Caroselli's Accidental Heir by Michelle Celmer

were so harsh on her. What did she do that was so terrible?”
    Nonno looked away, out the window. “There are some things that we don’t discuss. For the good of the family.”
    For the good of the family, or his own selfish reasons? Either way, Lucy had done nothing to warrant his wrath. “Lucy is confused and scared and I don’t want to make her feel any worse than she already does. I will not abide by anyone trying to intimidate her. That includes you.”
    Tony had never dared raise his voice when speaking to his grandfather, or issued an outright order. And though he braced for the fallout, Nonno looked more intrigued than angry.
    “Is that so?” he said, almost as if he were taunting Tony, daring him to defy the head of the family. Tony refused to be intimidated. He never understood why his dad allowed his parents to treat their daughter-in-law so poorly, but Tony wouldn’t abide by it. It was his duty, as the father of Lucy’s child, to protect her, not throw her under the bus. She’d been through enough.
    “The last thing I want is to disrespect you, but Lucy is my responsibility now.”
    “Even when she refuses to marry you?”
    “No matter what.”
    Nonno actually smiled. “In that case, I promise that I will treat her with respect and kindness.”
    Wow, that was almost too easy. What was the catch? “We’ll come by at three tomorrow.”
    “I’ll speak to Lucy alone,” Nonno said.
    And there it was. “ Nonno— ”
    “Drop her off, and come back an hour later to fetch her. Now leave me. I need to rest.”
    Tony didn’t like the idea of leaving Lucy alone with Nonno, but once he dismissed a guest, the conversation was over. He just had to trust that his grandfather would honor his promise and treat Lucy well. After so many years of loyal service to the company, at the expense of his own aspirations, not only did Tony deserve it. He had earned it.
    * * *
    As he parallel parked in a spot on the street about a block from his building, Tony swore that his next apartment would have tenant parking. Some conveniences were worth the extra expense. Especially on those snowy Chicago nights when he came home late from the office. With the baby coming they would need more space anyway. Maybe he should think about apartment hunting sooner rather than later.
    As he crossed the street, Tony noticed a familiar white Mercedes parked down the block.
    Oh, no. She wouldn’t have.
    Picking up speed, he jogged the rest of the way, and rather than wait for the elevator, took the stairwell up to his floor. He didn’t see her immediately when he stepped inside, but he knew that perfume anywhere.
    Exasperated, he shouted, “Mother!”
    She stepped out of the kitchen drying her hands on a dish towel, looking casually sophisticated in beige wool slacks and a rose cable-knit sweater, with her mostly white hair pulled back from a face still youthful even though she’d just celebrated her sixty-third birthday. “Hello, dear.”
    Hello, dear, my foot.
    “Really, Mom?” He shrugged out of his jacket and tossed it over the back of the couch. “You couldn’t have waited a couple days like I asked?”
    With a sigh, she picked his jacket up and hung it in the closet, telling him, “And you couldn’t have stayed home from the office for a day? When your father called to tell me that you had come into work, all I could think was that you left that poor girl all alone. With no transportation and, as I guessed, no food.”
    She made it sound as if Lucy would have starved to death had she not intervened. “Where is she?”
    “Taking a shower. I made her a healthy breakfast.”
    Breakfast? He looked at his watch. “Mom, it’s almost four in the afternoon. How long have you been here?”
    “What difference does that make? You can’t just abandon a pregnant woman in an apartment with nothing but sour milk, shriveled carrots, moldy cheese and Dijon mustard. She needs a balanced diet. It’s a good thing your father called me,