Italian Knights (18 page)

“The same thing I’ve been telling him for a week.” Rosina patted her shoulder, her dark eyes somber. “I’ve never seen my Salvatore like this. I’m so worried. He loves you, Annie,” Rosina said. “And you love him. I don’t know why you two don’t stop this foolishness.”

Foolishness. Annie smiled sadly. She knew just who the fool had been. A week ago the thought that Sal loved her would have filled her with ecstasy. Now it just filled her with an aching sadness. For a week, Rosina, Florina and even Mrs. Altero had been pleading Sal’s case, insisting he’d only been trying to protect her because he loved her. Annie was trying hard not to let them wear down her resistance; she was trying not to let herself believe Sal really cared. If he did, how could he have lied to her for two years?

Banishing such thoughts, Annie turned to her waiting customer, mentally noting his sandwich preference, then quickly went about filling his order. She’d never been so grateful for the deli or its distractions. She’d thrown herself into her work, dragging herself home every night, falling into bed exhausted, but unable to sleep.

One week. She hadn’t seen or talked to Sal in seven long days. It was the longest period of time in two years she had gone without seeing him. His absence left a crater-size hole in her life.

She’d done nothing but think and cry, and then get mad. But the past was done and over. She couldn’t do anything about it now. But it didn’t make it hurt any less, or make her feel any less a fool.

Now she had to face the future, knowing she would face it alone. She’d learned to go on once before, and she could do it again. But, oh, how she missed Sal. He was a part of her, a part she couldn’t seem to let go of. Not seeing him didn’t ease the loneliness. He was in her mind and in her heart, and always would be.

She had to come to terms with the fact that her whole life had been a lie. She no longer knew whom or what to believe. Shame burned her cheeks.

The man she thought loved her, didn’t. The man she thought she could trust, she couldn’t. Perhaps that was what hurt the most: the fact that Sal had betrayed her. She’d let herself fall in love with him and then found out that in his own way, he’d lied and deceived her. So much for her own good judgment about men.

Sal’s absence was obvious. Not everyone knew what had happened, but still they all rallied around her, giving her love and support just as they always had. Mr. Finucci had even invited her to the movies again, this time offering to pay. And Mr. Benedetto stopped by every evening during his walk to invite her along. Rosina and Florina hovered around her, watching and waiting. She loved them all, but this was something she had to handle on her own.

She moved to the register, offering her customer a smile and making change for his twenty. Mrs. Altero came into the store, smiling and waving.

“Annie, I’ve just made some wonderful prune pudding. Why don’t you come over and try some?”

Annie’s stomach rippled. Mrs. Altero had been trying to tempt her—or poison her—with gastronomical oddities all week. Annie steadfastly refused. Of all the things that would make her feel better, prune pudding was definitely not high on the list. “I’d love to,” Annie lied, softening her words with a smile. “But I can’t.” She nodded toward the line at the register. “I’ve got my hands full here and will probably have to work late.”

“Sal’s coming for dinner, tonight.” Mrs. Altero sighed happily. “My granddaughter’s been dying to—” Mrs. Altero slapped a hand over her mouth as Annie’s head snapped up. Her eyes glistened for a moment.

“I’m sorry,” Mrs. Altero whispered, shaking her head. “I forgot. I didn’t mean—”

Annie came around the counter to comfort the woman. “It’s all right, Mrs. Altero. Sal’s got a right to live his own life,” she lied, suddenly brimming with jealousy.

Smooth, Suave Sal. Her temper simmered. It sure hadn’t taken him any time to get back into the groove. Obviously, what had happened between them meant very little to him. He was just carrying on with his life as if nothing had happened. Well, so could she!

“I hope he gets indigestion,” Annie muttered testily, going back around the counter to finish helping her waiting customers.

Once everyone had been taken care of and the deli was quiet again, Annie glanced around. She felt an overwhelming sadness, mixed with love. Everything was so familiar, so much the same, but so changed. Her life was so empty without Sal.

