Page 65 of Own Me

"You already know her," La Strega answered with a shrug. "Ynez—-"

Massimo blinked.Seriously?

"She has an older sister,sì?Ysabel—-"

Massimo stared at his grandmother in disbelief. "Are you fucking—-"

"Language,per favore!"

"You can't be serious!"

"I am, very."

"Isn't this a little too much, even for you,Nonna?"

"Are you saying you will not obey me on this?"

A moment passed...and then Massimo was inclining his head in mocking assent."Certo che no, Nonna." Of course not."It will be as you wish, as always."

"If it means anything—-Ynez will get over losing you." But Potenziana could not say the same for Ysabel...if this marriage did not work out.

Massimo politely excused himself soon after, but the older woman stayed on the balcony, needing to be alone with her thoughts.

The two sisters were as different as day and night, and truth be told...

Buon Dio, I have indeed turned into a meddling old woman.

She would never have chosen the older girl for Massimo...if she had not accidentally found out about Ysabel's feelings for him.

Now it is your turn, bambina.

Potenziana could only hope Ysabel would succeed in stealing her grandson's heart...or it was the girl's own heart that Massimo would end up breaking instead.

Two

Ysabel

DOOR CHIMES JINGLEas I push the glass doors open, and my boss-slash-step-aunt beams at me from her usual place behind the counter.

"Buongiorno, bella!"

"Buongiorno!"

"Buongiorno!"

Everyone joyfully greets me like I'm hard of hearing, but all of them also cringe when I sing out 'good morning' in response in my usual off-key tone.Hmph.Can't they just respect my dedicated effort to being Boston's very own Lana del Rey?

Carlita catches my eyes when a group of schoolgirls enters the diner, and I bite back a sigh.Mamma mia, here we go again...literally.

The girls giggle as soon as I come around to their table, and as soon as I flash them my friendliest smile, it's as if the floodgates have opened, and a torrent of questions comes rushing out.

Are you Ynez Ossani's older sister?

Is your sister really dating THE Massimo Marchetti?

How is he in real life?

It's been like this ever since Ynez and Massimo made their relationship public, and I've gotten used to becoming famous by connection. "It's a yes to all of your questions," I say cheerfully, "but you need to give me your orders first before I can answer anything else."

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