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,
As I do, Kent turns to glare at me, for just a moment, his expression clearly communicating you’re going to pay for that. I just blink up at him for a second, my fierce eyes saying I’d better. And then I turn back to Daniel, smiling at him and joining in on the laughter even though I have no id
“I’m sorry, Fay,” Alessi says again, leaning across to me and reaching out his hand to take mine, true sorrow on his face. “You are a lovely girl, I like you very much. I know this cannot be easy to hear, but it is…business.” “I’m sorry,” Daniel says, putting his hand out to stop Alessi’s from r
Daniel slides in with me and I lean against him as soon as he pulls the door shut, wanting his steady presence and his warmth. He wraps an arm around me as he gives the driver orders, though the address he tells him is certainly not home. “Where are we going?” I ask, looking up at him. “For
Daniel blinks at me for another second, I think a little appalled at my suggestion that he kill his uncle, before he sees the irony on my face and realizes that I’m making a dark joke. A bad joke, admittedly, but one I hope will break the tension. Thankfully, Daniel does laugh, shaking his head an
I quickly type out a reply: Hey, it’s Fay. Daniel and I went out for drinks to blow off steam. We’re safe. We just…don’t want to be around them right now. All right? I wait a few moments and am pleased when a text comes right back. All right. Come home tonight. I want both of you here, safe.
Jerome and I get Daniel into the house with relatively little trouble, though Daniel’s loud humming of the Gilligan’s Island theme song has me looking anxiously up the stairs. The absolute last thing I want right now is Natalia coming out of her bedroom to scold me for getting her baby boy drunk.
But as I put my hand in his and let him pull me across his body, I also think that he usually finds ways to make it worth my while. “Baby Fay,” he murmurs, smirking down at me, “making fun of this old man.” He considers me for a moment and then says, quite seriously, “I could have you killed for t
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