Despite what Sal had done, she knew she would never stop loving him. Her heart flipped over just thinking of him. With Sal, what she felt was fire and heat and an intense longing to be with him forever.

The knowledge of her love for him only added to her despair. Annie suddenly felt bone tired, wishing the day would end.

She worked quietly, dusting shelves, placing orders for stock, doing her books. Late in the day she glanced up from the register to see a dark blue sedan pull up to the curb across the street. Her heart began to pound. She only knew one person who drove that kind of car. Fumbling with the cash drawer, she slammed it shut, waiting to see if he would come in.

Holding her breath, she pretended to be deeply engrossed in a case of tomatoes that had just arrived, looking up every time the door opened, hoping against hope it would be him. But after several long minutes, Annie realized he wasn’t going to come in, he wasn’t even going to try to see her. He was going to have dinner with Mrs. Altero’s granddaughter.

“Annie, Florina and I have some things to do this afternoon. Would you mind if we left?”

Annie glanced up at Rosina in surprise. In all the years the twins had worked for her, they’d never asked to leave early. It was odd.

“No, of course not.” She watched the twins whispering as they pulled off their aprons and collected their handbags.

Annie worked quietly, occasionally glancing up. Near dusk, she looked up to find Mr. Benedetto carrying a large case of fruit into Mrs. Altero’s house. Annie frowned. What on earth was going on? Sal’s car was still parked outside, along with half a dozen others. Annie felt a twinge of hurt. Something was going on in the neighborhood, something that she obviously hadn’t been included in.

After checking all the doors and filling out her bank receipts, Annie let herself out the back door and headed for home. The house seemed oddly empty, and after brewing a pot of tea she took it into the living room, pulling up the rocker to stare out the window.

She wasn’t watching for Sal, she assured herself, frowning at the flurry of activity going on across the street. Florina and Rosina went hustling in the door, followed by Mr. Finucci. Annie frowned. What the devil was going on?

Sipping her tea, she couldn’t help but wonder what Sal was doing.

Oh, Sal, she thought sadly. Why couldn’t you have been honest with me? Why couldn’t you just have told me about Tony? She’d thought a lot about Tony the past week. In some ways she understood why he’d done what he’d done. Their relationship would never be classified as a great love. It was quiet, comfortable. He’d been clearly as unhappy as she had been. Maybe
unhappy
wasn’t the right word. Perhaps it was
uneasy
. She’d cared for Tony deeply, but she’d loved him more as a friend than a lover. What he’d done hurt, but she understood. He was the one who’d ultimately suffered the most; he’d lost his life as a result of his foolishness. Poor Tony.

She’d spent hours and hours this past week sitting by the open window and wondering why Sal hadn’t told her the truth. He’d said he’d done it to protect her, because he hadn’t wanted to hurt her any further.

Could that really be the reason? she wondered. Or had he simply been protecting Tony? Annie wasn’t sure anymore, and her head hurt from trying to figure it out. Whatever his reasons, all she knew was that she still loved him, and always would.

“Hey, Annie,” Sal called. “You waiting for someone?”

Startled, she jumped from the chair. Sal was standing beneath the open window, grinning up at her. She wondered how long he’d been standing there, watching her. She also wondered how he could look so good when she felt so miserable. Worn jeans clung to his powerful legs. A white sweatshirt spread wide across his muscular shoulders. His face had healed—most of the bruises were just faint shadows—but his eyes looked lonely.

Her breath scampered at the sight of him as her eyes feasted on him. It had been so long since she’d seen him, touched him, kissed him. Her heart ached with loneliness for him.

Oh, Sal.

“No, I am not,” she lied stiffly, trying to calm the pounding of her heart. “What’s going on at Mrs. Altero’s?” she asked suddenly, and Sal grinned.

“Come on down and I’ll tell you.”

“I can hear you from here, Sal.”

“Are you still angry at me?” he called, climbing up the stairs.

