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Both in their sixties, they still make a handsome couple. Mom is on a perpetual quest to lose weight, but I think she’s perfect. Both have been in this country most of their lives, but you’d never be able to tell it by looking at them.
My family really does look like they stepped off aGodfathermovie set.
“Hi, honey.” Mom kisses me on the cheek. “Here, make yourself useful.” She hands me a box to put together.
“Stopping by to see how it’s going.”
She nods to the pizza box. “Good. And it’ll be even better if you put some of these together.”
I grab a paper plate, take one more bite, put my pizza down and get to work.
“Just a few minutes,” I say. I’ve done this for so many years my hands start moving before I can even think about what I’m doing.
“Tris, come over here for a sec,” my dad calls.
Rolling my eyes, knowing he doesn’t really need help but that he just doesn’t like being left out of any conversation, I move between my parents as we talk about Festa.
Eventually, seeing the ovens are under control, I make my way back to Lus and the boxes.
“So what happened with Evie?” she starts right in.
My sister really needs to learn when to keep her mouth shut. I give her the death stare, but it’s too late. Both of my parents heard her.
“Evie Fuller?” Mom asks.
“I saw you dancing with her at the wedding.” My father puts down the wooden paddle and wipes his hands on his pizza-stained apron.
“What’s going on with her?” Mom prods.
My eyes narrow at Lus, but she doesn’t appear the slightest bit intimidated.
“There was an article in thePress, About Town, about them being seen together. So Gian had the bright idea of telling Tris to play it up, for publicity’s sake. Which actually isn’t the worst idea in the world. Although I could see it getting complicated pretty quickly.”
As if she didn’t just drop a bombshell, Lus slips by me and heads back out to the front counter.
“Oh, Tris, I don’t know.” My mother stops working. “That doesn’t seem like a great idea to me.”
My father looks back and forth between us.
“What’s the harm? Tris could use the free publicity.”
“What’s the harm?” My mother, now fit to be tied, puts her hands on her hips. Which is precisely when I decide to let Dad have this one. I’m not touching an angry Mom with a ten-foot pole.
“What’s the harm?” she repeats. “Evie Fuller lost both of her parents. And she’s running a business all by herself. The last thing she needs is Tristano complicating matters.”
What the hell? How did I become the bad guy?
“Her mother ran that restaurant just fine,” my dad counters. “And I’m sure Evie will do the same.”
“Don’t you twist my words, Anthony. Of course she’ll do just fine. But she and Tris are each other’s biggest competitors. Do you really see it going well?”
“Mom,” I step in. “It’s not like we’re actually dating. We talked about a few appearances together, just to keep it in the news a bit. That’s all. No big deal.”
Frowning, she gives each of us one last look and then goes back to work.
“Her dad was a good man. A great businessman. She’s going to give you some stiff competition, Tris.”
That’s not the only stiff thing Evie Fuller is going to give me.
