Chapter 10 - The Matriarch’s Coat
Three months later.
The brass keys jangled as I unlocked the front door of Claire’s Confections.
The smell of vanilla and fresh yeast hit the cold winter air.
I wasn’t wearing a maid’s uniform anymore.
I wore a white baker’s apron covered in flour.
And I was exhausted, stressed, and happier than I had ever been in my life.
I flipped the sign on the door to OPEN.
Before I could walk back behind the counter, a sleek black town car pulled up to the curb.
Not Luca’s car.
A driver stepped out, opened the rear door, and an elderly woman stepped onto the sidewalk.
She wore a severe black dress, a string of perfect pearls, and held a silver-tipped cane.
Over her arm, she carried a heavy, vintage mink coat.
Rosa Moretti.
Luca’s mother.
I had only met her twice, briefly, at large family gatherings before the engagement fell apart. She terrified everyone, including her own son.
She walked into the bakery, the bell chiming above her head.
She didn’t look at the pastries.
She looked directly at me.
“Mrs. Moretti,” I said, wiping my hands on my apron. “It’s an honor to see you. Can I get you some coffee? A sfogliatella?”
“I didn’t come for pastry, Clara,” she said. Her thick Italian accent made her words sound like a decree.
“It’s Claire, ma’am.”
“I know what your name is.”
She walked slowly to the small café table in the corner and sat down, laying the heavy mink coat across the empty chair.
“Sit,” she commanded.
I walked over and sat across from her.
Rosa studied my face. Her dark eyes were exactly like Luca’s—calculating, piercing, missing nothing.
“My son canceled an engagement with a woman from a powerful family. He embarrassed the Bellinis. He went to war. And he did it for a maid.”
“He did it for Matteo,” I corrected politely but firmly. “Vanessa was going to hurt him.”
Rosa waved her hand dismissively.
“Vanessa was a snake. I told him this a year ago. Men are stupid when they are lonely.”
She leaned forward, resting both hands on her cane.
“Luca tells me you are just a friend. He tells me he bought you this bakery as a reward for loyalty.”
“That’s the truth.”
“Bah,” Rosa scoffed. “A Moretti man does not look at a ‘friend’ the way he looks at you when you walk into the room. He loves you.”
My face flushed hot.
Luca and I had spent nearly every weekend together. We cooked dinner. We helped Matteo with homework. But we had never crossed the line. He was giving me space to build my life.
“I care for him very much,” I said carefully.
“Care is for dogs and houseplants,” Rosa said sharply. “I want to know if you are strong enough for this family. The last woman my son loved was weak. Victoria was a good mother, God rest her soul, but she could not handle the life. She closed her eyes to the darkness.”
Rosa pointed a manicured finger at me.
“You looked down the barrel of a gun to save my grandson. You have the iron. But do you have the heart?”
Before I could answer, the bell above the door chimed again.
It was Matteo.
He was wearing his school uniform, carrying his heavy backpack.
He stopped when he saw his grandmother.
“Nonna? What are you doing here?”
Rosa’s severe expression instantly melted. She held out her arms. “Mio tesoro. Come give your Nonna a kiss.”
Matteo walked over and kissed her cheek.
Then, he naturally stepped to my side and put his arm around my shoulder. It wasn’t planned. It was pure instinct.
Rosa watched the movement.
She looked at the way Matteo leaned on me, entirely comfortable, entirely safe.
She nodded slowly.
She stood up, picking up the heavy vintage mink coat.
She walked around the table and draped the coat over my shoulders. It was incredibly heavy, smelling of cedar and old perfume.
“This belonged to my mother,” Rosa said softly. “She wore it when my father brought her to America. It is only given to the woman who holds the heart of the family.”
I touched the soft fur, completely speechless.
May you like
“Mrs. Moretti, I can’t—”
“Take it,” Rosa said. “Because my stubborn son is outside in the car, and he has been pacing a hole in the pavement for twenty minutes trying to figure out how to ask you to dinner tonight.”
