Not only was she meeting his mother, she was meeting his brothers too. No pressure at all. She hadn’t expected to be this involved in his life.
“It’s going to be fine,” Amedeo said. “Chewing your nails isn’t going to make it all better.”
“You can’t expect me not to be nervous.”
“It isn’t as if you have to impress them. Nothing will change the fact that you are the mother of my child. No one can take that away from you.”
He made it sound so logical and he was right. She didn’t need to impress these people, but if she did all of their lives might be easier. She wasn’t his girlfriend. They were lovers, yes, but that was it. She might never have to see them again.
Why was she so nervous? Why was this so important to her when it shouldn’t be? She wasn’t marrying Amedeo. She was merely having his kid. She tried to relax. She could get through this. Just a couple of hours.
“My family aren’t ogres, either. I came from that environment and I’m a pretty nice guy,” he said.
He had a good point. Amedeo was a good man. He’d taken her in when she was down. He could have turned his back on her. Not believed her. Instead, he’d opened his home to her. That he came from this family made her feel a little better.
She settled back into the seat. “Dante is the one who is married to Gwen. She’s due any day now.”
“Yes. Salvatore is single and no girlfriend. He’s my mother’s last hope of having an Italian daughter-in-law.”
“You aren’t married. You could still have one.”
He shrugged. “Been engaged and don’t want to do that again. I don’t want to marry or fall in love.”
She could understand that. With a kid in tow, she was pretty sure her prospects for a husband were slimmer. The men she dated weren’t interested in raising their own children, let alone someone else’s.
Marriage probably wasn’t in her future anyway.
“What about you?” he said. “Will you marry?”
“I doubt it. The men in my circle don’t want to raise children.”
“You need to find a better circle,” he said.
Like it was that easy. She’d go back to freelance work when this was all done. She couldn’t’ imagine working in an office, though she might have to consider it. The baby would need so much. Amedeo would provide a lot, at least he’d agreed to. Would he get bored and leave her in the lurch? She didn’t think so, but she had to prepare for that eventuality. Or maybe it was only a possibility.
He pulled the car into a large house. Not as large as his, but still impressive.
Amedeo rang the doorbell and a small, round woman opened it as if she’d been waiting. “Amedeo.” She hugged her son. He kissed her cheek and Violet couldn’t help be jealous at the easy affection they shared.
“Mama, this is Violet,” Amedeo said.
The woman with the darkest eyes she’d ever seen on a white woman turned her gaze toward Violet. “Hello, Violet.”
The woman pulled her into a hug. Not what she was expecting, but she responded. “Hello, Mrs. Killiano.”
“Call me Cara,” she said.
“That’s a beautiful name,” Violet said.
Cara had let her go and was looking her up and down. Violet knew she wasn’t showing, but her face held some trace of the fat it would hold when she was further along.
“Thank you. Come in. Meet the rest of the family.”
A very pregnant black woman waddled past the door to the kitchen. She smiled at Violet as if she knew exactly what the woman was entering into. “I’m Gwen. I’d hug you, but it’s a little hard these days.”
Violet shook Gwen’s hand and felt like she’d already found a friend. The woman’s smile was warm and inviting. “Hi.”
“This is my husband Dante,” she said, indicating man who was clearly related to Amedeo. They had the same color eyes and very similar features.
Dante leaned down and kissed her on both cheeks. She couldn’t help smiling at the affection. These people loved to kiss. Amedeo was often kissing her head or her hand. “Hello.”
“Welcome, Violet. You have that glow about you.”
“Thanks, I think.”
A slightly shorter man though by no means short stepped up to kiss her cheeks. “I’m Salvatore. The younger and hotter brother of these two lunks.”
“Nice to meet you, Salvatore.”
The conversation began to swirl around her and she was able to see the love the three brothers had for each other and their mother. Gwen stayed by her side, albeit on a stool. So that’s what she would look like in a few months’ time? The poor woman looked so uncomfortable.