“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
A day alone with my very important gentleman Romulus ends up being way more fun than I thought it would. We ended up going out front to fetch Jerome because I figured that we were going to be here for a while and didn’t want him to be left alone out in the heat. This ended up being an amazing choice
I blush a little, embarrassed that it’s been that obvious. “You don’t get it, dad,” I say, tracing a finger along the wood of the bench before I look up into his eyes. “Daniel and I…we’re dedicated to one another.” “Dedication makes a better match than passion,” he says, considering. I blush a
Jerome and I stay at my father’s house for the next few hours, until dark begins to encroach on the day, mostly because…well, I can’t think of a graceful early exit that doesn’t make it look like I’m not scurrying off to Kent to tell him everything my father just said. Which, quite frankly, is exa
“What?” I gasp, shocked. I mean, I don’t know what the rules are, but I’m pretty damn sure it’s not okay to go poaching other boss’s men. Jerome just shakes his head, looking forward again, his whole body tense. “He wouldn’t be doing that if he didn’t know he could get away with it,” he murmurs. “
Jerome is actually a big help, prepping the gorgeous green dress and shoes that were left on my bed for me, and then picking out some jewelry to match, as I apply my makeup as fast as I can and quickly unbraid my hair and pin it on top of my head. We manage, somehow, to get me fully ready in under f
I watch Kent carefully as he smiles at the memory and then adds pieces of his own, making Natalia laugh – perhaps a little too hard – when he reminds her that that was the first time he ever had fois gras, and how much he hated it. The conversation passes mostly like this, with Natalia and Kent and
As subtly as I can, I sit back in my chair, lifting my glass of wine to my lips and pretending to take another sip as I slip my gaze towards Daniel, who is already looking at me with his eyebrows slightly raised. I flick my eyes away quickly, not wanting to give anything away, but grateful that he,
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