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    she would come to him. He knew he could never go to her.
    His mother slowly turned around until her gaze caught his. She flashed him a
    smile that didn"t reach her beautiful eyes. “You come to town, don"t call me, don"t
    call your brother, and you"re surprised I"m here?”
    With every word Mary Beth spoke, her voice grew in octaves until every single
    person in the lobby was staring at them. He slid a glance to the woman behind the
    counter. The look on her face told him without words that she was giving him
    exactly five seconds to shut his mother up.
    He figured he only needed two.
    Rome ignored the pain that sliced through his heart with her statement,
    grabbed Mary Beth"s arm in a secure but loose grip, and pulled her to the nearest
    corner. “Don"t you have any sense of self-preservation? What the hell are you doing
    here?”
    She was immediately affronted. Rome bit off an oath at the look of pain on her
    face. “How can you ask me that? I haven"t seen you in over five years. I haven"t even
    talked to you in nine months.”
    “We both know why I don"t visit.” It’s not because I don’t want to, but because I
    can’t went unspoken.
    A look of discomfort settled on her face. She sighed. “I swear I"ve tried to talk
    to him, but he won"t be reasonable.”
    Rome ground his teeth and tried to hold the anger he felt rising inside him at
    bay at his mother"s words. He knew what trying to convince his father entailed.
    “Don"t try anything anymore. I don"t want him taking his anger out on you.”
    She gave him a tremulous smile. “He"s not as bad as he used to be.”
    Shit ! Rome felt panic mix with the anger when he saw tears shining in Mary
    Beth"s green eyes. “Come on, Mary Beth. Let"s talk upstairs.” He wrapped his arm
    around her waist and pulled her close. “Please don"t cry.”
    Although he had seen his mother cry way too many times growing up, Rome
    had never acquired the skill to handle her tears.

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    31

    During the silent elevator ride, he held his mother"s hands as she composed
    herself. Neither of them spoke. He figured it was because neither of them knew
    what to say. He didn"t breathe a sigh of relief until they reached his suite.
    “You should have called to let us know you were going to be in town.”
    He"d thought about it, considered it a million times, but never managed to pick
    up the phone. He knew what his actions would bring. As badly as he wanted to talk
    to his mother and brother, Rome was unwilling to let them take a beating on his
    behalf. Anthony Vicenza was vicious when angry, and Rome"s very name seemed to
    piss him off.
    If only he could convince his mother to wise up, take Turin, and leave.
    Mary Beth folded her arms across her chest. “What are you doing in town?
    Why all of a sudden are you here? Last time we talked, you had no interest in going
    to your high-school reunion.”
    Rome took a step back and straightened. He already knew where the
    conversation was going, and he didn"t like it one bit. “I changed my mind.”
    They had talked months before the reunion RSVPs had to be in. Months before
    he was informed that Sela was going to be there.
    “You came to see her, didn"t you?”
    “Leave it alone, Mary Beth.”
    “She hurt you so badly the last time. I don"t want you to go through that again.
    We both know her family is never going to accept you.”
    He shook his head. “You don"t understand.”
    “Don"t I? I remember how angry you were when you found out she…”
    “Believe it or not, Mary Beth, some things really do change,” Rome gritted
    through his teeth. They"d had the same conversation over ten years ago. He didn"t
    like it then. He sure as hell didn"t like it now.
    He knew Sela so well, well enough to know she wouldn"t have done something
    so cruel to him without her reasons. He fully intended to spend the weekend finding
    out those reasons.
    Mary Beth stared into his face for several moments before giving him a