“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
I exhale slowly, my head drifting from side to side. “But I have not.”Christian nods, understanding. “I’m good at this,” he says, cupping my cheek with his palm. “And that’s not…hubris, my love. That’s me knowing this world. Again, I’m asking for your trust.”I study my husband for a moment and the
I stare, aghast, at my smiling husband. “Chris!” I shout, leaning forward to smack him on the shoulder. “Don’t look so excited about that, you idiot!”Christian bursts out laughing and leans forward, grabbing me and pulling me out of my chair, into his lap. “What? I can’t get excited at the prospect
Dusk is falling a few hours later when I pull the car up to the beach house and flick off the old-school navigation system, completely separate from the new burner phone Chrisitian gave me and untraceable.I heave a happy little sigh as I pull up to the secret little beach house, pleased to be here.
“Nothing’s going on here,” Nico snaps, turning and heading out the door without another word or look at me. “We’ll be in touch! Don’t leave the property!”“Yeah, yeah!” Frankie calls after Nico before turning to me and rolling his eyes. “He talks to me like I’m eight.”“Well,” I say, crossing my arm
The food, as I knew it would be, is delicious – and Frankie, despite his complaints about being obliged to help me cook, eats every bite and goes back for seconds. I grin as I watch him clean his plate, knowing that he only complained to make me laugh.He’s so good at that, making me laugh. Knowing
Anxiety wells in me because – I mean, he can’t be saying what I think he’s saying, right? No – I’m just thinking that because I’m impossibly vain and selfish.When really – there is another part of Frankie’s history that I’m willfully ignoring – one that apparently went much deeper than just a simpl
I sit up a little, my spine stiffening as my heart leaps right to Frankie’s defense. Lucy – she gave all of that up? Because her parents were mad?“How did she meet Tony?” I ask quietly.“Her parents set it up,” he replies, lifting his eyes to meet mine. “And – I mean, it was the right move by her p
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