Rejected by the Heir, She Married the Don novel · Chapter 23 of 24

Chapter 23: Keys

The kitchen at the Bertolini house has a long steel island and a window over the sink that looks at the sea.

My mother cooked at that island for eleven years.

I came down at eight in Dario's robe, with my hair in a knot and the collar hidden under the lapel, and the room went quiet.

The woman who ran the morning shift put down her knife.

"Good morning, Mrs. Bertolini," she said.

The two girls at the sink said it after her, and the boy who carried the wood.

It was the same cook who used to slip me bread rolls when I was ten.

She had never called me anything but "mi hija" in my life.

"Good morning," I said, and my voice was not quite steady.

She pulled out a stool for me, and put a coffee in front of me, and a plate of eggs I had not asked for.

"Eat," she said. "You'll need it for the day you have."

"What day do I have?"

"Teresa has a list."

Teresa came in a moment later with her reading glasses on their chain and a sheet of paper.

"The three capos come at ten, one at a time," she said. "My brother will see them in the study. The thin capo wants a word with you after."

"With me?"

"He thinks you are the one to ask for things."

"What things?"

"His daughter's restaurant license. His brother's debt." She looked at me over her glasses. "You will learn what to say to him. Dario won't help you with that part."

"I know."

"Good." She touched my cheek, briefly. "Luca is in the hall."

Luca stood in the doorway in his black coat, with his hands behind his back.

I had known him all my life, and I had never seen him smile.

He did it now.

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