The Chocolatier by Jan Moran

Author:Jan Moran [Moran, Jan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sunny Palms Press
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 18

Lauro sat at the dining room table across from Werner. They both watched Adele gliding down the terracotta steps of the couple’s comfortable villa that was situated on a hilltop to take in the ocean view.

Werner is a lucky man, he thought. Adele had been quite an attractive young woman, and she had only grown more alluring since her marriage. Werner was devoted to her, and Lauro admired that.

Happy relationships like theirs were a mystery to him. In contentious relationships, it was generally easy to point out the shortcomings of partners, though here in Italy, most people remained committed to marriage by virtue of their religious vows.

Lauro had once vowed to devote himself to Isabella and her happiness. But that had been many years ago, and he had to admit that the memory of her had faded. Now, as a mature man, he saw their relationship as little more than infatuation. But he had made a commitment, even if she had pushed him away in anger at the end. That night had haunted him for years. Only by honoring her memory could he atone for his part in her tempestuous flight and ensuing death.

Savoring a fragrant amaretto after a light supper of zuppa di cozze—a dish of mussels with tomatoes, peppers, and parsley simmered in white wine that Adele and Werner had prepared together—Lauro wondered what it would be like to have a woman and children in his life now. His friends were far ahead of him. He missed having someone to come home to and cook with as Adele and Werner did. More than he’d ever thought he would.

For years, he’d closed himself to love and would not speak of Nino. His parents had questioned whether he was punishing himself. There was truth in that, he supposed. He hadn’t forgotten the guilt he felt over what Nino had done to Isabella, and he felt he owed a duty of honor to her family. Unlike Nino, he was not one to run away. Even at the expense of his own pleasure.

Nino. Lauro drew a hand over his forehead and stared at the golden liqueur in his glass. As much as he was ashamed to admit it to himself and his parents, he was complicit in his brother’s disappearance. He’d never told his parents about their argument, and his remorse intensified as the days stretched into years and Nino never so much as wrote.

Though Nino had started the catastrophic chain that would change all their lives, Lauro had finished it. And now, here was Nino’s widow, complicating the even-keeled existence he’d managed to achieve in the wake of such tragedy.

Frowning against his memories, Lauro drained his amaretto as Adele returned to her chair next to her husband in the dining room.

“Are the children asleep?” Werner asked.

“They will be soon, they’re reading.” Adele smiled at Lauro. “Have you two solved all the world’s problems while I was gone?”

“At least those in this household,” Werner said, casting a glance at Lauro while he stroked his reddish mustache.

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