“Of course not,” Jewel said. “That scotch is a part of Angelini history. Your heritage. It belongs in your hands, not mine.”
“I don’t understand.” He gave her a quizzical look. “Rogen told you I had no intention of fulfilling my end of the transaction. That I’d find a way to keep the scotch, even though I’d compensate you for it.”
“Yes.”
“Then why bring it to me?”
“What purpose does it serve for a Catalano to keep it?”
One corner of his mouth jerked up. “To twist the knife, since I’d forever know it was in your possession.”
“Ah, see, that’s the thing, Mr. Angelini. There is no knife.” She gave him a steady, challenging look. “Is there?”
Beside her, Rogen said, “Mother told us everything. What happened after Taylor passed. How the Catalanos let you blame the distance you needed from them on an underhanded business deal. A guise you attempted to keep up by double-crossing Jewel.”
Gian Angelini stared at Jewel. She couldn’t read the expression in his eyes. There wasn’t a hint of him wanting to deny the truth. Nor was there full-on remorse. It was almost as though … he clung to survival instincts.
Jewel’s heart constricted once more. The organ was getting more than its fair share of turns through the wringer. And it hurt.
Survival instincts she could understand and accept, though. This man was proud, and he was strong. And he was clearly willing to do whatever he had to in order to protect his wife—and her sanity. His family, as a whole.
Rogen was similar in so many ways. With the exception of the fact that he never would have lied about why the friendship and partnership had dissolved. That was where his DNA varied slightly, and Jewel knew it.
Finally, Gian said, “I’ll write you a check.”
“I don’t want a check,” she hastily told him. “This is a gift. From my family to yours.”
She grabbed her tote, whirled on her heels, and marched out.
Jewel had only made it to the curving grand staircases that led to the upper floors when Gian’s authoritative voice filled the cavernous foyer.
“Jewel.”
She stopped. Pulled in a breath.
At that instant, Rose-Marie and Sophia came from the great room, Sophia’s arm around the other woman’s shoulders. Both mothers still teary-eyed.
“My God.” Gian rushed over to his wife. Cupped Rose-Marie’s wet and flushed cheeks.
Sophia’s arm slid away and she approached Jewel, who gave her a monstrous hug.
“Are you okay?” Jewel asked.
“I will be. So will Rose-Marie. She needs more than the anti-depressants and Valium she’s been taking for years. She needs grief counseling and someone she can talk to on a daily basis about all these feelings she’s held in for so long. Honestly, I can’t imagine how she’s kept this all to herself.”
“She’s resilient,” Jewel said. “But no one’s invincible.”
Sophia pulled away. “You aren’t upset with her?”
“What’s to be upset about, other than how much pain she’s in? We can’t change the past. It happened. I just … I don’t understand why you didn’t tell me the real reason behind the ‘feud.’ That it didn’t really exist.”
Sophia stared at Jewel with watery eyes. “What would I have said to you, Jewel? That your Aunt Rosie, who you loved fiercely and spent so much time with, who loved you in turn, couldn’t bear the sight of you? That she couldn’t allow you and Rogen to be together—or, God forbid, marry—because she didn’t want you in her presence during the most horrific time of her life? Cara mia,” Jewel’s mother said, using the term of endearment for her daughter that she reserved for when she wanted to make a point. “How cruel would that have been to hear when you were just thirteen years old?”
Jewel swallowed down a lump of emotion. More tears burned. “Right. I would have been devastated.” She shook her head. She’d been devastated anyway, because Rogen had been sent to Trinity. But there might have been a psychological blip over the scenario her mother presented. “I’m not sure I would have fully understood at that age.”
Sophia kissed her on the cheek, then said, “You’re a good person, Jewel. Especially for sending me after Rose-Marie. I’m going to be the one to talk to her every day, in addition to professional help. And we’d like you to join us from time to time. She still adores you so much.”
Her mother swept away the tears on Jewel’s cheek with her thumbs. More activity in the foyer drew their attention. Her father came barreling through the front doors.