Christian is gone…for days. By the end of the third, I can tell that Frankie is miserable and worried too, even if he is in touch with Christian all the time via phone. “Will you please let me read the text messages?!” I beg, lurching for the phone as we stand together in the kitchen. Frankie
“On your eyelashes,” I murmur, concentrating. “It’s very delicate – don’t mess with it, you’ll get it everywhere.” “How do you girls know all this stuff,” he murmurs, fascinated. “Mascara, eye liner, bronzer, foundation, blush, highlighter…” he shakes his head, baffled. “Frank!” I laugh, grabbin
“Well,” Christian says, crossing his arms as he continues to smirk at Frankie and me. “Isn’t this…cozy.” Frankie finally comes back to himself, jumping to his feet and spilling me out of his lap. I fall back onto the couch, mercifully, though I yelp and spill my entire makeup bag as I go. “Oh my
She smiles up at Christian, and he smiles back down at her, and I have never been a violent person but… Well. I have to fold my hands behind my back, don’t I? To keep from clawing her damn face off. “Come on,” Christian says, giving Violetta a little tug towards the bedroom. “Let me show you the
Nico looses a long breath between his teeth and starts towards the door, turning towards me as he mouths “don’t say a damn thing.” I shrug, helpless, glaring at him and hoping that he gets the message that I wasn’t planning to. God, why is he being so hard on me today? He’s acting like all of this
I swallow, hard. Because, I mean, I am interested to know what it is. “Is it dangerous?” I breathe, anxious. “Like, do you want me to…” “Join the mob?” he asks, raising an eyebrow. And then he bursts out laughing, though he’s the only one who sees the humor in it. He shifts his weight closer to
“Absolutely not,” Christian snaps, glaring at me like I already agreed to it. My mouth drops open as I stare back at him, and I surprise myself when I discover that I’m…I’m pissed. The rational part of me knows very well that he’s doing this to protect me. But still – my hackles raise when I see
More hurt than I want to admit by the events of the evening, I move into the hall. Behind me, I hear Violetta speak, even though I didn’t even realize she’d come back from Christian’s bedroom. “What’s…what’s the deal with you and her?” I hear Violetta ask Christian, suspicious and hesitant. “You s
A small smile creeps on Leo’s lips. “Yeah, okay,” he says, relaxing back against our chair. “Our secret.” I grin at my baby, leaning in to give him a kiss on the cheek, because my boy can’t resist a secret.“What’s all this?”I turn to see Christian standing at the open door, peering into the dining
The danger. It’s…it’s far too poignant.My heart breaking, I open a private browsing tab on the web browser and quickly search for Craigslist in both this city and Athens, Greece. As I do my memory goes back to a conversation I had with Frankie, when he told me that this is the best way he knows for
I stand frozen, staring down at the letter as it sits on the little hall desk, my breath coming in fluttery little gasps.The words are very simple.There are vineyards in Greece as well. I’ll take you there.I read it again and again as my heart pounds in my chest, each beat echoing with a mix of h
“You don’t know anything about my life,” I whisper, my voice barely audible, turning my eyes back down to the dishes. “I had no choice.”“You think you’re the only one who suffered?” Lucy whispers. “You think I wanted to be in this position? We were friends once, Iris. We were good to each other. Bu
“Mommyyyy,” Leo says, looking anxiously towards the kitchen door, shifting from foot to floor. “Hurry up! Aunt Bianca says we have to go!”I laugh, glancing down at my little boy, who looks so adorable in the private school uniform he wears to Kindergarten – crisp white shirt, navy blazer, his dark
But…was it? Was it me, missing Chris? Wanting to have yet another piece of him, even if I long denied wanting any ties to my past life?I look down, my heart heavy, not truly understanding what I think or what I feel.“I mean it, Iris,” Chris says, his voice steady and cool. “I’ll be a father to her
My heart sinks as I look Christian in the eyes – because beyond all hope, I had been praying that he hadn’t noticed that Leo is his son. But how could I have been so naïve? Leo looks just like him - dark hair, striking grey-blue eyes. The resemblance is unmistakable. I feel a wave of guilt crashing
“Yes,” he answers, a growl in his voice. “That should suit just fine.”I laugh at the irony in this and shake my head, looking away. “So now you want me to come back, to pretend as if nothing ever happened? You expect me to just accept this, the way things are now?”Christian opens his mouth to resp
Disappointment floods my chest, a sense of disbelief washing over me. “You think I would trust you again after everything? After how you treated me? You expect me to just come back and forget?”His eyes narrow, disappointment etched into his features. “You were faithless. I thought you’d be loyal. I