Desire in Lingerie (Lingerie 7)

My mom sighed. “Alright…let’s start over.”

My father stared at me, the remorse still in his eyes.

I didn’t say anything, unsure what to do about the situation. Regardless of what I said, my father wouldn’t change his mind. He only apologized because he hurt my feelings, but that didn’t mean his opinion of Bones was any different.

“Your father is very protective…as you know.” My mom kept her hands together on the table. “It’s hard to understand, but he’s lived a long life under the most extreme circumstances. He’s worked hard to have a quiet life, and he wants it to stay that way. He doesn’t want me, you, or anyone else in our family getting involved with someone who could be dangerous.”

“Griffin isn’t dangerous,” I said.

Mom raised an eyebrow.

“To me,” I corrected. “Or any of us. He wouldn’t have come in here defenseless if he didn’t want to prove that to you. He wouldn’t take your insults without retaliation if he weren’t committed to making this work. He’s trying…and you aren’t meeting him halfway.”

“Because I don’t want to meet him halfway.” Father kept his voice more controlled this time. “He kills people for a living, Vanessa. He’s not the right man for you. Maybe he would never hurt you, but someone is going to want revenge against him, and you’ll be their first target.”

“He keeps me separate from his line of work,” I argued. “He’s private about our relationship.”

“Anyone can spy on anyone,” Father said. “And they’ll quickly realize what you mean to him. I know you don’t want to hear that, but it’s true.”

“So if he just changed his career, you would accept him?” I asked.

“Would he change it?” Mom asked, remaining the calmest person in the conversation.

“Yes,” I said without thinking. “He would do anything for me. He wouldn’t be happy about it, but if that’s the sacrifice he had to make…he would do it. Would that make you accept him?”

Both of them were silent.

“What’s it going to take?” I whispered. “I understand you aren’t happy about this. I get it’s a shock. But I know him better than anyone. I’ve been with him for four months. He’s the man I want to be with. It would mean the world to me if you would just try…just try to look past where he comes from.”

“And if we don’t?” my father asked quietly.

“What do you mean?” I whispered.

“What if we never accept him?” my father said. “What if your mother and I can’t deal with this? Does that mean you’ll be with him and we’ll hardly get to see you?” His voice broke slightly in pain. “I don’t want that, tesoro. That’s the last thing I want.”

“I don’t want that either,” I said. “I told him that we needed to make this work, that I need you guys to accept him. He didn’t want to do it at first. He said it was hopeless and I was unrealistic to expect that you would ever give him a fair chance. But he agreed to try…because it was so important to me.”

“Sweetheart, you mean the world to us. We’ll do anything to make you happy. But we also can’t lie about the way we feel about the situation. I know you love him… I saw it in your painting.”

“But could you keep an open mind?” I asked. “Could you at least try? That’s all I’m asking. Try to accept this man and see him the way I see him. He’s willing to do that for you, because he loves me. I need you to do it too…for me.”

Mom looked at Dad.

I could tell Dad felt her stare on the side of his face, but he kept his gaze on mine. “I don’t trust him, Vanessa. This could be a stunt to take out all the Barsettis for good.”

“It’s not,” I said confidently.

“If so, why does he go by the name Bones?” he asked. “He’s taken on his father’s identity for a reason. His father is associated with crime, rape, and murder. He was one of the most feared men in Italy. His son has obviously embraced that—along with his blood war against us. How can you explain that?”

Bones said we needed to be transparent, that complete honesty was the best way to make this work. The second my family caught him in a lie, it would ruin all the work we’d done. So I decided to stick with that plan. “You aren’t wrong. He went by that name for that exact reason. He wanted to be fearsome. He wanted to continue what his father started. He considered himself to be an enemy to the Barsetti family…but all of that changed when he fell in love with me. He said he would never hurt any member of my family, regardless of what happened between us. He wasn’t the best man when I first met him, but I’ve watched him morph into a completely different person. He’s kind, gentle, and protective. He’s the strongest man I’ve ever known, but he only uses that strength to protect me. He makes me feel safe.”