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.
The party is, above all, impressive. Drinks are flowing, a whole twelve-piece band is at the back of the room playing hits from the fifties and sixties. Everyone is having a good time and, thank god, mostly ignoring me. Even though it’s technically my party, everyone’s too caught up in their own bu
Kent clenches his jaw as he observes my reaction. “Chin up, girl,” he says, his voice steady, giving me strength. “Meet him with pride.”I swallow and nod, trying to embody that. But inside I’m quailing.Daniel walks back over to me, his steps slowing and his face growing worried when he sees who I’
Alden narrows his eyes at me and looks back at Kent. I’m a little shocked, I admit, that he hasn’t addressed me yet. I stand awkwardly in front of him and Daniel quietly takes my hand, giving it a squeeze of support. “Is this for real, Lippert?” Alden asks, a threat behind his glare. Kent nods slo
And yet here I was, in the place she’d so desperately left. Why did I let myself get so wrapped up in this world? I cower away from my father. “Enough,” Kent’s voice rings out behind me, cool and calm. Alden turns angry eyes to him but Kent holds his ground. “I’m pleased to announce,” Kent says,
The party ended quickly after that. Alden left after one drink and, afterwards, since the apparent draw of the evening was gone, all of the rest of the guests began to filter out as well.As I watched them all leave – none saying a word to me, though they certainly looked me – I wondered about the p
A few horrible minutes pass when I consider what the hell will happen to me if people discover the Mafia Boss’s dead body in my room. But, during those minutes, Kent’s breath softens. The horrible, crinkled look of pain disappears and his face takes on its normal lines. He’s still sweaty and exhaus
The next morning, Kent is working in his office when a knock comes at the door.“Come in,” he calls, hardly paying attention. The door creeks open but no one says anything. Annoyed, Kent looks up, ready to tell whatever captain or guard was coming to report to get on with it and stop wasting his ti
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