“I know,” I say, placing my hand over hers. “But it’s really not like that, Janeen. I shouldn’t have said anything at all. I’m not doing anything against Kent – it’s just…Daniel and I have something planned that he would probably rather us not do.” “Really,” she says, her eyes flaring a little wit
I frown a little as I realize that it’s kind of true – Kent and I don’t really make sense. I mean, we don’t have any mutual hobbies, we had completely different life paths until fate forced us together, and hell – we’re even from different generations. But Kent and I? We work. It’s just…I gues
My stomach audibly grumbles as I stand up and Daniel grins at me as I wrap my arm in his, Janeen coming to his other side. “I take that as an eager yes?” he says, grinning at me as we walk up the stairs. “As long as there’s garlic bread,” I say, lifting my nose towards the house, where the smell
Scowling a bit – honestly, I’m not as much of a disaster in the kitchen as any of them imply – I settle in next to Janeen. She leans over and gives me a big smacking kiss on the cheek and I laugh, but even as I shove her away we both know that all is forgiven. Nothing to forgive, really – I’m used t
“Wait, wait!” Janeen calls out, hustling to Daniel’s side and smacking him on the arm before he can climb into the car. “He said the present was for me – how do you know this one isn’t mine?” “Because it’s mine,” Daniel says, dismissing her and climbing into the driver’s seat, clearly excited. Jer
We all stay up very late that night, gathered around a fire pit just off to the left of the pool. I’m curled up next to Kent, his arm around me on a little outdoor loveseat as my family laughs and chats around the fire. As the night grows darker and the stars start to come out, I find myself thinkin
Today, Kent’s mouth is a little open, his face pillowed against his own bicep, and he’s completely out. I resist the urge to run my fingers through his hair and kiss his cheek, not wanting to tempt fate. Instead, I just sigh a little and slowly get out of bed, moving for the door the moment my fee
“Maserati,” I murmur as I slide into the front seat of Daniel’s new car, not forgetting Kent’s promise to buy me my own car if I can learn the names of the others. “What?” Daniel asks as he turns the car on while I buckle my seatbelt. “Nothing,” I sigh, looking at our dark villa, my eyes in part
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