The two of us are very, very still for the next few moments, and as it turns out I’m the one who can’t take it. I break the silence, the stillness, taking a sharp inhale of breath and moving closer to him and pressing my body up against his. Because – despite everything – despite the threat – I
“Just briefly,” Kent murmurs, grabbing my left hand and pulling it to his mouth, kissing my knuckles like a prince and then turning my hand over and starting to drag kisses up the length of my forearm. “Not as long as it’s been on your hand, even,” he murmurs against my skin, trying to distract me.
And then I close my eyes, ready for sleep, and am surprised when Kent raises a hand, bringing it up to gently stroke his fingers down the length of my hair. “My refuge, Fay,” Kent answers, his words hardly more than a whisper. “You’re peace.” ______________________________ The next morning I’m
“Hey,” I protest, smiling up at Kent as he brushes a thumb against the underside of my breast. “I thought you wanted me to get up?” “I wanted you to wake up,” he replies, sighing a little contented breath through his nose. “Out of bed is…harder.” “Fine by me,” I murmur, turning my face up toward
I stare at Kent for a second, shocked and confused. What, really, is he asking me? “I’m serious, Fay,” Kent continues. “What’s your price? An adjustment to the contract? Money? A condo in Milan?” I go still for a moment, considering that a condo in Milan sounds amazing – But then I turn fully
Natalia already talks to me like I’m a stupid little girl whose role in this family is strictly as an ornament, if that. In many ways she looks at me as less than that - as a weight, a detriment, someone who cannot take care of Daniel (which she implies is my job) and a silly little nothing who dist
Natalia goes perfectly still, except for her eyes, which narrow almost to slits. “Who are you going to see?” she asks, her voice sharp. “Family business, Natalia,” I murmur, aloof, taking a big sip of my coffee and then placing it on the table. “You understand.” “Family?” she asks, leaning for
“Gotta go see an important man,” I reply, giving a little shrug. “Which one?” he asks, genuinely curious. “Nooooooo idea,” I say. Then, I cock my head. “Want to come with?” Jerome hesitates, looking towards the kitchen, but I grab him by the arm. “Oh, come on,” I say, pushing him towards the g
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