Slowly, I turn back to Natalia, having no idea what to do. “I knew it,” Natalia says the moment I turn to look at her, shaking her head at me but unable to suppress her smile. “I knew you were up to something, little Fay,” she continues, taking a few slow steps towards me. “I knew you didn’t love
We’re all absolutely silent in the limousine on the way home. Kent sits in the back corner of the car by the door, resting his forehead in his hand and staring down at his knees. While he’s still and silent, I can feel the tension radiating off of him – a mix of anger, and anxiety, and something els
I open my mouth to say something but Daniel just takes my arm and pulls me towards the stairs. I scowl but follow, holding my tongue and glaring over my shoulder at Kent’s tense form as he looks into the night. “Easy,” Daniel murmurs to me, like you would to a spooked horse, so I turn my glare on
I groan again, pulling a pillow over my face in my frustration, not wanting to ask these questions and hating that I can’t stop my mind from going there. I’m still furiously upset and need to take out my emotions on something, so I kick my feet against my mattress again and again, hard, before falli
“God damn it, Fay,” Kent bites out, taking a step towards me, even more livid now than he was when he summoned me down here. “What, Kent,” I seethe, my voice low and slow as I close the distance between us so that there’s just inches between our chests. I glare up at him, inviting him, frankly, to
There’s nothing soft, or sweet, or polite, or playful about what happens next. Kent’s mouth is hard on mine, all tongue and teeth and frustrated rage. I meet him at every stroke, pushing him back against the wall and tearing first at his suit jacket, trying to push it off his shoulders – wanting
Kent starts to meet me now, learning my rhythm, pulsing hard up into me every time I flick my hips forward. And then, as I come close to the edge of it, my back curling forward and my release breaking through – A groan breaks from Kent’s lips – a hard, desperate thing as he buries his face again
“What!” I shriek, shocked, a noise that makes Kent laugh. “Kent!” I hiss in a whisper, remembering that this is apparently a secret and that I should be quiet, “put me down! I need my pants!” “No, you don’t,” he replies, laughing a little with derision as he climbs. “Those ugly shorts – where di
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