Page 215 of Claimed At First Sight

Before Mamma can respond, my anger spills over, and all the accusations I’ve been holding back come tumbling out.

“He probably knew that Aldo planned to propose before you two even left Chicago. And then Aldo must have told him when you said yes. It all played perfectly into Maximo’s hands.”

I pull my hand from hers and push myself off the bed, too agitated to remain still.

“How am I supposed to hold him at bay now? He’s relentless when he decides he wants something. With us staying in Chicago, he’ll have all the time in the world to wear me down.”

“Mia, you don’t have to—”

“And it’s not even that he kept Aldo’s confidence,” I rush on, unwilling to let her defend him before I’ve made her understand. “It’s that he knew we weren’t returning to Sicily and let me go on believing that we would, while all along he was waiting for circumstances to turn in his favor.”

The realization turns my stomach.

“He’s just like Father. He maneuvers people and situations until you’re left with nothing but the illusion of choice.”

Mamma simply watches me from the bed. She’s far too calm considering I’ve just compared Maximo to Father.

“Come, sit down, tesoro.”

Some of the fight goes out of me at the familiar endearment. I return to the bed and sit down beside her.

“Yes, Maximo probably knew, given his relationship with Aldo. But it wasn’t his news to tell.”

“You’re taking his side.”

“I’m not taking anyone’s side.” She chuckles when I give her a disbelieving look. “I’m simply saying I understand why he didn’t tell you.”

“Well, I don’t,” I huff. “One sentence was all it would have taken. Mia, your mother has something important to tell you when she gets back.”

“That would have given it away. You’re an intelligent young woman. You would have worked it out.”

I puff out my cheeks before releasing the air noisily. Fine, I probably would have. But that’s hardly the point.

“So you’re happy?” I ask, not wanting to talk about Maximo anymore.

I take her hand in mine and admire the ring properly. A brilliant oval diamond rests on a slender band, surrounded by smaller stones that scatter light across her fingers whenever I move her hand.

It’s elegant and beautiful without being ostentatious. Aldo chose well. More importantly, he chose something that suits her.

“Very happy.” Her entire face softens as she looks down at her hand. “Aldo proposed on our final evening at the cabin. We’d had dinner in front of the fire, and afterward, he asked me to step outside with him. The mountains were covered in snow, and the sky was so clear we could see millions of stars.”

“That sounds freezing.”

“It was,” she says with a laugh. “But Aldo had blankets waiting for us on the porch and poured me a glass of champagne. Then he told me that loving me had given him a future he’d never expected to have. He didn’t want what we shared to end when we left the cabin. He wanted to wake beside me every morning, come home to me every night, and spend the rest of his life making me as happy as I’d made him.”

“Oh, Mamma.”

“He got down on one knee right there on the porch.” Her eyes glisten as the memory carries her back into the mountains. “I was already crying so hard that he had to ask me twice because I forgot to answer.”

“Poor Aldo. He probably thought you were trying to find a polite way to refuse,” I tease.

“There wasn’t anything polite about the way I was sobbing.”

I lean over to wrap my arms around her. She holds me, resting her cheek against my hair as the last of my resentment over being blindsided fades away.

“He’s nothing like your father, Mia,” she whispers after a few heartbeats. “Aldo listens to me. He respects my opinions and talks things through with me instead of assuming he knows what’s best simply because he’s a man.” Her arms tighten around me. “And I don’t believe Maximo is like your father either.”

I ease out of her embrace, ignoring her comment about Maximo. I wasn’t joking when I said I didn’t want to talk about him.