Not Mine to Keep (The Costa Family) by Brittney Sahin

Author:Brittney Sahin [Sahin, Brittney]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Montlake
Published: 2024-09-24T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Calliope

New York City

“Please, call me—”

Alessandro cut off his mother before she could say her name, and they began rapidly speaking in Italian. I looked back and forth, following the Ping-Pong match between them, unsure what to say or do.

I hadn’t known his parents would be meeting us at the airport. From the look of Alessandro’s shocked face when the jet door had opened, he’d been equally clueless of their plans.

Alessandro’s brothers, father, and Hudson were now outside the hangar, talking away from Frankie’s and Leo’s ears—and yeah, they’d been the ones Armani had chosen to send with us.

I turned to see Izzy beckoning me off to the side of what was becoming a heated conversation between Alessandro and his mother.

“They could go at it all day,” Izzy said as she guided me away from them.

“What are they talking about?” I asked her.

“I can’t hear them now, but he’s worried she’s going to get attached to you. And then it’ll be too hard for her to lose you when the inevitable divorce happens.”

“It’s sweet of him to protect her,” I said as Alessandro peered at me. Twenty feet apart didn’t erase my ability to see his pained irritation.

The man had spoken all of a handful of words on the jet—none of which had been to me. “Don’t talk to my wife. Look at her. Or even think about her. And I won’t throw you from the plane,” he’d ordered Frankie and Leo before taking a seat and keeping his mouth shut the rest of the way.

“He wants to protect you, too, you know,” Izzy said, her tone light. “You’ll get attached to Mom as well. It’ll just hurt all around when the time comes for you to leave us.” There was a sad edge to her tone now that was like a knife to the heart. “Alessandro is uber protective. He tries to act like a tough guy, but he’s a—”

“Teddy bear.” I repeated what she’d said to me yesterday. Maybe she’d forgotten she’d given me the heads-up, pre-wedding. I surely hadn’t.

“And he hides that inner teddy bear beneath a few layers of asshole,” she said with a light laugh. “But, um, how’s the fallout going from the story breaking about the marriage? Your phone must be blowing up from your friends.”

“I don’t have a ton of friends. My close circle is like a dot. People tend to break my trust, so I don’t give it out so much these days.” I hadn’t meant to overshare, but her little nod was as if she was on the same page and understood me. “I did speak with my principal over email on the plane. She said there are parents asking me to resign. She’s giving me time to consider what feels more like an ultimatum.”

“Damn.” Izzy squeezed my arm. “I’m so sorry.”

“I could be dead from being attacked in the park or married to Rocco, so I guess I should focus on the positives for now.” I had to convince myself of that, at least, so I didn’t spiral about my potential forced resignation.

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