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
I drag my hand down my face and force myself to look at Kent. He’s looking right at me, of course, from his place outside the room. Looking at me as I sit in the clothes he sent, having a movie night with his son. “Is it a surprise?” Daniel asks, working hard to pull Kent’s attention back to him.
“That’s so weird,” Daniel whispers, all in a rush, and then collapses back onto the bed. I smile at Daniel, laughing a little, but then my laughter fades as I look carefully at the dress in my hands and wonder…well, wonder if I maybe got too used to this. Maybe I haven’t thought enough about how w
A few hours later, I’m leading Heathcliff back into the stables from our ride. We didn’t go in the ring today, but instead spent most of the early afternoon trotting around the property, admiring the scenery. It’s a beautiful landscape with beautiful vistas and as I rose I resented, a little, that I
“But this isn’t my job, Kent,” I reply, feeling my lower lip start to shake a little with unhappiness. Unhappiness I’m not sure I’ve fully acknowledged in a while. Because I’ve been…excited? About some of the changes in my life, and in my relationship? But if I really consider what they actually mea
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