When I come out of the shower and move back into my bedroom I’m pleased to see that my clothes for the day have arrived – riding clothes, thank god - and even more pleased to see a little note on top. I scurry over and grab the little white envelope, ripping it open. It’s a simple, short note – as
“Whoa,” I say, picking up my coffee cup and raising it to my lips. “Rough night, Danny?” Daniel lifts his head and glares at me a little. “Who told you to call me that?” I laugh a little wickedly and blow on my coffee before taking a sip. “No one. I just heard a little bird call you it.” I wrinkle
The days pass quickly now that I no longer have entertaining Natalia and Alessi tying me up, and they start to fall into a familiar pattern. Breakfast with Daniel, then mornings and early afternoons at the stable, burning off my anxiety and my energy. Late afternoons are spent in my bedroom with Dan
“You know this is weird, Fay,” Daniel says to me today, after about two weeks of this pattern. “Super weird that you go fuck my dad every night and bring me coffee in the morning after I sleep alone in your bed.” “Don’t be jealous,” I scold, plopping down on the bed with my own little cup, “just be
But I clench my jaw and look away from Natalia clinging to Kent’s arm, knowing that we’ve made a decision about how to play this. And that I’ve got to stick to it. “Let her,” Kent said to me a few weeks ago as we laid tangled in the sheets of his dark room. “Let her think that I’m considering her a
And then, before we can object, she just laughs and walks away. “Are seriously we doing this?” I ask Daniel, leaning forward so he can hear my whisper. He glances for a moment at his dad, who studies us with chagrin as Natalia moves back to his side. “I think we have to,” he murmurs as Kent gives
“Wow, Fay,” Daniel says, making me jump as he comes to stand next to me. “I thought you were bad at hiding your jealousy this morning, but it’s got nothing on this.” And I cringe a little as I look up into Daniel’s face. He smirks down at me as I realize how completely obvious I’m being. “Sorry,” I
“What?” I ask innocently, trying to hide my smile. “Fay,” Jerome growls, quickly pulling into a spot as far away from Ivan’s car as possible. “What the hell are you playing at this time?” “Kent knows,” I say evenly with a little shrug, speaking the truth. I told him this morning. He hadn’t been h
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