Elena's POV
I watched Maria glide over to Luca while I sat there. She touched his arm, leaned in, started talking to him and Luca gave her a polite smile I knew he was faking. I pretended not to care and focused on finishing my food, but my eyes kept drifting back to them no matter how hard I tried.
Just then, Papa came over and sat beside me with a sigh like he’d been walking around greeting everyone for hours.
“Mind if I hide here for a bit?” he said.
“You’re the host,” I said. “You can hide wherever you want.”
He chuckled and looked around at our relatives scattered everywhere, engaging with one another.
“You know, every time I look away for a few years, these people grow older without warning.”
“Tell me about it." I said with a soft laugh, watching some of them bicker over food.
