Page 34 of Say It Isn't So

She nodded. “My mom would’ve loved it, too. Gosh, the mob wife fashion is everything. No question about it, she would’ve been in awe.”

I hadn’t wanted to bring up Regina, not sure it was ever the right time. I’d heard about her passing in the media, though, of course.

Regina Morelli, Owner and Editor-in-Chief of notoriousBellissima, Dies

How did you tell an old friend, someone you cared about, that you were sorry you hadn’t shown up to their mother’s funeral?

“I’m sure she was looking down on it. After all, she helped Rina get her start.”

Bianca smiled. “True. You know, it’s hard to go to these shows and not think about her. She looked forward to these seasons every year.” Her face lit up, even though tears were filling her eyes. It was clear she still missed her mother and I understood why. They were a tight-knit family, and while I didn’t think that ache Bianca felt would ever go away, I hoped it dulled with time. “When they were all said and done, she’d hold a trends meeting and bring out this huge board. We’d all have a chance to go up there and place photos of our favorite trends for feature.” She chuckled slightly as she pointed a finger at me. “Bows. She loved big bows.”

“At least you didn’t say florals,” I said, trying to lighten the mood.

She shook her head, laughing and wiping her cheeks with her fingers. “Oh, sorry, I don’t know why I’m crying. Look at me.” She looked down and wiped her hands together. “I’m a blubbering mess. I shouldn’t be crying. She’s been gone for a while now. I’m a grown woman crying over something that happens to everyone eventually.”

I tilted my head and stopped in my tracks. She stopped, too, and looked back at me. “You’re one of the strongest women I know, but that doesn’t mean you can’t still be sad about losing someone you loved. And you’re not a blubbering mess.” I swiped the pad of my thumb over her cheek. “For what it’s worth, I’m so sorry. Not that my deepest sympathies are going to do you any good, but still. I want you to know that when I read about her death online, all I wanted to do was see you and—”

“Why didn’t you?” she asked, giving me a confused look.

Why didn’t I?

Hmm. . . real good, Knox, bring the conversation back to the one thing you had been avoiding—the real reason you’d left.

I had a couple options here. I could tell her the truth:hey, your father forbade me from ever seeing you again and he terrified me, so there was that.Or I could lie and say:I was out of town and couldn’t make it to the funeral.

The lie was weak, even I knew that. Besides the fact that I wasn’t a big fan of lying.

So the question was, would she hate me for the truth? For being so stupid that not only did I let her father bully me two years ago, but that I’d let him make me doubt who I was?

“Well?” Bianca pressed, a hand on her jutted hip as she stood completely still on the bustling street, waiting. “Why didn’t you come around?”

I swallowed hard. Here goes nothing, I thought. “Your father.”

“My father?” She furrowed her brows. “What does this have to do with him?”

I slumped my shoulders, feeling the weight of the words I was about to say, and tried my best to explain. “I wasn’t entirely honest before when I told you why I put distance between us.” I recounted the highlights of the sordid tale and ended with: “Your father forbade me from having any sort of contact with you, basically telling me to cut ties, so that was what I did.” I did, however, distinctly leave out the part where Angelo all but called me a mooch, saying he thought I’d use Bianca for my own advancement. That kind of thinking didn’t paint Angelo in the best light. It made him look like the kind of guy who didn’t trust his own daughter, and Bianca didn’t need a tarnished relationship with the only parent she had left. Not at my hand.

Her arm fell slack at her side. “Oh.”

Barely hearing her, I continued, saying, “I wasn’t going to argue with him. I didn’t think I had a leg to stand on. I was just—” I stopped. “Wait, ‘oh’?” That was all she had to say?

She shrugged casually and started walking again, gesturing for me to keep moving with her. “It was two years ago and a lot has changed in that time. Just look at us, look at how much we’ve both grown up. Plus, obviously the universe wanted us to meet again because we did, so all’s well that ends well.”

“You’re not mad?”

She gave me a lopsided smile. “When Daddy does things, they come from a good place. Although he had no business interfering in my life, I’m sure he had his reasons. I could be mad at him, but I already lost one parent, so I won’t be doing that. Forgive and forget, that’s my motto.”

I would never not be surprised by this woman.

When I only looked over at her and didn’t say anything, she peered at me through thick, long lashes. “What?”

Shrugging, I sidestepped a couple of kids sitting on the street with a ball. “You’re amazing.” She always had been, but my memories of her didn’t do her justice.

She laughed. “Grudges cause wrinkles,” she said, lightening the mood.

“Really? Is that scientifically proven?”

“I’m sure some medical journal talks about it.”

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