[Dawn.]By the time I pick myself up off the floor, do a happy dance, and then force myself not to text Sophie excitedly, I get dressed and I allow myself one cup of coffee before tidying up and putting on my shoes.I grab the keys for the car and then, losing all orderly manners, I run for my car and drive excitedly for Aldo’s.The traffic can’t even piss me off as I make my way across town. The humidity doesn’t even bother me, as it frizzes my hair and makes my car stink like a jar of pickles.The sun burning off the puddles doesn’t blind me but dazzles me. I feel so high, so full of hope, that it seems nothing can pull me back down to earth. As I park in front of Aldo’s apartment building and see the kids all hurrying to the side of the street to let traffic pass, I imagine that someday it will be our kids.Our kids...Will there be more?The thought fills me with warmth. I’m giddy. I practically skip all the way to his door. I practically throw the gate open that leads to the rear
[Aldo]“That ain’t a part of this conversation!” he yells.I put my controller down too. “You’re gonna say all this and then expect me to tell you everything?”“You’ve always been the one with secrets” Andre shoots, folding his arms.“What the fuck are you on about? We’ve just been working together for the last two weeks and you bring it up now? Like fuck, I’m not sorry, if this is how you're acting now.”“You’re gonna apologize and then take it back?” Andre says, looking at me like I’m a bug under his boot. “Let me guess, now you’re gonna hold the fact that you got me the job from Luca over my head too?”“The fuck is up your dickhole?” I snap. “Your prison pen pal bitch break it off with you over a letter?” I gesture at the paper next to him.He reddens. That’s pushed him over the edge. “Fuck you, man!” Andre stands. “I got no issues stomping a backstabber!”I rise too. “A backstabber? You’re the mother fucker who kept secrets about the fucking Russians. Yeah, I know. Those mother fu
[Dawn]The sun sets by the time we realize we’ve been on the couch for an hour like this. Aldo is still tender in the ribs, and he groans slightly as he sits up. I slide out and run to his fridge to find some ice or peas to press against his face. We’ve literally been sitting in silence while I stroked his hair and he lay in my arms. The whole time I thought about telling him, but never did.I come back, and he tries to get up. “No, back,” I command, pushing him with one finger.He groans but doesn’t fight it. He even exhales a satisfied breath when I press the cold ice pack to his face. It turns out there’s barely anything in his fridge, and it turns out there’s barely anything in the freezer too. I was lucky to find the pack.“He hits hard,” he says, finally talking of the fight. “I guess he’s just pissed off.”“At what, though? Who‘re these Russians? What’s the note?” I ask, intertwining my fingers and scratching nervously at my leg.Aldo pauses for a few beats and then makes him
[Dawn]“This morning,” I whisper, feeling my heartbeat thrum in my ears. “I was on my way here to tell you. I just—well, these last few weeks have been so tough. And missing you has made me sick to the core, you know? And well, I thought the nausea was just me being overly dramatic.”My voice cracks slightly, and I pause, feeling the weight of my emotions press against my chest. The room seems smaller now, quieter, as if everything is holding its breath for what I’ll say next.“But after it hung around for the second week, and became a bit more intense, I well—” I stop again, my words faltering. My throat tightens as my nervousness takes over. I keep fucking saying ‘well.’ My fingers fidget against the hem of my shirt. “So I rushed down to the corner store and bought some tests...”Aldo’s face shifts, his expression caught between disbelief and joy. His eyes sparkle, and the bruises on his face can’t hide the grin spreading across his lips. “And you waited until now to tell me?”
