“Oh my god, Daniel,” I spit, blushing beet red and leaning forward across the table. “Are you serious? Before coffee?” He leans back in his chair and glares at me. “What, do you think coffee is going to make this any better?” “Yah,” I say, snatching his own tiny espresso cup from its place in fr
I cock my head, curious about that. “Daniel,” Kent says, his voice even but unfriendly. “Don’t you have class to attend?” Daniel just crosses his arms, glaring at his dad and not responding. But Kent doesn’t rise to the bait. Instead, he turns to me. “Fay, I’d like you to go to lunch today at
At eleven, I walk through the door to the garages, a sigh on my lips. I see Jerome immediately, waiting by one of the black cars. He gives me a big smile, which I return unenthusiastically. It’s not him – I just…really don’t want to go to lunch at my father’s house. Jerome gives me an understand
“Oh,” I say, frowning and feeling guilty all of a sudden. “I didn’t mean to – I’m sorry –“ “Romulus,” Tristin calls, and I look up at her, still standing stern by the door. Romulus lets go of me and runs to her. I follow closely behind. Tristin gives me a steady stare as I climb the steps to
My father is shooting out of his chair, Tristin going pale across the room and gathering Romulus close to her side. My father strides towards me, his face livid with rage, a shade of red I haven’t seen before on a human face. I back away quickly, bumping hard into the doorway as I go but eager to ge
Jerome and I come back a few hours later after an afternoon of light chat. We kept it easy, neither of us wanting to address the elephant between us. Instead, we talk mostly about horses. When we enter the house we’re too busy laughing, the dregs of our milkshakes still in our hands, to notice Kent
I surprise myself with my wicked grin, then, as I look down at him. Because this, at least – this cat and mouse game? It’s familiar ground. And really, I do know, after last night, that Kent isn’t going to enforce that contract if I don’t want him to. He wants me to want it. And, if I’m honest? Af
I pull the moccasins onto my feet and move slowly towards the sound, not really knowing how to feel about it all. The cruel, controlled Kent I know how to handle. But this Kent… I pull the door open, curious to face him, but then blink in surprise when I see Daniel standing there. “Oh,” I say, m
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