The Rocchetti Queen - Bree Porter Page 0,29

a pretty penny. Was that where all Aisling’s money went?

Then it occurred to me, how much money was Aisling living on? Most mistresses were spoiled, given expensive jewelry and flash cars. I had seen Toto give her luxurious gifts, but I had never seen her wear the same piece of jewelry twice. Was she pawning it? Selling it again?

Whatever she was doing, it was clear that Aisling had high hopes for her daughter’s education. And at the end of the day, Aisling’s relationship with my father-in-law wasn’t any of my business.

“Thank you for the tea,” I said. “It’s lovely.”

She smiled at me and passed me a sandwich. “Thank you.” Then she yelled, “Nora, Oscuro! Lunch!”

Nora came bounding into the kitchen, red hair flying. Oscuro followed more sedately, a sparkly unicorn sticker now on his shirt.

“What do you say?” Aisling asked, as Nora took her lunch.

“Thank you, Mommy,” she lilted. To my surprise, Nora got up at the counter beside me, shoving aside books to make room for her plate.

We all ate our lunch without any complaints, mainly listening to Nora talk about school and how she planned to destroy (her word, not mine) Madison Reed in tomorrow’s science test.

“Whoever gets the highest score, gets a gold star,” Nora told us. “Madison already has three gold stars.”

“How many do you have?” I asked.

“Four,” she said. “And tomorrow I’ll have five.”

“It’s good to share,” Aisling told her, but the smile on her face told me she didn’t really mind her daughter’s competitive streak.

When lunch was done, I set Dante up on the ground, surrounded by toys. Nora lay on her back beside him, holding up things to show him. Oscuro hovered by the windows, making sure we were safe.

While I helped Aisling clean up, I spotted a familiar row of prenatal vitamins. They were hard to miss since they were the only other thing on the shelf.

There must be something in the Chicago water, I thought. Or maybe it was just the Rocchetti men.

I tried to brush past them, offer Aisling some semblance of privacy, but she wasn’t stupid.

“Don’t worry about it,” she told me.

“You have to tell him eventually.”

She sighed, looking tired. “I know, Sophia. I know.”

I was struggling to imagine how Toto the Terrible would react to the news. He hadn’t shown much interest in Dante, and all his attention toward his sons depended on how bored he was. Would he be mad? Would he be fine with it? It’s not like the Rocchettis didn’t have any other illegitimate children running around.

“He may be excited,” I offered but the words fell flat.

Aisling gave me a look like she appreciated the effort. “Yeah, maybe,” she murmured. “But Nora’s dad wasn’t, so we’ll see.”

I glanced at Nora, who was still entertaining Dante. The two seemed content. “Were you...”

“Married?” She laughed. “No. I’ve never been married. Women like me don’t get married.”

I flushed. “I’m sure Toto will still, uh, take care of you.” No, I wasn’t, and my tone made that clear.

“I can look after myself,” Aisling assured me. “I’ll be fine. Soon, he will grow bored of me and I will be seduced by another mafioso looking for a good time outside of his marriage.”

“You could come work for me,” I said before I could even think my offer through. “At Rocchetti Alzheimer’s Support. Be my assistant or something. You would earn a salary, get benefits.”

She looked touched but regretful. “I can’t. I’m not meant to be in this country.”

That was the case for a lot of mistresses, and I dropped the subject, not wanting to hear anything that could potentially harm her. “Well, if you two need anything, you just let me know.”

Aisling bowed her head in thanks. When we were finishing up, she caught my wrist, saying, “This is not my place...but...”

“Mm? What is it?”

She bit her lip. “Do...do you know what happened to Danta?”

The question surprised me. “I would have thought you know more than me. You and Toto are sharing a bed.”

“He does not tell me things like that.”

Then what do you talk about? I wanted to ask.

“I know what everyone else knows, I suppose,” I said. “She ran off with someone who was not her husband and was never seen again. There are a lot of rumors but there isn’t any proof to any of them...”

“What sort of rumors?” Aisling’s green eyes seemed to brighten in curiosity.

“Uh, not great ones.” Should I tell her that my father-in-law might have killed his wife? Aisling wasn’t stupid but keeping