And then I scowl again, realizing that he’s right. That I have no reason, on the surface, to mind that Kent is looking down at Natalia like the long-lost-love she might very well be. So I turn my attention back to Daniel, taking another big swig out of my glass of wine as he leads me over to the t
The food at dinner does me no favors by being absolutely delicious. The salad is tart and citrussy, the lasagna creamy and rich, the desert – coconut sorbet which Natalia annoyingly made from scratch – basically makes me moan when I taste it. And I grudge every bite that I take, wishing to hell an
Something about this – about Daniel coming at Ivan when he is too scared to tell his daddy that he doesn’t like his process – really gets under my skin. “What,” I say, crossing my arms and glaring at him. “Ivan’s as much of a boss as Kent is. And now suddenly he’s full of shit, just because he’s you
To my chagrin, the first photograph in the book is one of Kent with his arm wrapped around Natalia’s shoulders, grinning at the camera while Natalia crosses her arms and gives the camera saucy look. But as I look closer at it, I can’t help but smile and laugh a little. Because Kent looks so much l
And as I calm down, and let myself be distracted from what are, arguably, the more important questions…I find myself starting to become intrigued. The first time I came down here into this basement, I had been way too embarrassed to truly engage with this literature, no matter how much Fiona encou
Kent stares at me for a moment, going completely still – not even blinking. I think he even forgets to breathe. And then he hauls in a hard breath, choking on it a little as he take a stumbling step back. I can’t help but laugh, thrilled a little at the result. It’s not often that anyone sees Kent
“You asked me for this favor, Fay,” he murmurs, not touching me yet but sending a shiver through me regardless. “You asked me to teach you. Is that right?” “Yes,” I breathe, feeling my breath already starting to come fast. “So, you’re going to listen,” he says sharply, “when I tell you what to d
Once Kent is unzipped I fold my fingers over the edge of his pants and his boxer-briefs, tugging down, and Kent helps me, pushing at the back of his pants so that they fall all at once to the floor. And then I’m suddenly quite intimately face-to-face with his rock-hard dick. I blink in surprise, d
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