And then up at Kent, who stands stoic at my side, his arm still passively around me, his face…blank. Or at least, blank to the casual observer. But I know him now – I can see in his stillness how hard he is working to not let anything show. And deep beneath it all, I know a great well of emotion i
“We were desperate, nonno,” Daniel says, stepping forward. “It’s my fault, it was my idea –“ Bianci just presses his lips together, waving a dismissive hand at Daniel. “No one believes that you thought of this Daniele,” Bianci says, dismissive, turning his gaze back to me. “It is all this grasping
She folds her arms, clearly letting Bianci decide. He glares at his wife, livid, for a long moment. And then he shocks me by exhaling a deep breath, covering his face with his hand and murmuring something that I can’t hear. Kent’s arm tenses around me, and I can tell that he is surprised as well
Kent sighs, shaking his head after Natalia as Nonna crosses the room, smiling at me so happily that her eyes nearly close with her joy. She murmurs softly to me in Italian, reaching for the baby, who I pass willingly into her arms. “Welcome to the family, Fay,” Bianci says, his voice still a littl
“Oh, it’s so pretty,” I murmur, looking around and pressing a hand to my chest. Kent translates my words to Nonna, who beams at me before pulling me forward to the bed. She tugs back the fluffy white duvet, patting the sheets and gesturing vehemently for me to get in. I laugh a little, glancing ba
“He just said he’ll kill us all if we don’t treat you like a queen,” Valentina says with a sigh, wrinkling her nose at me. I start a little in surprise, laughing at the violence that stands alongside the sweet sentiment of the message, but Valentina just laughs too. “A very Italian thing to say,” sh
Kent moves quickly through the hallways of the house, eager to get back to the study and control the conversation there. Because as much as Bianci gave in on the deal, Kent knows that man – he’s going to do everything he can to squeeze every last cent he can. And considering that Kent left Bianci
“You’ll pay for this,” Natalia hisses under her breath. “Kent Lippert – you’ll pay, and so will she. I’ll die before I let you get away with this.” And then Natalia turns, striding down the hall towards her own room to begin her plans. Hours later, when everything is finished, Kent walks slowly
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