Chapter 1

Tony's mother still lived in the Italian neighborhood of Bella Vista in the same clapboard row house squeezed between two others just like it, except Mama Anna's was a pretty butter yellow instead of dishwater gray. The street, as always, was lined with parked cars and littered with debris. Whenever Ruby took in Tony's old stomping ground, she couldn't help but marvel at what he'd overcome.

"You're a saint," she stated as her husband parallel parked her Range Rover between two beaters.

He issued a startled laugh. "Hardly. What makes you say that?"

How she admired his humility. Not only had Tony resisted recruitment by the local gangs while growing up here, but he'd also helped to raise his little sister when their father ran off and his mother fell ill. "Most people are victims of their circumstances. But you always take the high road, Tony." Which was why she felt like such a loser in comparison.

His purely Italian shrug sloughed off her praise. "Nah, it's a choice. Everybody has a choice."

His words echoed in her head as he set the parking brake and punched the button that killed her engine. Worry furrowed his brow as he took in his former neighborhood. "We should'a brought my old Honda. Someone's gonna key your SUV out of jealousy."

"Well, that's why I hit Opal's mailbox." She nodded like she'd done it intentionally. "Now the dent in the rear fender makes it look like all the other cars."

Another laugh burst out of him. "Oh, that's why you hit the mailbox."

"Yep." Truth was, she'd persuaded Tony to drive her car up because she thought she might need wheels to keep her appointment with the lieutenant governor, and she had yet to learn to drive Tony's stick shift.

He cut her a look as he went to push his door open. "I know why you wanted to bring your Range Rover."

She hid a gasp of dismay. Tony was the most observant person she knew. It surprised her he hadn't asked about her two missed periods yet, but how could he have found out about Katz? "Oh?"

"So you could leave if Mama hurt your feelings."

Phew! "You know me too well."

Tony put reassuring a hand on Ruby's knee and gave it a squeeze. "She'll behave herself; I promise. Besides, Corinna's here to distract her." Nodding at his little sister's lime-green Escort, he pushed out of the driver's seat.

Corinna, now a theater major at Drexel University, was home for the holiday. Looking forward to seeing her, Ruby got out and went to the back to help Tony with the luggage.

A chilly breeze and the ubiquitous smell of sautéed onions filled the air. Tony gave her the smallest bag to carry, then shut the rear of the SUV and toted their two suitcases toward his old home's front stoop. The door popped open, and Mama Anna, with her cloud of graying curls and ample figure, emerged with her arms outstretched.

"Antonio mio!" She ignored Ruby to embrace her son, pulling him against her apron-clad bosom and pinning him there. If his shoulders weren't as wide as they were, Anna's embrace might have swallowed him whole. "Welcome, welcome," she crooned, kissing him on both cheeks.

At last, she set him away from her and met Ruby's gaze. The thread of tension between them snapped as she threw her arms wide and embraced her daughter-in-law with equal zeal. "Thank you for coming. I have cooked all day!" Her English was perfect, though faintly accented, having immigrated from Puglia with her parents in the 1970s. "Come in, come in! It's so cold outside."

She ushered them into the house ahead of her. She hadn't even closed the door behind them before the old staircase shuddered and Corinna Caruso, with her dark ringlets streaming behind her, blew down from the upper level and collided into Tony at a full run. But he was ready for her, swinging her around to keep from staggering backwards. "Hey, Sis! How's it goin'?"

"Couldn't be better." She beamed at them. "Hey, Ruby."

Ruby smiled back. "Hey."

Tony studied his sister. "Why are you glowin'? What's goin' on with you?"

"What, I'm not allowed to glow? Maybe I'm happy to see you."

"Humph." Mama Anna pursed her lips with disapproval. "Corinna has a boyfriend."

"Mama!" The eighteen-year-old's cherry-brown eyes flashed. "I told you not to tell."

"Boyfriend,"Tony spat out the word like it was something filthy. "What do you need a boyfriend for? You're a student. It's your job to study, not waste your time on some schmuck."

"Tony!" Ruby elbowed him aside to throw an arm of solidarity around her sister-in-law. "You can't tell Corinna what to do with her heart. So, who's the lucky guy?"

Corinna shot her a grateful smile. "His name is Robert and he's a philosophy major."

"Philosophy, hah." Tony scowled. "What's he gonna do with that degree?"

"Go to law school." Corinna arched a dark eyebrow at him.

"Oh." And suddenly Tony had no more to say on the subject.

"Enough talk." Mama Anna gestured grandly. "Take your stuff upstairs and come to the kitchen for food."

"We just had subs on the way up, Mama." Tony hefted a suitcase in each hand and started up the stairs to his old bedroom.

Ruby followed close behind him. This would be the first time his mother let them share a bed. Considering they were finally married—even though Anna hadn't been invited—she didn't have much choice.

