Chapter 39.

NORA CARUSO The rain was relentless. I sat curled up on the wicker loveseat, a cashmere throw draped over my legs, watching the storm tear through the estate grounds. Usually, storms made me uneasy, but tonight I felt strangely light. My phone was warm against my ear. "No, you didn't," I gasped, a laugh bubbling up in my throat. "You did not tell Aunt Maria that." "I absolutely did," Renata's voice crackled through the line," She asked me why I wasn't wearing the pearls she gave me for my confirmation. I told her I donated them to a charity for visually impaired seagulls because they were the size of jawbreakers." I threw my head back, laughing so hard I almost dropped the phone. "Renata! She probably had a heart attack right there in the piazza." "She survived," Renata drawled. "Though she did clutch her chest and ask the Virgin Mary where she went wrong with me." I wiped a tear from the corner of my eye, smiling so wide my cheeks hurt. "I miss that," I admitted softly. "I miss... th