When It Falls Apart (The D'Angelos, #1)(91)

“Antonia, would you like something?” Luca asked.

Antonia responded in Italian—she didn’t sound nearly as musical as Luca—and the waiter left.

“I need to learn to roll my Rs better,” Brooke said to Luca before glancing at Antonia. “Franny’s been teaching me. She reads me children’s books. It’s about as precious as it gets,” Brooke told Antonia.

“So she’s said.”

Mari walked around the corner with a cautious smile. “What a surprise.”

Antonia greeted her speaking so fast Brooke only caught a few words.

“It’s good to see you all getting along,” Mari said. “Best for Francesca, vero?”

The more welcoming everyone was, the more Antonia squirmed.

“Couldn’t agree more, Mama,” Luca said.

The waiter arrived, and surprisingly put glasses of wine before each of them. Brooke had a rosé while Luca and Antonia both drank red.

Any other time the two of them having a similar drink or a passing smile would have brought up a boatload of insecurity.

Only it didn’t.

“I’ll leave you alone,” Mari said before walking away.

Antonia lifted her glass. “Our favorite,” she said.

“You should try the 2019. It’s even better. Giovanni changes my favorite every year.”

Antonia basked in what she felt was the upper hand.

But Luca’s hand was on Brooke’s thigh saying, It’s only wine.

Besides, Luca wasn’t wrong about the 2019, it was better. However, it was the middle of the day and as much as day drinking was a thing, red wine would put her to sleep by five.

That didn’t stop Antonia.

As the first sip went down, all Brooke could think about was her unborn child. A sip here or a sip there is fine . . . but why take the risk?

“What did you want to discuss about Franny?” Luca started.

Another sip and Antonia put the glass down. “School is out for the summer tomorrow.”

“It is.”

“I’d like to have her spend more time with me.”

Brooke felt, more than saw, Luca tense beside her. “She’d probably like that,” Brooke said.

“I’ll leave that up to Franny,” Luca said.

“Weekends to start.”

Brooke and Luca both looked at Antonia.

“What do you mean by ‘start’?”

Antonia put the wine to her lips, drank more.

Brooke felt her empty stomach rebel.

“To start.”

“I’m not following you,” Luca said.

The waiter arrived, put food on the table, and walked away.

“This looks delicious,” Antonia said.

As the seconds ticked by, Luca grew more tense at Brooke’s side.

“You were saying?”

Antonia picked up her fork and knife, cut into the caprese salad. “I was very depressed when I left.” She took a bite of the salad, chased it with wine.

Brooke cut into her food and hung on for the woman to continue.

“Terrible postpartum depression. Clinical depression, if I’m completely honest. More than one doctor told us that, isn’t that right, Luca?”

“What is your point?”

Another drink of wine.

“I wasn’t in my right mind.”

Brooke grasped Luca’s hand and squeezed.

“Are you in your right mind now?” Brooke asked.

Antonia dropped her fork. “What kind of question is that? Of course I am.”

“You are sitting here with your ex-husband and his significant other talking about your daughter. On the outside, that can look stressful,” Brooke said.

“My mind is quite sound, Brooke. Luca’s significant other does not need to imply that I’m crazy. What does ‘significant other’ mean anyway?” Another drink from her glass.

“We’re talking about giving Franny a sister or brother. That’s what it means,” Luca said, deadpan.

Antonia lost her momentum.

The silence had Brooke reaching for her glass of wine and realizing Antonia’s was nearly empty.

“How progressive of you.”

Brooke let the silence eat at the woman.

Luca played with his wineglass.

“I want to spend more time with Francesca. I don’t want to have to go to a court to prove I’m capable of doing so.”

“No one is denying you.”

“Right.”

More wine.

“Did you expect opposition?” Luca asked.

“Yes.”

“Again. This is up to Franny. If you put pressure on her, then you’ll get resistance.”

“Sometimes children don’t always know what’s good for them.”

Brooke couldn’t stop herself. “You know . . . maybe the wine isn’t a good idea for this conversation.” She pushed her glass aside and reached for what was left in Antonia’s.

Antonia said something in Italian and volleyed for the glass.

It was Luca’s turn to hold Brooke down. “I think this discussion is good where it’s at. I’ll talk with Franny, see what she wants. We can go from there.”

Antonia smiled as if she had won and glared at Brooke as she finished what was in her glass.