Lavished with Lavender - Valerie Comer Page 0,41

on the photo. “You hurt me, over and over. You didn’t know how to love anyone but yourself. Even there, you did a lousy job. Somehow you were only happy when you’d made sure no one else could be, but it didn’t bring the results you wanted. Not really. You were trapped in your own loop, misery adding to misery.”

He’d told her a bit about his early years. About his mother. About his other wives. Those situations didn’t excuse the man he’d become, but they did offer some insight.

“I don’t know if I can forgive you,” she told his image. “On my own, I’m pretty sure I can’t, actually. But I’m going to try this Jesus thing, and maybe He can help. Because my hate isn’t bothering you any — not anymore — but it’s sure holding me back. I want to fly free.”

Kenna opened the bottom drawer and put the frame inside, face down. She slipped out of her room and into the bathroom across the hall. Then she heard Marietta rustling in her bed through the app.

Morning already? Maybe today, instead of additional questions, she’d find answers. No doubt her client would be happy to help.

It was nearly eleven before Tony let himself into his grandmother’s place upstairs. He didn’t usually go there anymore, or at least he hadn’t until this week when he and Kenna had agreed on friendship. After last night, he felt like they had approached a new level in their relationship, and he wanted to see how she was feeling about everything she’d confided in him in the dark of night. Besides, Nonna always appreciated his visits, even if Kenna had not.

Kenna dropped a small zucchini on the floor. “Oh, you startled me!”

“Oops.” Tony grinned as she scooped it up and ran it under the faucet. “I didn’t mean to make you throw vegetables around the kitchen.”

“Antonio! Is that you?” came Nonna’s voice from the other room.

Tony offered another apologetic smile to Kenna and headed through the archway into the living room. Aunt Grace sat beside Nonna, and it looked like they’d been coming up with a plan by the smile on both their faces.

“Tony, how’re things going?” asked Aunt Grace. “Mamma and I were just talking about getting everyone together this weekend again to keep going through things in the basement. Are you up for cooking?”

Something inside him snapped. “This weekend? Not really. I’ve got a lot going on.” More than that, he wanted different things to be going on. It seemed as though his aunts were taking advantage of his abilities and good nature. That didn’t mean he wanted to cook for the family incessantly. Sometimes it felt like he was their servant instead of their nephew. Would they ask Jasmine or Daria or Fran to cook all the time? Not a chance. And it wasn’t only because those cousins didn’t have the same credentials Tony did. They just wouldn’t dream of asking.

“Oh. I just thought…” It was clear Aunt Grace had no idea what to say next.

Nonna’s eyebrows rose. If she was going to start with the whole thing about how she’d given him a place to stay, he would definitely take the time to find a place of his own soon. Wasn’t it enough that the aunts and uncles went straight through his part of the basement every time they wanted something from the storage room? And now they were in and out of there constantly. He had no privacy.

Well, these were not his usual thoughts. And yet he couldn’t find anything wrong with them per se. It might be just the fact that he’d had so little sleep the night before. That removed the amount of patience he had for anything he hadn’t chosen to do. Oh, yes, he needed to remember that he owed his uncles a large debt for all the work they’d done to get the restaurant renovated and ready for operation. He was under no illusions about that. It would’ve taken him another five years at least to figure out how to do this without his family’s help. But that still didn’t mean they’d earned the right to take advantage of him every time he turned around.

“Would you like a cup of coffee?” Nonna asked, as though changing the subject would make any difference.

“No thanks. I was just checking in to see how you were doing this morning. I have a lot to do today, so I’ll get going on it now.” Tony turned and