Disappointment filled my father’s eyes, and he sighed between his clenched teeth.
Mom watched him, expecting his anger.
My father tore his gaze away from my face. “Vanessa, how can you love a man who ever wanted to hurt your family to begin with? Who wanted to kill your mother and me?” He struggled to ask the question, the hurt obvious in his voice.
But I had my answer. “Because I knew he would never do it. He’s a strong man, but he’s crippled by his isolation. He lost his family at a young age, and I know it still bothers him…even to this day. He just wants what I have…even if he won’t admit it. He thinks revenge will make him feel better, but it never will. He needed to kill the man who murdered his mother, and that brought him peace. But he knew hurting you would accomplish nothing. He knew his father was wrong for what he did to our family. He’s never denied that. But once he had me…he started to change. He finally had something that filled the void in his chest, and all these wonderful qualities came out. Men change under the right circumstances, and I can confidently say he’s different.”
My father listened, but it didn’t seem like that response was enough for him.
“I never wanted to love him,” I said. “In fact, he was the one who told me he loved me first…and that’s when I stopped seeing him. I told him it would never work, that my family would never be okay with this. I tried to forget about him. I went on a date with Matteo, but there was nothing there. Maybe if I’d met Matteo first, things would be different. But now that I’ve fallen for Griffin…I can’t see myself with anyone else.”
“I’ll make a deal with you,” my father said. “Your mother and I will give it a chance. I’ll get to know him, watch him, and see if I can overcome this hatred I have toward him. Maybe I can understand these good qualities you’re referring to. But if I can’t…I want you to stop seeing him.”
I took a deep breath, not liking that deal.
My father kept staring at me. “You want me to like the man you’re with, right?”
“Of course,” I said.
“I’m willing to try. But if I see nothing good in him, then I want it to be over,” he said. “I’ve worked very hard to give this family a life we deserve. You’re my only daughter, and I have to protect you. You may be too young to differentiate between infatuation and love.”
It wasn’t infatuation. I knew that much.
“But don’t expect me to go easy on him,” Father said. “I’ll drill him hard, strip away everything to see the man underneath. Don’t even expect me to be polite to him. You asked me to try—and that’s the best I can do.”
I knew I wouldn’t get anything better out of him. “Okay…that’s all I wanted.”
Mom watched me, her eyes heavy with sadness. “I know your father really loves you. There’s no other reason this conversation happened. If he didn’t, he would have shot Bones right between the eyes the second that gun was in his hand.”
My father immediately tensed as the name was spoken out loud. His temper deepened, and a heavy cloud passed over his eyes. He couldn’t even bear his name, like it was painful to listen to.
Mom rested her hand on his. “This is hard for us, Vanessa. Very hard…”
I looked away, unable to stare her into eyes, knowing what happened to her. The father of the man I loved hurt her so much. I knew it took a miracle to look past the crime.
And that miracle was me.
Thirteen
Bones
That went exactly as I’d thought it would.
The Barsettis hated me—and always would.
Keeping our relationship a secret would have been the better choice. If she weren’t so close with her family, it would have been feasible. We would have continued to be happy. She could have given up her apartment altogether and moved in with me.
But all that went to shit.
I knew how this was going to end before it even began.
Crow Barsetti would never approve of me. He would never accept me. And when it came down to the moment when Vanessa had to choose, she would choose her father over me. It wouldn’t feel like a betrayal because I would understand her decision. She could get a new boyfriend. She couldn’t get a new family.
And I knew what it was like not to have a family…pretty shitty.
I had no idea how long she would be at the house talking to her parents, so I went to Florence and hit up a bar. I sat at the counter and watched the TV, ignoring the women who made passes at me, and glancing at the time.