Page 9 of Say It Isn't So

I heard Rina tell Regina, “It’s so nice to meet you, Mrs. Morelli, and your house is absolutely beautiful. They don’t make houses like this in Minnesota.”

They probably do make houses like this, but people like Rina and I weren’t meant to live in them.To be honest, I was surprised I was seeing the inside of one now. I cleared my throat and turned my attention back to them. “At least not where we’re from.”

“Please call me Regina,” she acknowledged Rina’s words and shook her head, her teased dark brown hair moving lightly around her shoulders.

It was funny how your net worth could make your life drastically different from someone else’s. She couldn’t be much younger than my own mom, and yet Regina looked like a doll that went back in a box on a shelf at the end of every day. Whereas, my mom stood on her feet for hours after a hard day at work and worked her hands to the bone cooking and cleaning. She had the wrinkled hands and spider veins to prove it.

“As for this house, it was my vision, but it came to life because of my husband, so I can’t take all the credit,” Regina continued.

“Are you talking about me?” a gravelly voice spoke, coming from another room before closing the gap between him and Regina.

Together they looked like the picture-perfect couple. Like one of those celebrity couples that people rooted for and kept posters of, even made their screensaver. Not that I was surprised. Have you ever heard the sayinghot people attract hot people? Well, it was true. Especially in the case of wealthy people. Really, tell me one story of a wealthy man ending up with a poor woman. Excluding those where he dominated her because of his wealth and status and she let him because she was a gold digger.

Regina’s husband kissed her cheek and placed a hand on her back before acknowledging us. “You must be the kids from Minnesota. Bianca was telling me about you.”Bianca—that’s the girl Rina told me about, the one that helped her get here.I wondered if she knew she robbed the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow when she got these two as parents.

“Yes, Mr. Morelli,” Rina spoke softly, “I’m Rina and this is my boyfriend, Knox.”

He shook her hand first, and then extended a hand to me. His grip was firm and steady, which told me he was no-nonsense. His gaze was cold and threatening as it held mine, like if I made one wrong move, he’d have no qualms about making me pay handsomely. “Call me Angelo. It’s nice to meet you both,” he said, dropping my hand and stepping back to stand beside Regina again.

Did she know her husband doubled as her bodyguard? Not that I didn’t think that was exactly what every man should be for their woman, but Angelo brought it to a whole new level.

I wasn’t sure what it was about this man, but he made my insides want to shrivel up. Maybe it was his intense brown eyes that were pinning me to where I stood or the way he was quite larger than I had expected. And I didn’t mean fat, more that he was built of power.

Regina looked between us and, instinctively, I knew she was familiar with Angelo’s glowering ways. “Shall we sit down for cocktails?”

“Sounds lovely,” Rina answered, clearly trying to make me forget the fact that Angelo was making me wish I was a snail so I could curl up in my shell. “Thank you.”

Walking over to the cocktail cart, Angelo asked us our preferences and began preparing drinks while Regina got right down to it. “Tell me, what made you come out to New York?”

This was Rina’s big moment—meeting?—so I’d let her answer. Plus, something told me they didn’t want to hear my answer that’d go something like this: The house I lived in was practically unlivable, my dad was more concerned with missing a sports game than his own son, and my mom was so busy kissing my dad’s butt (not literally) that I was surprised her lips weren’t swollen at the end of the day. So New York, North Carolina, Alaska, I didn’t really care where I landed, as long as I got out of Minnesota.

“That’s a long story,” Rina began, but I already knew the story she was going to tell, so I let my gaze wander, taking in the inside of the house and the little things they left around that made it a home. Nothing quite like either one of our homes, that was for sure.

I didn’t see any roof leaks and I hadn’t been in the kitchen, but something told me all their appliances not only worked, but they were top-of-the-line.

* * *

Rina swallowed her last bite of lasagna before delicately wiping her mouth with a napkin, then continued, explaining the real reason we were here—what she wanted. “That’s why I was hoping you could help me. Bianca told me you have connections, and I’m not looking for any favors,” she paused and waved her hand in front of her. “Just an introduction, something to get my foot in the door. But if that’s asking too much, I understand.”

It was in that moment I realized how incredibly proud I was of my girl. She was doing it, making her dreams come true, or at least trying. It took a lot of courage for her to do this, and so far, it was working out. Now I held my breath, just like I knew Rina was doing beside me, as we waited for Regina to respond.

Regina took a sip of her red wine before placing the glass back down on the table, her gold bracelets making distinct clattering sounds against one another with the motion. “I happen to know a few well-known designers who I’m sure would be more than happy to chat. I’ll make some calls and see what I can do.”

I placed a hand on Rina’s thigh under the table and gave it a squeeze.What Regina said sounds promising, right?A connection was a connection was a connection and the more you had in higher places, the better off you were. I’d say Rina was pretty lucky to have Regina on her side.

Rina visibly relaxed and smiled the smile she gave when she could envision herself getting one step closer to her dream (don’t forget, I’d known her a long time, so I knew what all her expressions said). “Thank you, thank you so much, Regina. I really appreciate you doing this for me.”

“From what I saw, you’re quite talented, so—”

Rina’s jaw went slack before she cut in, asking, “I’m sorry, but you looked at my portfolio?” She placed her hands in her lap, but not before swatting my hand away.

I took the hint and removed my hand, leaning back to listen as well. Clearly now was not the time for physical touch. I supposed I shouldn’t have been too shocked. You know those women who preferred not to have sex until the house was cleaned at the end of the day? Rina was like that, but with her aspirations. Lately, until she felt like she’d accomplished something that moved the needle in her favor, intimacy wasn’t high on her list of priorities.

“I know I emailed it to you, but I guess I didn’t think you would have time to look.” She sighed. “Do you know how many people ask for it, but then I never hear back?”

“I’m not like most people, dear. You’ll find I do business differently, and, in my humble opinion, more effectively.”

Why am I here again?I was like the weird sibling who sat quietly at the table only to eat and run, not interacting with anyone, because as much as I didn’t want to, they also didn’t want me to—I felt out of place and it was starting to get on my last nerve.

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