Page 111 of Claimed At First Sight

“Then I walked through the front door and within thirty seconds everybody was discussing me like I was some kind of security incident.”

Mamma closes her eyes. When she opens them again, there’s something painfully familiar in her expression.

“I know.” The simple words steal some of the wind from my sails. A sad smile touches her lips. “More than you realize.”

Suddenly she looks older than usual.

“I’ve spent my entire life living under somebody else’s expectations. First your grandfather’s, then your father’s. To be honest, I don’t know what freedom feels like. It’s not a luxury women like us are given.”

I stare at her. “That’s not fair.”

“No.” Her smile turns wistful. “It isn’t.”

The answer catches me off guard. I expected an argument. Instead, she sounds tired.

“I wish I could tell you the world works differently, tesoro, but wishing has never changed reality. We don’t get to pretend the rules of our world don’t exist simply because we don’t like them.”

I don’t answer.

“It’s only because of your father’s death that I’ve been able to push those rules further than most mothers can. You and your sisters can choose your own husbands. But they still have to be men from our world. Anything else would put all of you in danger.”

My thoughts drift to Isa. Right now she’s trying to build an ordinary life with Sebastian. One outside our world.

Mamma’s words leave an uncomfortable knot in my stomach.

Maybe she’s overly cautious. Or maybe I’m the one refusing to see the reality she’s lived with her entire life.

“So you’re saying Aldo and Maximo were right?” I ask to take my mind off my sister and the possible consequences of her elopement with a non-Mafia man.

“I’m saying there’s a difference between being wrong and being reckless.”

Letting out a huff, I fold my arms. “I went for coffee.”

“You dismissed trained security.”

“Because nobody told me I had guards on me.”

“That part,” she admits, “could have been handled better.”

Understatement of the century.

Mamma reaches for my hand. “Mia, what Aldo said downstairs is valid.”

I look away, not wanting to hear it all again.

“The contract with the Irish still exists.”

I hate hearing it out loud.

“But Father is dead and the engagement was never announced.”

“True.”

I latch onto that immediately.

“Then why does everybody keep acting like I’m one phone call away from being kidnapped and dragged to an altar?”

Mamma’s fingers tighten around mine. “Because it could happen. Powerful men have started wars over less.”