Nervously, I walk back into the pub. The last time I was here was with Luca for Christmas Eve, which now seems like a lifetime ago. As soon as the door opens, everyone stops to see who’s entering the bar. Everyone raises their drinks to me and continues on with what they were doing.
“Lilly.” Wallace gives me a big bear hug. “Happy New Year, it’s great tae see ye.”
“It’s good to see you, too,” I stated while pulling up a bar stool.
“What can I get ye?”
“Whisky, please.”
He nods, then busies himself.
“Where’s the hot man ye had wit ye last time?” Donna takes a seat beside me and smiles.
Damn! Just thinking about Luca makes my stomach hurt.
“He had to go back to Italy. His father had a heart attack.”
“Oh, no.” I nod my head. “Will he be back?”
Wallace places the glass of whisky in front of me, and I throw it back all in one go. Wallace and Donna look at each other with concern in their eyes.
“Ye know ye can talk to me?” Donna wraps her arm around my shoulders tenderly.
Tears begin to well in my eyes. “Everything is a mess, Donna.”
She looks at me with concern. “Another drink, Wallace,” she tells her husband. He silently pours me another glass. “I know I’m not ye maw, but I have some good ears on me.”
This makes me smile through my tears because Donna and Wallace are good people.
So, I start at the beginning.
“Rob was a little shite,” Donna seethes.
“I’ll knock his block off when he shows his face in town.” Wallace slams his hand on the bar making the glasses jiggle.
“So ye have feelin’s for the Italian?” Donna asks
“Yep.”
“But now is nae the right time?” I nod my head in agreement. “He seemed like a good man,” she contemplates. “I think ye should take the charity job,” Donna tells me.
“Aye, me, too,” Wallace adds.
“We’re very proud of ye, Lilly.”
Dammit, Donna’s hitting me with the feels.
“And ye’re family to us.”
Fuck it! I let the tears fall down my cheeks. I mean Wallace has been plowing me with whisky since I arrived, and in the emotional state I have been in, of course, the tears would be flowing soon anyway. “If Luca’s the one, ye will find each other again.”
Maybe Donna’s right.
“Thank you.” Wrapping my arms around her, I reiterate, “Thanks, so much for listening.”
“It’s all good, lassie. Now let’s get ye somethin’ to eat to soak up all this whisky.”
Sounds like a plan.
21
Luca
“Amore mio come va? My love, how are you?” my mother greets me, placing two kisses on each of my cheeks.
“I’m doing okay, Mamma.”
“You seem sad, my boy?” Taking my hand, she sits with me on the sofa. “Your father is doing fine. He is just cranky over not being able to drink his wine,” she reassures me.
“I’m sorry I left.” My mother reaches out and caresses my face.
“What happened, caro mio?”
I’ve been dreading this question. I knew there’d be a time when we’d have to address it, but I’m not sure how she’s going to react.
“I found out Rachele wasn’t faithful to me.” Shock radiates from my mother as her hand flies to cover her mouth.
“No. I do not believe it!” She shakes her head.
“She and Marcus have been seeing each other over the years.” Her eyes widen like saucers as she continues to shake her head in disbelief. “I saw them at the rehearsal, Mamma… with my own eyes.”
“Rachele comes from a respectable family, son. I don’t believe she’d do this to you… to us.”
My stomach sinks at her reaction. But, of course, Allegra and Rachele have been doing damage control, and she is inclined to believe them more than me at this moment. I never wanted to use this, but they have pushed me to the edge. “Here, Mamma, press play,” I state while handing my phone over to her.
She clutches her chest as she watches the video I took of Rachele and Marcus together. Tears fall down her cheeks as she hands the phone back to me.
“I’m so sorry.” She weeps as I pull her into my arms.
“It’s not your fault, Mamma.”
It takes a glass of wine for her to settle her nerves after the revelation.
“Did Allegra know?”
“Yes, she’d been the one covering it up over the years.”
My mother swears under her breath.
“That’s why you disappeared?” I nod my head. “Is it true that you met someone while you were in Scotland?” I should be surprised that she knows about this, but who am I kidding, there’s nothing much that gets by her.
“Yes, Lilly Simpson.” Just saying her name out loud is an ache in a void that never seems to end. My mother shifts around in her seat, grimaces, looking guilty all of a sudden.
“I was led to believe she was after your money.” What? “I realize now that I have been fooled.” Her flaring nostrils and cold flinty eyes tell me everything—she’s not happy.
“Lilly had no idea who I was, and when she found out, she ran from me. She isn’t interested in all this…” I wave my hand around the opulent surroundings of my family’s home.
“I know, I did a background check on her.”
“You what?”
“I’m sorry, caro mio, My dear. Your sister led me down the wrong path.”
“And what did you find? Nothing, I presume?”
She nods her head in agreement. “Honestly, I found a truly accomplished woman.” That is a big compliment coming from my mother. “There was one thing I didn’t understand, though. Why did she leave Africa before her tenure was up? Doesn’t she have a fiancé still there?”
“That’s her ex.” My mother’s body relaxes a little at that bit of information. “She was stuck watching him fool around with the nurses because she was unable to leave until her time was up. Another doctor wanted to stay, so they swapped positions, and she came home. Unfortunately, or fortunately for me, her sister went to Africa
