Eliana loved her retreats to Italy. After decades of raising a mule stubborn son like Ross on her own, Tuscany’s slow mornings and careless wines were the closest thing to therapy she could afford for herself without a guilty conscience.
She had barely been gone a month when the calls started, Ross was throwing tantrums and punishing his oldest friend, apparently all because of Emma.
The irony was that it was Eliana herself that had sent Matthew to the house in the first place, hoping he and Emma would click just enough to make Ross back off. In her mind the choice had always belonged to Emma, if the girl found someone else, Ross would be forced to let go, and find another girl to marry.
It wasn’t that Eliana disliked Emma, in fact it was far from it. She’d felt protective the first mom