Trailing Tony into the tiny front room, Ruby deposited her purse and cosmetics bag. She hadn't dared to bring her laptop or Tony would have guessed she was working on a story. Luckily, she didn't need her laptop. The facts pertaining to her investigation were filed away in her head.

If Tony had the slightest notion that she was on a deep-sea fishing expedition, angling for a really big tuna, he'd have refused his mother's invitation to Philly and swept her off to some remote island somewhere.

Two hours later, they sat at the kitchen table under the glow of a pendant lamp, while daylight faded over the tiny, enclosed garden in the backyard, where Anna grew her vegetables. Tony's mother stood near the sink, stuffing a twelve-pound turkey in preparation for tomorrow's feast. Corinna was describing the musical production at her university, in which she'd secured a leading role, while only just a freshman.

As she listened, Ruby plotted how to finagle time to herself the following morning. At least Tony would be busy fixing his mother's washer, as they'd discussed on their drive up, as well as questioning his mother about her health.

A decade earlier, Anna had required a valve replacement and, lately, she'd been complaining of fatigue. Tony wanted her to consult her cardiac surgeon, while also persuading her to let him pay her medical bills. Neither suggestion would be an easy sell.

All Ruby needed was a two-hour window in which to get downtown, conduct her scheduled interview with Lieutenant Governor Katz, then get back to the house. Considering the famed Philadelphia Thanksgiving parade would clog the roadways, it might take even longer. That thought prompted an idea.

She waited for Corinna to stop talking, then suggested, "Hey, let's go see the Thanksgiving parade tomorrow." The only drawback was having to involve Corinna in her plans. "You know it's the oldest ongoing parade in the country, right? I've never seen it."

Tony predictably frowned. "You know I don't like you bein' in a crowd, especially without me around. Why don't you just go to a movie or something?"

"On Thanksgiving morning? The theaters aren't even open. Besides, a parade will get us into the holiday spirit. I can't wait!"

Her expectant grin had the desired effect. Tony sighed and relented. "Fine. Just don't stand by any trash cans or planters."

"We won't." Remorse pinched her for misleading him. But, as much as she hated keeping secrets from her husband, what Tony didn't know couldn't hurt him. Besides, he was too protective, too prone to imagine bad things happening to her. This way, she could conduct her interview, and he'd never have to worry.

Later, when she managed to expose Lennard Katz for the liar that he was, Tony would realize what she'd done and when she'd done it, only it would be too late to scold her.

Better to ask forgiveness than permission.That'd been Ruby's MO all her life, and she didn't see any reason to switch things up at this juncture.

* * *

Tony stretched out on the length of his childhood bed, his toes touching the footboard. The double bed felt tiny compared to the king-sized monstrosity they had at home, but contentment filled him as Ruby joined him for the first time in his mama's house, snuggling close to keep from falling off the edge.

"Finally, I get to have you in my own bed. This is so nice." He smoothed a hand up her trim tummy, his palm gliding over her silken nightgown when she stiffened against him. What was that about? "You doin' okay, Bella?"

"Yeah, sure." Her tone was overly bright.

Suspicion lanced him. Tony pushed himself up on one elbow while turning her face in his direction. Her jewel-like eyes were lit by the glow of both the city and the streetlamp pushing through his worn blue curtains. "Did my mother say somethin' to hurt your feelings again?"

"Not at all. I'm just thinking about the parade tomorrow, looking forward to it."

"Yeah?" He couldn't imagine what was so exciting about floats and bands and crowds but whatever. "Ready to gorge yourself afterward and put some meat on those skinny hips?"

The sound she made in her throat told him that his joke fell short.

Besides, her hips weren't skinny. They were smooth and shapely. Every curve of her body fit perfectly in his hands, which he set about proving to her as he went back to caressing her hourglass figure, petting her until she arched toward his touch, her breath coming in faster.

She needed warming up was all. Tony was up for that challenge. Making her skin blaze with heat thrilled him more than jumping out of airplanes. Ruby's passion was just one of the many things he loved about her. In fact, she never ceased to amaze him.

Sure, she could be a handful. Sure, she got herself regularly into trouble by butting heads with people in positions of authority and upending the status quo. But, with Ruby, there was never a dull moment.

Pulling her closer, he reveled in the bliss of becoming one with her. Ruby was his home. He belonged with her. God willing, he would get to come home to her again and again for the rest of his life.

She reached up, furrowing her fingers through his hair. "I love you so much, Tony."

She'd been saying that a lot lately. While he could never hear it enough, the words were starting to take on a portentous quality. Was something bad going to happen? Nah, it was just his paranoid mind playing tricks on him.

"I love you, too, Bella." God meant for them to be together forever. He was sure of that.