Page 34 of The Sweet Life

Eva held up her thumb and forefinger. “I might have a teensy one.” She nudged her. “You have to admit the man is off-the-charts gorgeous and just an all-around great guy.”

She sighed. “He is. But come on. He’s six years younger than me, he was in love with our baby sister for at least two years, and he’s the father of my daughter.”

“Don’t worry, I’ve seen how this played out, and it’s epic. You’ll get your happily-ever-after and then some.”

Gia rolled her eyes. “Yeah, and I can guess where you saw it play out.The Young and the Restless.”

“No.Days of Our Lives.” Eva laughed and paid the cashier, who was staring at her.

“Has anyone ever told you you look like JLo?” they asked.

“No, but thank you,” Eva said, looking anything but grateful. She got told that all the time.

“It’s a compliment, you know,” Gia said after paying and walking back to the elevator.

“No, people telling you you look like Eva Mendes is a compliment. She’s five years younger than you are. But JLo is five years older than me.”

Gia laughed “Eva, you do know time didn’t stop the day you turned fifty?” She hip-checked her sister as the elevator doors slid open and they walked on. “You’re fifty-two.”

They went back and forth teasing each other. After months of arguing over Cami, it was a nice change. But the reprieve ended as soon as the elevator doors slid open on Sage’s floor.

“Is that Ma?” Eva asked.

“If you’re referring to the woman yelling in Italian, I think we can safely assume it’s our mother,” Gia said as she fast-walked to her daughter’s room. “Ma, what’s going on?”

Jake inched his way around the far side of the room as if hoping Carmen wouldn’t notice him trying to make his escape. Gia could have told him it wouldn’t work.

“This is your fault.” Carmen stabbed her finger at him. “You tell her that she has to stay with her mother.”

He held up his hands. “I’m sorry, Ms. Rosetti, but this has nothing to do with me.”

“Ha! Are you staying at the farm or not?”

“I am,” he said, looking at Sage as if seeking support.

Sage smiled as if enjoying a little payback.

“You tell her she can’t stay with you. You tell her to come home with her family.” Carmen waved her hand at Sage. “Look at her. She looks…” She shuddered, and Sage scowled. “She needs us to look after her, to make sure she sleeps and eats. And you, all you’ll want is to keep her up all night having sex.”

“Nonna!”

Jake rubbed the back of his head. “Ms. Rosetti, you know as well as I do that no one tells your granddaughter what to do.”

“Si, but that’s—”

“Ma, stop,” Gia said, walking to the hospital bed and putting her cafeteria purchases on Sage’s tray. Her daughter wrinkled her nose but smiled when Eva unloaded her contribution.

“You talk to him then. He’s convinced our Sage to stay with him at the farm instead of coming home with her family.”

“You’re not coming home with us?” Gia asked, trying to hide her disappointment but obviously failing. She’d been positive Carmen had misunderstood.

“Mom, it’s not a big deal. I’m just a few miles from you. I’ll see you all the time.”

“You’d see us all the time if you stayed at the apartment.” She tucked the blankets around Sage’s legs. “We want to look after you.”

“I’m not sick. I’m just… tired.” She patted the side of the hospital bed. “Sit. We have something we need to talk about.”

Out of the corner of her eye, Gia saw her mother sneaking out of the room. “I’m going to strangle her.”

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