Free A Family Affair: The Secret by Mary Campisi Page B

husbands, and why the poor woman thought she could reform him was plain crazy. The guy had issues, lots of them, ones Angie would probably understand very well.
    If she cared to try—which she didn’t. It was already bad enough that the real-life guy existed in her world now and she had to pretend she didn’t know about his tabloid presence. Why had she needed to see the rich and important get a smackdown in their personal lives? Breakups, cheating, divorce? Because it confirmed she wasn’t the only one who had had relationship disasters, that no matter how much fame or money people had, they were not immune to pain. Kate had always said this obsession with guys who lived between the pages of a magazine wasn’t healthy. Okay, she might have a point there, but if Angie told her she’d actually met one of those between-the-pages guys, Kate would have a thing or three to say about that, starting and ending with a big “I told you so.” The best plan of action was to avoid the man as long as possible. How long could he stay in a place like Magdalena with Chicago waiting for him? Not long. Not a guy like that who was used to gala events and extravagant parties.
    Angie took a peanut butter cookie from the tray, studied the crisscrosses on it. Her aunts had taught her to make pizzelles and ricotta pie and biscotti, but they were not big into cookies of any type. A thirty-two-year-old woman should know how to bake a decent cookie, shouldn’t she? If Mimi kept her in the kitchen with baking lessons, Angie could wait out Roman Ventori’s presence in Magdalena and return home armed with the skill to make her own cut-out sugar cookies this Christmas. A win-win all around.
    “You look awfully thoughtful, my dear.” Mimi offered her a smile and a glass of hibiscus tea. “Isn’t that just about the saddest story you ever heard? Father against son, the town against one of its own.” She shook her head, tsk-tsked. “The odd thing was that the girl who accused him was quiet, never bothered a soul, vice-president of her class. Roman used to help her with calculus, at least that’s what his mother said when she could bring herself to talk about it.”
    Angie did not want to hear any more about the persecution of Roman Ventori. Whatever happened was not her business. Life got in the way of right and should and honest . Look at Kate and Rourke and how their relationship went sideways because their mothers got involved. Even those she thought she could trust had ulterior motives for Kate and Rourke’s happily-ever-after. Who knew how it would have turned out if they’d been left alone to deal with the pregnancy? Could have worked out fine and saved them a lot of heartache, or maybe the weight of parenthood at eighteen would have sunk them. Point was, they lost their choice because other people thought they were doing the right thing, protecting lives and building futures. Maybe her ex thought he was protecting a life and building a future, too—his own—and that’s why he’d ditched her. She’d never know and that was one big reason why she avoided relationships with men.
    Mimi went on and on about Roman Ventori, citing the good deeds he’d done in the community, how he’d helped coach Little League, tutored kids in math and science, even let his girlfriend’s kid brother wear his football jersey around town Homecoming weekend. “The boy was a sweetheart,” Mimi said. “With enough goodness in him to fill the town. Until the scandal.” She clutched her coffee mug, looked away. “That just deflated him, and no matter how hard he tried, not more than a handful of us believed his story. I know he didn’t have anything to do with the Morrisen girl other than giving out math help, but she insisted.” Pause, a sniff. “Rather, her father did. He was a junk dealer, bought second-hand items and tried to sell them as treasures. Never did care for his slippery double-talk, and I didn’t care for his comments about Roman