“Francesca.”
Her eyes lifted to his and they were carefully blank.
Oh yeah, he had to conquer that.
Now.
“Maybe we should talk right now about what happened downstairs,” he suggested.
“Vinnie’s here. I should talk to him.”
“He’s not goin’ anywhere.”
She shook her head, her eyes drifting away, but he got them back by giving her a light squeeze.
“She’s Nat,” she surprised him by whispering the second she caught his eye. “She’s been married to Davey for five years, with him for three before that, and I know of four times she’s stepped out on him. There’s probably more. And he’s a good guy. If she’s not screwing around on him, and he’s not pissed and tryin’ to save face by puttin’ her out when everyone knows he’s gonna take her back, he treats her like gold. They don’t have it great, but they’re not starving. They got a decent place. But bottom line, he loves her. What more does she need? What’s she lookin’ for?”
Her words so closely followed his earlier train of thought about his brother, Benny found it disturbing. At the same time, it stirred something deep in his gut, which was a place he felt a variety of things stir when it came to Frankie.
But this one went deeper.
Frankie kept talking.
“I know she learned that shit from my parents, thinkin’ it’s okay to have your fun however it comes and the people around you who love you will put up with your shit or bail, and if they bail, it’s no skin off your nose. You just keep on findin’ your fun and you don’t think a thought about the people who love you that you’re hurting in the meantime.”
“Babe—” he started, but she was on a roll and she wasn’t ready to quit.
“And she’s my sister and that scene played out in front of your folks who don’t get that. They’ve been together for decades and they have been because they know what’s important. And they made Carm, who’s been tied to her man for twelve years and wouldn’t even think about lookin’ at another guy. Hell, the four years she was with him before they got married, she wouldn’t do it.”
Benny was just disturbed at hearing her talk about his sister and her man and the time they’d been together, and how at the beginning of that time Frankie was not a part of their lives.
But she wasn’t done.
“She’ll never grow out of that shit. She’ll never wake up. She brought her shit to your door, it got ugly, but in six months or two years or whenever she fucks up again, she will not hesitate to do it again. Who does that?”
“Francesc—”
“My family,” she answered her own question. “They do that shit. Cat’s almost as bad but in her own unique way. And right now, Enzo has two women who both say they’re pregnant with his kid. They live in two different states and he’s currently shacked up with another woman who luckily isn’t knocked up…yet. And he’s only twenty-eight.”
“Can I talk?” he asked when she fell momentarily silent.
“What’s there to say?” she asked back. “That was embarrassing.”
His brows drew together. “How was that embarrassing?”
“Ben” —she threw a hand out— “that happened in your house, in front of you, your folks. She even called Asheeka a bitch and she’s never even met Asheeka.”
“Yeah, that happened and she did that. She did. Nat. That doesn’t reflect on you.”
“She’s blood.”
“And Vinnie’s my blood. Does him bein’ in the mob reflect on me? My family?” he returned and knew he scored when she clamped her mouth shut. “No. I think we all learned the hard way not to take that on or pile that shit on someone who doesn’t deserve it.” He gave her a careful squeeze. “So don’t take that on.”
She turned her head to the side.
“Francesca” —he drew her closer— “do not take that shit on.”
She kept her gaze aimed to the side.
“Baby, put your arms around me and look at me.”
She remained unmoving.
“Francesca, cara, put your arms around me and look at me.”
He watched and felt her heave a sigh, and being Frankie, she didn’t do what she was told. But at least she lifted both hands, rested them on his chest, and gave him her eyes. It wasn’t what he wanted, but it was something.
“Do not take that shit on,” he whispered.
He saw it again, something moving over her face, shifting in her eyes. This was bigger, weighty. He thought she was going to say something, give it to him, explain it, and he felt her body tensing as if she was going to share the weight, let it go.