The Moretti Heir by Katherine Garbera Page A

he entered the sun-room.
    His mother rose and gave him a kiss on the cheek and his father hugged him close. As much as Marco was an adult, he still liked the feeling of coming home.
    “What was so urgent we had to meet so early in the morning?” Tony asked, sipping his morning espresso.
    Marco took a seat across from his mom and next to Tony. He served himself some food, even though he didn’t feel like eating.
    “It involves the family curse,” Marco started.
    The silence was electric. Then Dom spoke. “What about it? You know this is a crucial year for us. Does this have anything to do with that woman you were with in Melbourne…Virginia something?”
    “Yes, it does.”
    “I knew it.” Dom said. “I had a bad feeling about her.”
    “Maybe you were picking up on the fact that she’s Cassia Festa’s granddaughter.”
    Dom’s face reddened. “Don’t mention that name in our house,” he said.
    “What does she want with you, mi figlio? ” asked his father.
    “She says she’s figured out a way to break the curse that Cassia put on Nonno and the family.”
    His mother leaned across the table. “How? Lorenzo asked every witch he knew, and all of them said that without the exact wording, it was impossible.”
    Marco stood up. “Virginia claims that the way to break the curse is for her to have my child.”
    “What?” Dominic yelled, his voice booming across the room.
    “Marco, that sounds crazy,” his father said.
    “I thought so, too, but…just listen to this. When Cassia put the curse on Lorenzo, she was angry at the death of her dream—husband, family and future. So she wanted to punish him in the same way. Make it so he could never have it all. But when she cursed him, she also cursed the Festa women. None have found happiness in love. Virginia has studied the wording of the curse and believes that if she bears a Moretti heir, the curse will be broken because Lorenzo’s legacy will fall to a Festa.”
    “Who would raise your child?” his mother asked.
    “I am having our attorney work on the details. I want to share the responsibility.” He paused, considering whether or not to share the rest. “Virginia thinks one key to breaking the curse is that she and I can’t fall in love.”
    “Is that a possibility?” Tony asked.
    “No,” Marco said, quickly denying the charge. He wasn’t going to entertain the thought of Virginia meaning more to him than an affair.
    Dom nodded. “So, what do you need from us?”
    “I’d like the both of you to come to the offices with me this morning to talk to our attorney. I told Virginia we had to have a contract if this was going to work.”
    “I agree,” Dom said. “We’ll be there.”
    “What about your mother and I?” his father asked.
    “I think you two should wait to meet her for now.”
    His mother nodded. “I agree. But we do want to meet this girl soon. After all, she’ll be the mother of our first grandchild.”

    The thing about the Moretti family, Virginia realized the next morning as she sat in a corporate boardroom at a prestigious law firm, was that they were a family. That Marco and his brothers all stuck together as a group was abundantly clear to her, and as she sat at the far end of the table by herself, she felt very small and alone—and very wistful.
    She never had the kind of bond that Marco had with his brothers, and she wanted that. Not only for herself, but for any child she might have.
    “Virginia, do you agree to the terms?” Marco asked.
    She hadn’t been paying attention and knew better than to just say yes. “May I have a few minutes to review everything?”
    “Certainly,” Marco said.
    Dominic Moretti was an intimidating man, and he looked like he wasn’t pleased to give her a few more minutes. In fact, his face had gotten tighter as she’d explained what she wanted and Marco’s attorney had taken notes, then relayed the terms of the contract Marco was proposing back to her. Antonio, Marco’s middle