I pulled back, my cheeks flushed.
揥e抣l allow you to start but how long you抣l be allowed to stay that depends on the overall safety situation and your behavior. If we feel at any time, that your safety is on the line, you抣l return.?
揙f course, Mom. I抣l be on my best behavior.?
Mom searched my eyes. 揧our father trusts in Santino抯 abilities. He抯 a very competent soldier.?She paused. 揑， however, don抰 know if I like the idea of you alone with him in Paris.?
I swallowed and made a shocked face. 揥hy? He抯 been protecting me for years.?
揧es, yes,?Mom said slowly. 揑抦 your mother, but I抦 also a woman, and I have eyes.?
I tried to look as unsuspecting as humanly possible.
Mom抯 expression made it clear I could drop the act. 揟hat look works on men, not on mothers.?
揥hy??
揃ecause fathers want to believe their daughters are the epitome of innocence and they抎 rather preserve it than see it crumple.?
揑 don抰 want to do anything bad, Mom. I just want to live a little, is that so bad??
揑f you ask most men in our world, yes. If you ask me, it depends.?
I knew I was treading thin ice confiding in Mom about the freedoms I wanted to experience, but Mom was the most understanding person I knew. And despite our world, she was a feminist and wanted equal chances for women and men.
揑 want to have some fun before I抣l have to marry Clifford.?
揑 know Clifford is having his fair share of fun and I suspect he won抰 hold himself back at the frat parties he抣l attend in the next few years.?
揇efinitely not,?I said then told Mom about the strange conversation he and I had a while back.
She touched my arm. 揕ike Clifford has said, discretion is the key. As long as you use protection, I don抰 mind you having fun. With your marriage to Clifford, you have more freedoms than most women in our world厰 She trailed off. 揊reedom of choice doesn抰 mean we should choose every option available to us. Some remain unwise.?
I knew she was talking about Santino. I chose to stay silent. Every word I said might reveal more than I wanted. Mom was on a trail and I didn抰 want to ruin my chances of going to Paris because she thought I had the hots for Santino.
揑 want you to stay away from Santino. That抯 my condition. If I get the feeling that there抯 something going on between you and him, then you抣l be on the next flight back to Chicago and he抣l have a new job.?
揗om, you really don抰 have to worry. Santino doesn抰 have the slightest interest in me. He can barely tolerate me and he takes his job way too seriously.?
Mom抯 eyes seemed to x-ray me. 揧ou have an iron will and you like getting your way, sweetheart. Both can be an advantage but it can also get you in trouble. I want to be sure that you, too, keep the expected distance to Santino. It would reflect badly on your dad if the man he chose to protect you disrespects him by inappropriate conduct toward you.?
Ouch. Mom knew how to land a hit. 揑s this really about Santino or do you and Dad prefer if I stay a virgin until marriage??
揟his is solely about Santino. He has a responsibility for you and he抯 much older and experienced than you. You should pick a boy your age if you want to enjoy your temporary freedoms.?
Santino being more experienced was one of the reasons why I found him sexy. I had a feeling Santino knew how to give a woman a good time. Mrs. Alfera probably wouldn抰 risk her husband抯 wrath for a lackluster lover.
Of course, I didn抰 mention either of this. 揇ad抯 twelve years older than you.?
揙ur situation was very different. I was already married before and I was a grown woman. You抮e Santino抯 ward, and he抯 known you a long time, that puts you at a disadvantage.?
That showed how biased Mom was as my mother. 揧ou were only twenty-three when you had to marry Dad. In a marriage you are at a greater disadvantage because the husband holds all the power, especially if he抯 Capo. Dad knew you from social events since you were much younger. And you told me yourself your first marriage was never real, so really we weren抰 on so different levels. Only I抦 not married to Santino, so he doesn抰 have any power over me.?
揂rguing with you used to be easier.?
I grinned.
Mom sobered. 揑 have one non-negotiable condition, Anna. I don抰 want you and Santino to happen. That抯 all. You can have fun, but not with him.?
揇on抰 worry, Mom. He抯 not interested in me, and I抦 more interested in meeting a cute Parisian artsy guy. I don抰 have any interest in Santino. Maybe I had a tiny crush on him when I was twelve or thirteen, but I抦 not that little girl anymore.?
I could tell that Mom wasn抰 completely convinced, but she nodded anyway.
My pulse was pounding in my veins as I stepped into Dante抯 office. I couldn抰 remember the last time I抎 been this pissed. Anna had backed me into a corner and I had only one option to get out of it, telling Dante the truth about my fling with Mrs. Alfera and kissing Anna.