Page 43 of Sacred Vow

“I need your help,” I answered in a quiet voice. The danger of my situation settled in the pit of my stomach like a lead weight.

“Is this about our talk at the beach?” Her voice had lost the bratty sarcastic tone.

“Yeah. I need to ask you a question. If someone offered you freedom, would you take it? What I mean to say is, if you could choose between what your family wanted you to do and what you always wanted to do, what would you pick?”

I held the phone like a lifeline waiting for Gia to give me her answer, and when she did, I was a little surprised.

“Vittoria. No matter what, life is a choice. You can stay, you can go, you can dress as a drag queen or become a cliff diver. Whatever you choose, remember that it is your choice, so make it wisely.”

Well, what do I do with that? “Not what I was looking for, but thanks just the same.”

“Wait, Vittoria. Whatever you decide, I’ll be here.”

That helped a little. To know that whatever happened, Gia at least would be on my team.

“Thanks. I gotta go. Later.” I hung up and lay back on the bed looking to the ceiling for answers that weren’t coming. A knock on the door sometime later brought me back to the present.

“Vittoria?” One of Romeo’s brothers, but I wasn’t sure which one by his voice alone.

“Yes?”

“It’s Vinny. I’m making lunch if you would like to come and join us.”

What was he doing here in the middle of the day? “Uh, sure. I need about half an hour, I just got out of the shower.”

“Okay. See you in the kitchen when you’re ready.”

Half an hour later, the sound of laughter reached me as I traversed the long walkway to the kitchen. Vinny, Tony, and their mother, Isabella, stood around the island while Vinny busied himself making lunch.

The afternoon light streamed through the huge bank of windows, framing the domestic scene in a halo of sunshine. All three looked up when I entered.

“There she is.” Isabella came and kissed me on each cheek like she always did. The woman was so warm and friendly. Then she held me at arms’ length. “Are you well, daughter?”

I buried my angst and turned on the charm. "Never better, but I'm starving, and heard we have a 5-star chef making lunch today."

Vinny dropped the wooden spoon he’d been stirring a sauce with and pulled me into a hug. Tony growled at him, proving once again why everyone called him The Beast, but Vinny just laughed.

“Don’t be so grumpy, Antonio.” He quickly took a selfie with me and Tony who looked less than impressed. Isabella chuckled and shook her head muttering something about boys being boys and took up stirring the sauce on the stove.

Vinny laughed about something. Then grabbed me and told me to wink and snapped another picture. “Rom’s not happy,” he chuckled.

“Are you trying to get me into trouble? You know I do that well enough on my own.”

Vinny laughed harder but Tony only offered a slight nod. I tugged my phone out of my pocket and texted my husband.

“Sorry, he made me.”

I didn’t expect a reply, but my phone beeped and I opened it to see this. “Do you think that little excuse will save you from il diavolo?”

Holy hell! Desire zipped through me and settled deep inside my core. I started to answer eagerly only to remember I was leaving him. For a long moment, I could not think or feel anything but pain, but I couldn’t just leave it at that.

“I hope not.” I answered lamely and added a red heart.

His response made me laugh.

“Good girl. Behave yourself and you have my full permission to tell Vincenzo to go fuck himself.”

“Was that Rom? What did he say?” Vinny asked from his position back at the stove.