“I was never angry,” she said slowly. “I think hurt would be more accurate.” Annie shrugged. “What’s done is done, Sal. I’m sure you had your reasons for what you did at the time. There’s nothing we can do to change things now.” She glanced at his profile, loving him, loving everything about him. She’d thought what she wanted was to be independent, not to lean on him anymore. But now, faced with the reality of what she’d wished for, Annie realized it wasn’t what she wanted, after all. What she wanted was Sal. But it was too late; she knew that now.

“Annie,” he began quietly, needing to clear the air between them once and for all. “I know now what I did was wrong. I should have told you the truth about everything right from the beginning. But I didn’t. What I did, I did to protect you, not hurt you. You’ve got to know, Annie, I’d never do anything in this world to hurt you.”

She nodded as her eyes filled with tears. No, Sal never would do anything to hurt anyone—not deliberately, anyway. In his own old-fashioned way, he thought what he was doing was right. His intentions were honorable, it was just his actions that were out of kilter. How could she hold it against him for trying to protect her? Annie realized now that she couldn’t.

“I know you’d never hurt me deliberately,” she said quietly, wishing things were different. She had some pride left. Her love for him and her memories were something she would always have—that was more than some people ever had. Oh, Lord. All this time she’d thought she wanted to be independent. But now she realized, when it was too late, that the harder she fought for her independence, the more she really needed him and loved him.

“So what’s going on across the street? What’s all the commotion?”

“They’re…uh…planning a wedding,” he said with a grin.

“A wedding!” Annie looked at him carefully. “Who’s getting married?”

“I am.”

Her eyes flew to his and she almost dropped her teacup out the window. “You’re
what
?” she croaked, feeling her heart constrict with pain. Her eyes slid closed. So Mrs. Altero’s granddaughter had finally captured Smooth, Suave Sal. Oh, Lord. What was she going to do?

“Getting married,” he said slowly, drawing out the words. “You know—love, honor and obey, and all that other good stuff.”

Annie looked at him skeptically. She just couldn’t imagine him getting married. “When is this…wedding supposed to take place?”

Sal grinned. “I was thinking about tomorrow night. Ryce knows a judge who can perform a private service. I’ve invited everyone from the neighborhood.”

“Everyone in the neighborhood!” she cried. “I’m so glad I’m the last one to know, as usual,” she snapped.

“Well, to tell you the truth, Annie, I wasn’t quite sure how you’d react—do you like children?” he asked abruptly and Annie turned to him, her eyes blazing.

“Now what do my feelings for children have to do with you getting married?”

“Well, we’ve talked about everything else the past two years, but we’ve never discussed how you felt about kids. See, I’d like to have about six, but I can’t do it by myself. I’ll need some help, so I thought it was a good idea to find out how you felt about kids before we get married. Of course, if you don’t like kids, we—”

“Before…we…
what
?” She looked at him incredulously, waiting for his words to sink in.

“Before we get married,”
he called out. “You’re always saying I should tell you things, so I figured, I’d better tell you
before
the wedding that I’d like to have kids rather than after. It seems much simpler, don’t you think?”

“Don’t
I
think,” she cried. “Are you crazy, Sal? You think you can just show up here—after you’ve been on a date with another woman, I might add—and—”

“I love you, Annie,” he called to her, a wide smile on his face. “I want you to marry me—tomorrow night, if you’re not busy.”

“If I’m not busy?” Annie stared at him for long silent moments, letting his words sink in. Oh, Lord! He loved her and wanted her to marry him—tomorrow night. This time Annie did drop her teacup, and fled out the door. She ran full tilt into his arms. Sal cocked his head and looked at her, his lips curving in a smile. Their eyes met. Annie stared up at him, her heart filled with love and joy as a full smile lifted her lips.

“Uh, Annie, yoo-hoo!” He waved a hand in her face until she blinked back to reality. “I know I don’t have much experience with this love stuff, but I think when a man tells you he loves you, it’s customary to say something in return.”

“You love me?” she repeated incredulously, and Sal shook his head.