[Aldo]It’s been three days since Andre disappeared, and I’ve been working myself non-stop. Luca, I should correct myself, has had me working non-stop. Andre was my friend after all. And it is my friend who has made off with over three hundred K in goods and disappeared. We haven't heard anything from anywhere or anyone. We’ve got all our ears open and are even talking with other families. If anyone hears even a mouse fart, Luca is going to know.Which means my meeting today isn't a good one.I grind to a stop on the gravel driveway and get out of the car. I look back down at the entrance again. It was Rocko who let me in. Rocko, who had been on duty with Sophie all those years ago when she escaped and began dating Luca. Rocko, who wasn’t even working for Luca when she slipped past him. Luca was still keeping him as a guard because of her father's wishes. If he’s still playing guard after all these years, what the hell is gonna happen to me?The world feels like it's trying to bur
[Aldo]Luca sits back down. “Potentially. Leandro began asking around through his people after you dropped the van off. He was looking for any current contracts out on anyone. In the process he discovered the abandoned car that had been crashed when it tried to take you out. The men, rather than get it towed, set that on fire too. He had the plates traced with his connections and expected it to head back to Kumarin, he is a cautious man after all, but it went somewhere else upstate. It went to a fish packing facility that led to somewhere else. A rabbit den of trouble later, it eventually wound up linked to a laundromat business that belonged to someone that Kumarin knew of. Alexei’s first son.”All the while I’d been hearing this I was sinking lower in the chair. I was reeling from Andre’ death, and yet pissed off that he’d attempted to do what he’d done. Had he always been like this? Had Dawn always been right about him and I’d been blind? And why the fuck was the room so fuckung
[Dawn]Sophie is standing in front of me, trying to block the way back to the bedroom from the bathroom.“No,” I repeat. “I’m refusing, not because it isn't a nice gesture of yours.”“But you’re in danger,” Sophie implores. “Fucking Russian danger.”“I know,” I say, squeezing under her arm and putting my bag of toiletries on the bag I’ve packed to take to my mothers. “My mother is also in danger.”“She’s welcome as well!” Sophie throws up her hands.“You don’t understand though, Soph, it’s not the place. It’s not that you’re offering help; it’s that my mother is comfortable in her home. She doesn’t know that Andre died because of the Russians, she’s grieving because her son died in a car crash. If we come to your house, I have to explain everything else her son was up to since he left home.”I fought to keep the tears of frustration from breaking through. All I wanted to do was move in with Sophie and Luca too, to hide away and let the problem be sorted out. But Aldo had already bee
[Dawn]Sophie looks around the apartment and then does a double take on me. “Well, you’re definitely staying with us now—”“No,” I say, putting up my hands.“Yes!” Sophie tries pulling me off the bed to a standing position. “All this stress is horrible for a baby. “You’ll cause all these issues and you’ll—”“Need I remind you what you went through while pregnant?”“Please don’t,” Sophie says, pursing her lips. “You know that what I went through was horrible for my pregnancy. Which is why I don’t wish it upon anyone else.” She tries pulling me along again.“You can’t convince me otherwise, Soph.” I pull back, leaning back onto the bed.“Well, then I’ll have to—” Sophie is spluttering along, trying to understand my insanity. “You can’t! You just can’t do this.”“I have to Sophie,” I grab her hand now. “You of all people understand duty and honor and all that.” She grunts at me and frowns. “Low of you to use my father’s words against me.” She squints in fury at me.I snort and pet her ha
AIDANThe girls spent the afternoon sightseeing and shopping but came back by the evening as promised because I’d told them I would treat them to dinner to celebrate Lila’s new internship. I was proud of my daughter for her accomplishments. The law firm she would be interning for was a prestigious one, and it would definitely beef up her resume. As much as I wanted to celebrate this milestone with her, I was also hoping to calm the waters with Clio.After they left, I paced in my room, realizing that I had come on pretty strong. I didn’t want Clio to feel like she was trapped here with me. That was the last thing I wanted actually.Mentally, I scrolled back through the last couple of years. Lila and I spoke on the phone several times a week. I’d heard about her friend Clio countless times. Lila had described her as shy but funny and insanely talented (her words). She’d also told me before she drove down to Malibu that her friend would be coming with her because she’d had a really shit
CLIO“You know that internship that I applied for? That one right here in Malibu?” she asked. I remembered which one she was talking about. Lila had applied to a couple of internships at a couple of law offices, one back home and one in Malibu. She’d gotten the one back home but was denied the one in Malibu, and when that happened, she decided to just take the summer off and hang out at the beach house. “The office called and left me a message yesterday and said that the intern they’d selected changed his mind at the last second. They wanted to know if I would still be interested. Well, of course I called them right back, but I could never get a hold of anyone, so we’ve been playing phone tag, but that was them. I got it!”“That’s amazing, sweetheart!” Aidan said, sweeping his daughter into a bear hug.“That is awesome, Rea, congratulations!” I told her.She moved partially out of her dad’s embrace and beckoned me over. “Get over here, girl, this is a group hug moment.” Really? I th
CLIOWhen I’d returned to the beach house just a short time before, I’d been on cloud nine. I hadn’t been planning on giving Lila every nitty gritty detail of what happened on the beach that morning between me and a gorgeous, mysterious, older man. But I had been excited to share how I’d tried something new, and I’d been assertive about what I wanted and the universe had rewarded me with a kind, hot man and the first orgasm I hadn’t given to myself.Lila had returned with bags of food bursting at the seams with some of her own good news. Looking at one another, each of us could tell that what we had to share would take a while, so we decided to hold off so I could go clean up and change out of my wet clothes and she could get lunch set up.I’d taken a little longer in the shower than I’d planned. Once the warm water streamed down my body, I found all the sensitive places that Aidan had touched waking up again. It was almost like no one had ever touched me before him, and while it was
