A Family Affair: Truth in Lies, Book 1 by Mary Campisi

Author:Mary Campisi [Campisi, Mary]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Literature & Fiction, Genre Fiction, Family Saga, Romance, Contemporary, Historical, Sagas
Amazon: B004OL2OKK
Publisher: Mary Campisi
Published: 2014-01-06T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 16

She was standing in front of Nate Desantro’s home. Yes, she was four days late, but she’d come. That should count for something. She’d planned on waiting a month and going on the next scheduled date, but her mother had insisted she make the trip this month.

She’d scheduled the next available flight and now here she was. Christine pressed the doorbell, waited. Bocelli’s Canto Della Terra swirled around her, climbing, clinging. Maybe Nate couldn’t hear her. She pressed the doorbell a second time.

He was the only person who could make this visit work; that’s why she’d come here first. If he would just try to understand why she’d not been here four days ago, then maybe they could form a truce of sorts. After all, there was Lily to think about. She rang the bell one last time and slowly turned the knob.

He was in the kitchen, his back to her, stirring something at the stove. Tomatoes and garlic? Sautéed onions? Whatever it was, it certainly beat the hamburger and chips she’d eaten on the plane.

She’d almost reached the kitchen when he turned around. “Damn! You scared the hell out of me.”

“I’m sorry. I rang the doorbell—” She gestured toward the stereo. “But I guess you couldn’t hear it.”

He turned back to the stove, flipped off the burner, and set the pan aside. His hair was damp, slicked back, probably from a recent shower and he’d trimmed his beard and mustache, which made him look half-civilized.

“What are you doing here?”

“I had to see Lily. I promised her.”

“You’re four days late.”

“I know. My mother broke her ankle and she had to have surgery. I couldn’t come until she was settled.”

He turned back to the stove. “You didn’t need to come.”

She moved beside him so she could see his face. “Yes, I did. I promised Lily.”

“Have you seen her yet?”

“No. I wanted to come here first, make sure you weren’t going to give me a hard time when I visit her.”

“Depends on what the arrangement is; is this a one-time stop or are you planning to mark her on your calendar every month like your old man did?”

“I... I hadn’t thought much past this visit.”

“Well, you’d better before you see Lily.” He stirred the sauce, a tomato and zucchini mixture. “She’ll expect you to come every month, just like your old man did. So, if that’s not part of your plan, then end it now. Don’t give her hope where there isn’t any.”

“I wouldn’t do that.”

He stared at her. “People do it all the time, Christine. You know that.”

“Well, not intentionally.”

“Sure they do. Haven’t you ever gotten a phone call, maybe from a friend who wanted you to do something, and you knew there wasn’t a snowball’s chance in hell you were going to do it, but you didn’t have the guts to just say no?”

“I guess—”

“You know you have. It’s human nature, the best and the worst of it. We’re trying to save another person’s feelings, dangling a shred of

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