Romano just waves a hand at Lorenzo like he can’t be bothered to explain.“Lay off, dad,” Christian bites out, staring hard at his father now, clearly drawing a line now that he’s warning his father not to cross. “Iris has endured enough at your hands, and she’s my wife now. There is going to be a c
“Antonio,” Bianca sighs, her shoulders slumping just slightly as she utters her single word of protest.Romano completely ignores her, glaring at both Christian and Tony. “Both of you. Fucking idiots. Don’t you fucking get it? This family – it requires strong wives to bear strong children, not weak,
“Then…why was he so mean?” I ask, pulling my door shut after me and starting on my seatbelt.“Because,” Christian replies, glancing at me as he starts the car and starts to pull out of the driveway and through the gates. “That’s dad. He’d honestly probably have been nicer if our meeting hadn’t gone
Christian and I don’t even make it to the penthouse. No, I’m already up in his arms, my legs wrapped around his waist while we’re still in the elevator. Christian groans roughly as he works to push my coat off, his mouth pressing hot against my neck.“Stupid fucking coat,” he growls, “should have le
“And, little wife,” he says, just as serious, still looking up into my face, “if you don’t let me fuck you right now….I am…going to die.”I burst out laughing at this, and Christian does too, just for a second before he curls his arms around me again and turns his whole body so that I’m pressed into
The next morning Christian wakes before me and presses a sweet kiss to my cheek before he heads into the bathroom for a shower and to generally clean up. I lounge in bed for a few moments by myself, stretching out, enjoying the fact that my husband has luxurious tastes and a seriously gigantic bed.
He blinks his eyes hard in disbelief and shakes his head before he smirks and pours syrup over the pancakes. “I married the right woman.”“Damn right you did,” I murmur, picking up two forks and handing him one, digging into my side of the stack as he does his. Christian smirks and considers me for
“All right,” Christian says, unconsciously straightening his shoulders as his face and his voice fall into a much more business-y sort of mode. He reaches for the salt, the pepper, and the sugar, placing all three next to each other on the table, presumably to help illustrate his plans. “Three diffe
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