Page 26 of Twisted Throne
I thought back to all of the old photos and playbills that she had held onto for so many years.
She always looked so glamorous to me and I smiled to think of all the times I’d wake up and go downstairs and she’d be singing her heart out in the kitchen while making breakfast.
“She was so captivating up there on the stage. She looked and sounded like an angel, every eye in the club was on her from the second she came out. You could see the absolute joy on her face as she sang. But the special thing…” He smiled, with a catch in his breath that might have been a chuckle or something sadder. “The special thing was the way she shared that joy. I felt it. We all did.”
I hadn’t even noticed I was crying until Angelo pulled a cream colored, linen handkerchief out of the breast pocket of his tailored suit and reached forward to hand it to me. He gave me a somewhat awkward pat on the arm before he continued.
“There was no question about it, I had to meet her. I approached her after the show and offered her my compliments. She was polite but distant. She had heard rumors about who I was and my profession and didn’t want anything to do with me.” His lips twitched up into a smile. “But I was used to getting what I wanted, and what I wanted was her. So I returned to the club every night for the next week until Catherine finally agreed to allow me to take her out to dinner.”
“Even though she knew who you were? I mean, what you do?” I thought of how confused my feelings were about Paul and could sympathize with the situation she’d found herself in. “She just… she just got okay with all of it?”
“Okay? Oh absolutely not,” Angelo broke out in a laugh, the first I’d heard from him so far. “At first she swore it was just going to be the one dinner so I’d go away.”
“And then she changed her mind?”
“One dinner led to another, and so on. Neither of us expected it to get as serious as it did, or so quickly. I don’t think I fully realized my feelings for Catherine until after she’d vanished and it was too late.”
“How did you find out she had left?” Hearing Angelo talk about Mom, it was obvious that he had cared for her, maybe even loved her.
“I showed up at her apartment to pick her up for dinner. I’d talked to her the day before, and nothing had seemed out of the ordinary. But when I got there I found only an empty apartment and a note tacked to the door.”
“She left you a note?” I sat up straighter and clenched my fingers around the handkerchief. “What did it say?”
“Only that she was sorry, but she had taken a job outside the city that she had to leave for right away.”
Angelo looked down at my hand, still clutching his handkerchief.
“I’m sorry that things didn’t work out differently for us, Gia. But I’m glad that you’re here with me now. And all the rest of thefamigliaas well.”
He stood and extended a hand out to help me up.
“Now, no more talk of the past tonight. We focus now on the future, si?”
I nodded in reply and rose to stand beside him.
“And your future, I believe, is as LaRosa.”
Chapter Thirteen
Paul
After the meeting with Angelo, I went into the library, taking advantage of the wet bar to pour myself a stiff drink. Carlos had taken Ricky and gone to double-check intel on the incoming shipments for Sabitino. I wanted to make absolutely certain our information was good before we made our move. I’d wait here until they returned.
I heard a noise behind me and turned to see Gia standing in the open doorway.
“You need something?” I asked, and took a deep swallow of my whisky, the smoky flavor washing through my mouth, the heat settling warmly in my chest.
She stepped forward, hesitated, then shut the door behind her.
“Did Elena show you to your room?” I said, trying to sound nonchalant.
“She did,” she said.
“What do you want?” I asked gruffly, turning back to face the bar.
“I want an explanation! One minute you were all over me, then the next you…” She trailed off with an explosive huff of air that could have been either anger or sadness.
"I told you, it didn't happen."