AIDAN “You’ve got to have one first in order for me to worry about it,” she huffed with a raised eyebrow, then her face fell. I could practically see the question written all over her face before she asked it. “Dad, you’re not still hung up on Mom, are you?”I barked out a laugh, unable to help my response at the ridiculous idea. “What? No,” I said firmly. The idea was truly laughable. For one thing, Renee and I had truly burned every bridge when we split. The only remaining tie we’d had was Lila, and that tie was severed the second Lila graduated high school. For another, it had been twelve years since our separation, and it felt like a lifetime ago.“I didn’t really think so,” Lila responded. “I just want to make sure. I know you made sure to keep that stuff away from me when I was growing up, but Dad, I’m a grown woman. I am more than capable of the idea of my dad being in a relationship.” At that moment, an image of Clio popped into my head. God, I had to be rusty. I’d spent an
AIDANI emerged from the water for the umpteenth time, glancing at the shoreline. Once Clio left, I’d gone back into the water, trying desperately to work off my frustration, but I couldn’t keep my mind off her.I’d decided to head down to Malibu a couple of days early. I didn’t think Lila would mind, and I couldn’t face another day in the office listening to entitled rich people whine about their issues.When I arrived, Lila’s things were spread out, but she was nowhere to be found. I figured she and her girlfriend were out, so I decided to take a walk and go for a swim. The morning and the water were too beautiful to pass up.The sand immediately began to relax me. Then I spotted her: a beautiful young woman with generous curves standing in the water. She wasn’t used to the ocean, but she seemed determined to gain her sea legs. I walked along the beach, watching her surreptitiously. It might’ve been a little creepy, but I couldn’t help myself. From where I was, she faced away from m
CLIOI’d never been told anything like that before and certainly not by a gorgeous man plucking at my nipple through my bikini top while I writhed beneath him. I grabbed his face in my hands and kissed him again, if only to distract myself into calming down, though it quickly became evident that calming down was not going to be a possibility. Remembering my goal of being more assertive, I gave in and let my hands roam over Aidan’s body. I ran my hands over his broad shoulders and down his chest and abdominal muscles that flexed beneath my fingers. I could feel his desire pressed against my thigh, but I didn’t let my fingers go there just yet, instead letting them dance at the waistband of his trunks.He stilled then and gently moved my hands away from his waistband and pinned them on either side of my head. “Not yet, Clio. Not before I make you come.” His voice was husky, and the words he’d uttered made me feel like I was on fire. “Tell me you want that,” he said, and I was delighted
CLIO“You mean other than saving a beautiful woman from the current?” He smiled, and I felt my blush all the way down to my toes. He chuckled softly at my reaction and continued, “I found myself suffering from work burnout and decided I needed to get away for a while, recalibrate. You?”“Same. I mean, not from work or anything. Maybe I’m just burned out on life? It’s just been a really hard few months, and I’m looking to work on myself—recalibrate like you said,” I told him.“And what is it that you’re trying to work on exactly?” he asked, looking a little skeptical but still good-natured.“I’m working on being more assertive, of taking charge of my life…not worrying about what other people think and doing more things that scare me,” I told him, surprised at how easily I opened up to this man.“Is that what the swimming was about? Doing something that scared you?” he asked, floating closer toward me.“Yeah. I don’t want to miss out on opportunities just because of fear,” I said.“Are
CLIOI sat in the sand, heaving in breaths, as the man squatting beside me rubbed soothing circles on the small of my back. I pushed my wet mop of hair out of my face and finally looked into possibly the most beautiful set of eyes I’d ever seen. I didn’t think I had ever seen eyes that color before. They were slate gray and kind as he stared down at me. “There you are,” he said softly. “You’re okay, just take it easy.” He was still rubbing circles on my skin when I managed to clear my airways enough to respond.“I-I-I don’t know what happened,” I stuttered out.“I saw you go into the water, and when you didn’t come back out, I figured something was wrong. First time in the ocean?” he asked in a silky voice. I couldn’t decide if it was the sound of his voice or shock making my flesh break out with goosebumps.“Yes,” I admitted, “and apparently my last.” I shot him a sheepish smile. I met his eyes but quickly tore them away, feeling my face burn with embarrassment.“Don’t say that,”
CLIOLila had not been exaggerating when she described the paradise that was her father’s beach house in Malibu. While I understood that where we lived in Northern California was beautiful in its own right, we spent most of our time there in classrooms and at work. Here, the white, sandy beaches stretched for miles, the vast, blue water sparkled before us, and best of all, we didn’t know a soul there. It was heaven.On the drive down to Malibu, I’d spilled my guts about the whole incident that led to me agreeing to come with Lila. She shook her head in disgust after my story was over. “I know you cared about him, but Michael really is a rat bastard. Honestly, I think you should start looking at this as a bullet dodged instead of a heartbreak.”“I know.” I sighed. “I just want to start over and get away from the old Clio.”“Hey, I happen to love the ‘old Clio’ as you call her. But I’ll support you in whatever way you wish to reinvent yourself. You want to start wearing dark eyeliner