Don't Say a Word - Barbara Freethy [33]
Liz grabbed her hand as they paused inside the front door. "Come help me in the kitchen," she said.
"I'll be back," Julia told Michael. He nodded, already drifting over to the big-screen television set.
"I haven't had a chance to talk to you since yesterday," Liz said as they walked down the hall to the kitchen. "You were asleep when I got home last night. What have you been doing? Did you find out anything about that doll?"
"Not really," Julia said evasively.
"Did you talk to that man again-the photographer's son? What's his name?"
"Alex Manning. I did speak to him, but-"
"There you are," Gino said, coming through the kitchen door. "My two girls."
Julia received a kiss on both cheeks from her father, watching with a smile as he did the same to Lizzie. Gino DeMarco had always been an affectionate and passionate man with a big personality. When he walked into a room, you knew he was there. Her mother had been much more restrained, quieter, sometimes overshadowed by Gino's light.
"I want to talk to you, Julia, about this wedding of yours," Gino said. "Lucia tells me that I have not been paying enough attention, so now I am paying attention," he declared. "What can I do to help? Besides a write a check, which of course I am happy to do."
"Thanks for offering, but at the moment it's all under control."
"Under control?" Liz echoed "You haven't done anything yet. And didn't you tell Michael you were postponing the wedding?"
Gino looked disturbed by that piece of information. "Is something wrong?"
"No, everything is fine. Can we talk about this later?" Julia asked. She stepped aside as another one of her aunts came out of the kitchen with a large tray of lasagne.
"I just want it to be the happiest day of your life, as my wedding to your mother was for me," Gino said, his eyes watering, his mouth trembling with emotion.
Julia blinked back her own tears. At least she knew one thing for sure. The marriage between her mother and this man had been one of love and passion. Whatever else was up in the air, she could hold on to that certainty. Lizzie was called away by their aunt Lucia to take some appetizers out to the living room, which she did reluctantly. Gino surprised Julia by pulling her into one of the bedrooms off the hall.
"Is something wrong?" she asked him.
"I know you went to the storage locker yesterday," Gino said, concern drawing lines around his eyes and mouth. "1 didn't get a chance to ask you why."
Julia didn't want to tell him that he'd had the chance; he'd just been too hungover to take it. But she didn't have the energy to deal with his drinking today. For the moment he was sober, and he was waiting for an answer. She wasn't sure what to say. Her decision to leave the past alone began to waver. Maybe if she asked just one question or two…
"I was hoping to find something in Mom's belongings about the first couple years of my life," she said, not wanting Gino to think she was looking for her real father. That wasn't the case, and she didn't want to hurt him. He'd been the only father she'd ever known, and he'd been a good one. Even without the words, though, she saw shadows fill his eyes.
"Your mother wondered if the day would come when you would ask questions she didn't want to answer."
"You talked about it?" Julia asked in surprise.
"Yes, of course."
"What did she tell you?"
"Very little, I'm afraid. She said it was too painful to discuss."
"That's what she told me, too. But I feel a bit lost without any…"-she searched for the right words- "any photos of myself as a baby, or knowledge of not only who my biological father was, but who my grandparents were. I don't know where my mother grew up or anything about her life before you and me. I don't know what she