Where the Sun Hides (Seasons of Betrayal #1)(29)

Jesus.

That essentially meant Violet was still chained down depending on her father’s demands and schedules. And she wouldn’t exactly be able to lie, either. If she said she was somewhere else, somewhere she was allowed to be, and Gee showed up to get her but she wasn’t there … it wouldn’t end well.

Still, she had her keys.

And her father had actually spoken to her after ignoring her for weeks.

It was something.

Violet chose not to question it.





Violet found her brother perched on the kitchen counter, chatting away to their mother as Andrea checked on the progress of a soup she was cooking.

“Not yet,” her mother said. “Give it another year, Carmine. My God. You’re still young.”

Violet held off from entering the kitchen completely. She was just out of their view, but she could see them. If there was one thing Violet never understood, it was the closeness her brother and mother seemed to share. Growing up, her mother had always felt a little distant to her in most ways. Andrea never had time to feed into her daughter’s whims, never mind indulging Violet’s many games and quirks.

That had always landed on her father.

Alberto hadn’t seemed to mind.

But it did leave a lasting effect on the relationship between Violet and her mother. She always saw the woman as cold and unapproachable. She felt like her mother wouldn’t care about her problems or thoughts. It wasn’t like Andrea gave her the impression that she wanted to know those things about Violet.

And then there was Carmine.

Andrea, quite literally, doted on her son constantly. Despite the fact that Carmine was twenty-seven and more than capable of handling his own business, their mother made sure to visit his apartment several times a week to pick up after her son and make sure his fridge was full of food. As children, Andrea would be quick to take Carmine with her on her many trips in her rising career as a clothing designer, while she left her daughter at home with her father.

It was just … an entirely different dynamic.

Violet wasn’t jealous. She had a close relationship with her father, after all. Maybe even closer than the one Carmine shared with Alberto. But the same thought always lingered in the back of her mind whenever she saw her mother and brother together: What had been so different about her as a child that her mother couldn’t even be bothered to try?

“There’s just no point in waiting, Ma,” Carmine said.

Andrea reached over the counter and cupped her son’s cheek in her palm. “You’re young. Do you really want to settle yourself with a woman and babies right now?”

Carmine chuckled. “I can still have my fun when I’m married.”

“Carmine.”

“What?” Carmine flashed a smile. “I’ve waited too long as it is. I’m not going to wait anymore for the perfect woman who suits what you want me to have, Ma. I just need an appropriate enough wife.”

Andrea scowled. “For your father, you mean.”

“And for me. I have waited too long.”

Dropping her hand from her son’s face, Andrea grabbed a dishtowel and wiped at the counter. “What does your father think of this?”

“He thinks she’s appropriate.”

There was that word again.

Appropriate.

Like the only way a woman could possibly be worthy enough was if she met a certain set of standards determined by those around her. It irritated Violet in a way she couldn’t explain.

“But you don’t love her,” Andrea said.

“I don’t have to, Ma.” Carmine pushed off the counter, and grabbed an apple from the fruit tree. “I just need the ring and the license.”

“I don’t like this.”

“You like Nicole,” Carmine pressed.

Well, Violet figured her friend would be happy at least. Carmine was finally going to settle Nicole into some kind of permanent relationship, even if he had no intention of being committed to it. It wasn’t like Nicole didn’t already know Carmine was a manwhore in every sense of the word.

“I liked what she was good for,” Andrea muttered. “And you know exactly what you used the girl for. I know what you’re doing, son. You’re trying to butter me up to get your grandmother’s engagement ring for Nicole, and I won’t give it to you. Buy her one, for all I give a damn. She’s not having my mother’s.”

Carmine scowled at his mother before turning on his heel and storming toward the entry of the kitchen. To hide the fact that she had been eavesdropping on the conversation, Violet stepped into the space at the same time her brother was just about to leave. He was too pissed off to care she was there if the way he brushed past her with a grumble and a glare was any indication.

Andrea didn’t give Violet a second look either before she was back at the stove, tending the soup again.

“I wanted to say goodbye before I left,” Violet said.

Her mother waved a hand over her shoulder, and nothing else.

Violet wasn’t surprised. It probably didn’t help that her mother was now in a mood over Carmine’s choices regarding marriage. Andrea wasn't going to be able to dote on her son like she did now once he was a married man.

“All right, bye, Ma,” Violet called over her shoulder as she turned to leave.