When Kent walks into his office, he’s surprised to see Daniel standing there, staring out the window, watching a car pull away. “Who is in that car?” Daniel asks. Kent crosses to his desk and sits down in his chair, folding his hands. He takes a moment to study his son. Daniel is tall, handsome, c
His thoughts turn, then, to those moments in the club, when he had been fooling Dean into thinking Fay was his plaything. Fooling himself, really. He had been hard as a rock, looking down at her supple form, that soft curve of her breast after he snapped the strap of her dress – Kent blinks, bringi
I’m laying back on my bed, all cried out, when I hear a knock at my door. I raise my head and groan inwardly. What’s next?Before I can get up to answer it, the door creeks open a little. I sigh. No such thing as privacy in the Mafia palace. “Fay?”My mouth drops open as I hear a voice that I recog
“Daniel,” I say, my heart going out to him. “Why is it such a big deal? It’s the twenty-first century – it’s so backwards to think that way about sexual orientation –““You don’t understand,” he says, shaking his head and looking down at the floor. “It’s a different world here, Fay – that’s why I sp
I spend a restless night in my new room. When the clock reads 7:00, a knock comes at my door and it opens without waiting for a response. I glare and make a mental note to somehow get a lock. “Ah! You’re awake.” The same woman who dressed me last night bustles into the room. “You’re already late, m
A blush spreads across my cheek and nose. Why is he looking at me like that?“So you like it,” Kent says, his voice low, possessive. “I do,” I say, hesitating. “Is there something extra…”“Amaretto,” he says. “Adds notes of apricot and bitter almonds.”“It’s delicious,” I say, holding his gaze whil
Fiona finishes saying good morning to Kent and stops at our little table on the way out.“This beauty must be Fay,” she says as she arrives, giving me a big smile. She has a thick New York accent, a little like Fran Drescher, and I can’t help but be charmed by her sweet, brusk nature. “It’s nice t
She shrugs, beckoning me over to her. “Personal shoppers, mostly. Kent likes to look good, but he doesn’t like to go to stores.” I join her at a velvet settee in front of a trifold mirror. “The rest,” she says, “are…gifts. Donations.”I cock my head at her, confused.She gives me a wink. “You know.
My dad greets him with such genuine joy and excitement that it makes my heart swell with joy. They talk for a few minutes about Dominic’s day before dad gives him a little nudge back towards the gate where Kent and I are waiting. Dominic gives dad a kiss before running ahead again. My dad waves to
“Papa!” Dominic shouts, startling me out of my reverie as he drops my hand and darts down the road. I look up, a huge smile breaking out on my face again as I see Kent on the sidewalk just ahead. His back is to us as he speaks companionably with the butcher, a heavy bag of his purchases already hung
As I walk down the street towards the little Italian kindergarten, the whispers start around me, as they always do. I listen to all of them, a big German Shepherd padding quietly at my heels. “Is that her?” “Yes, that’s the one – I heard she was her husband’s mistress before he married her – tha
Both Kent and I laugh, but Don Bianci – across the baptismal font from us – snaps his eyes up, perhaps not liking the joke as much as we do. But I just ignore it, because dad’s right, frankly – and it’s too happy a day to care. After the final blessing everyone applauds Dominic – he likes that, bl
“Well, it didn’t seem to affect your first very badly,” Ivan says with a shrug, peering around Kent to where Daniel is laughing with an arm around Jerome’s shoulders. “So…maybe keep it up.” I smirk, squeezing Ivan’s hand once more before standing and moving to Kent’s side, tucking myself against h
“Hey, gorgeous,” Ivan says, his mouth turned up in a smirk as I cross the churchyard, beaming at him. “Look who’s talking,” I say, laughing and reaching for him when I come close enough. Ivan wraps me in a hug, dropping a kiss to my cheek as I hold Dominic a bit to the side so he doesn’t get squis
He laughs, smiling at me genuinely. “Do I make you nervous?” he asks, blunt. I laugh, unable to help it. “Has no one bothered to tell you, in all these years, that you’re a little terrifying, Don Bianci?” He grins and shakes his head at me. “Well, considering what you accomplished, young lady, I
Two months later, we’re all gathered together again. And it is only with frustration that I see Gio and Janeen standing so close together that their arms nearly brush, even though they’re still not together. I roll my eyes, dismissing the problem for a moment as I move my eyes down to Dominic and
It's an incredible night. Kent didn’t lie, not at all, about the food either. I’m shocked by the mountains of dishes that continue to follow each other, one after another, long into the night. After a few hours of it I just mournfully watch the waiters go by because I couldn’t eat another bite if I