Chapter 29

"Feeling better?" Roman said as he returned to the room with fresh dry clothes on and a tray of food. "I thought you'd be hungry after all that vomiting."

"Yeah. I am. Mmm… That smells good. What is it?"

"Venetian soup. I thought it would be nice to have something light on your stomach. If you feel up to it later, I'll have the chef prepare something more."

"Oh, a chef, huh? Isn't that fancy?" she teased.

Smiling as he placed the tray across her lap while she sat up in bed. "Actually, I made this. The chef usually just cooks for my staff. I enjoy cooking. My mother was a great cook who showed me her secrets. My sisters and I were always in the kitchen with her, helping to make all the best dishes. Beau was usually running around her feet, snatching snacks out of the cupboard, and driving her crazy. He was always such a little stinker. He was always getting into mischief. My other brothers didn't care much for the kitchen unless they were eating."

"You smiled just now."

Tilting his head up to her, he wasn't sure what she meant by that. "Was I not supposed to?"

"Well… I noticed you smiled when you talked about your mother. She must be special to you. I miss my mother."

"I suppose you do. I know you haven't been back to Italy in years. Even your accent is gone. That weird hillbilly twang to your voice is different, though. Where'd you pick that up? A new hustle you're trying. Poppy the redneck fashion designer." He chuckled.

"I've never been to Italy, Roman. My mother died a few years ago of cancer. If you would just go talk to my real father, you'd know I'm telling the truth," she calmly noted as she placed a napkin over her lap. "You mafia guys sure are stubborn. Not one of you listens to a darn thing I've said. It's like talking to a brick wall."

"Why are you doing this, Claudia? You know this Poppy woman doesn't exist, and if she does, you stole her identity for some godforsaken reason. The poor girl won't even notice until her bank account is cleaned out."

"Why would she do that?"

"Same reason you have about thirty other aliases and a long past of being a worthless thief. You're a hustler. As a matter of fact, I always wondered if you are really a Ricci at all. My father always said they were a close family, and you never even mention them unless you think it will get you into some swanky social party."

"I wouldn't know. I don't know them." Rolling her eyes, she took a spoon full of soup, letting the delicious flavors roll over her tongue. The perfect mix of broth and vegetables was like heaven in her mouth. "Oh, my gosh, this is good. Really good. Like five-star restaurant good."

"Thank you. Eat up. We need to talk."

Adjusting her tray, Roman went and pulled a chair next to the bed, watching her take each delectable sip of the soup from her perfectly pouty lips. It almost warmed his heart seeing her so vulnerable and willing to let him care for her. Claudia had always been so distant.

"Claudia, do you remember when we were children? You visited our wine vineyard once with your father while they were going over the businesses. You couldn't have been more than five or six at the time. I was a little older, but I had a crush on the sassy girl with pigtails. It's sad how we grew up to be so jaded."

"No. I told you. I was from Indiana, not Italy," she reminded him for the umpteenth time.

"Well, nonetheless, you were such a happy girl. I remember you running and playing through the grapevines and chasing my dog, trying to put a sweater on him because you said he'd catch a cold. My father let us squash grapes with our bare feet in the vats, even though I'm sure they weren't even ripe. It was probably the worse wine he ever made, just to make us happy. I remember you being so happy and full of life then. The way your sweet giggles would echo when your feet got all messy with grape juice still lingers in my mind all these years. What happened after that made you forget who you are? A true Italian. Family… You've lost the respect of the family and it will be the death of you if you don't set things right."

Dropping her spoon back into the bowl, Poppy turned her sad eyes to Roman. The sadness in his voice was clear. He did care for this woman, but she didn't deserve that. Claudia seemed like a heartless woman now, unworthy of the love she was getting from two men who only tried to make her happy.

"Roman, what did she do to you?"

"Claudia, you know what you did." He huffed. "Stop pretending."

"No, I don't. If I am Claudia, and I'm imagining all this, I've clearly lost my mind. Please tell me."

Roman watched her sad eyes, searching for answers. In them, he found the truth. She really didn't remember. It was quite possible she had lost her mind.

"Claudia, you're sick. Is this why you're marrying Luke? You've lost all sense of reality. Does he know?"

"Please, just tell me."

She knew she was Poppy, but if this was a way for him to tell her what happened, she'd pretend for a moment to get the answers she needed. Two men who loved the same woman but clearly she didn't give it in return. She almost wished it were her so she could ease their pain. Despite their seedy lifestyles, Roman and Luke were the type of men she saw herself with; if only she could get past the criminal element.

Taking a deep breath, Roman rested his head back on the chair, looking at the ceiling with contemplation. He didn't want to remember. All he wanted to remember was that little girl from his childhood that would laugh and play. Not this woman who had turned his life into chaos. He sometimes thought this is why his brother was dead. Luke being a jealous man, most likely killed him out of revenge for Roman getting to Claudia first. What did it matter now though? She was marrying Luke, not him.

"You ran a hustle on me. We were just fooling around for a while, and you convinced me to start dating you. It was all a lie. You were just trying to get close to my money, like every rich guy you've screwed over before me."

Standing, he went to the window, regurgitating back every veil thing Claudia did to him. "I was paying for everything. Your apartment, clothes, car… everything. I gave you some of my credit cards to go shopping one day because I was busy with work. So much for trust. You almost wiped me out. You stole over one-hundred-and-fifty thousand from me in two days. The next thing that I knew, you were running off with Luke and getting married. He thinks we're cheating on him, but that's bull. I wouldn't dare touch a woman I can't trust, no matter how attracted I am to them. I may mess with you, but it's just to piss him off. I threw you out when you came to my door a few weeks ago, and you know I won't fall for your tricks again."

"What about the money? Roman, I think she stole money from Luke, too. That's why she left."

"Well, you're still here, aren't you? If you had his money, you'd be long gone by now. Anyway, I had no way to get the money back, because whatever the fuck you did to hide it, I'll never see it again. Unless you're ready to tell me where it is."