engaged, and we no longer have to hide our relationship. He won’t need other women once I can fulfill his needs more often.”

Natalia tipped the remainder of the wine into her glass and thoughtfully studied Lucia. She had mistaken the woman for meek and mild, only to discover she was strong-willed and inflexible.

She wondered if Jesus had the same surprise coming to him.

There was no changing Lucia’s mind. Marco would be heartbroken when he learned Natalia had failed.

“I’ll go find out what’s taking our food so long.”

“Don’t bother,” Lucia stopped her. “I only came because I want you to make Marco understand that I no longer want a future with him. You’re the only person he’ll listen to. I used to be so jealous of you. Did you know that?”

Natalia’s eyes widened. “Me? Why?”

“He admires you. You give him the motherly support his own mother was never there to give him. I know everyone here calls you Mama, but Marco truly means it. Marco has never stood up to his father—ever. The only time he did was when his father wanted him to quit working here.

“When I wanted to set our wedding date for this June, his father said we should wait until fall because their business would be slower. Marco didn’t argue with him, no matter how much I pleaded.”

Natalia didn’t have to ask how deeply Marco’s failure to take her side had hurt—the pain was evident in Lucia’s expression.

“When did this happen?”

“It doesn’t matter. The only thing that matters is he didn’t stand up for me. Marco will never be the man I need him to be.”

Lucia paused before continuing, “I’m only telling you this so you’ll understand how much influence you have over him. He wants to be like you.” Lucia gave her a sad smile. “He just doesn’t understand why. You possess the strength of will to stop anyone from undermining you. I stopped being jealous when I realized I needed to become more like you. You gave me the courage to end my engagement and pursue someone who would put my wants and needs before anyone else’s.”

She rose from the table. “Thank you for the wine. Arrivederci.”

Natalia wanted to stop her, but she forced herself to let Lucia leave without an argument. The woman had endured enough interference in her and Marco’s lives.

Lucia might think she loved Jesus, but Natalia believed she was using him to rebel against the influence both families exerted over her life.

Staring into her wineglass, Natalia felt terrible for both of them. Lucia would eventually discover that while Jesus might possess the quality she wanted in the present, he would never give her the commitment she hoped for in the future. By the time she realized, she might have made mistakes that would haunt her for the rest of her life. Her family would disown her, and Marco might not be able to forgive or forget, regardless of how much he loved her.

There had to be something she could do. Marco saw her as a mother figure. She couldn’t sit back and watch without intervening.

Marco just needed a small push to become more assertive with his father, while Lucia needed to be removed from temptation.

“I saw Lucia leaving when I was about to clock out. How’d it go?” Arden asked as she entered the private dining room.

The sight of her gave Natalia an idea, one her wine-addled brain lacked the good sense to stop.

“Are you working at The Last Riders’ tonight?”