He shook his head with a purse of his lips.
She’d forgotten to introduce them and he’d been forced to be a little social. She smiled a little. She wasn’t that sorry.
“I can’t believe I got beat by an old century looking house,” a smile teasing on his lips.
Her own smile widened behind her fingers.
“You love it that much?”
She nodded.
“Take your time,” he said, and with that, he turned and began to walk away, disappearing from her view.
Nelson gave her a thumbs up and then quickly followed. Not long after, the sound of his conversational voice carried to her as he gave Rafe a tour, quick to mention which were her favorite parts of the house.
It took her about thirty minutes to read and re-read the contract before she was sure she was ready to sign. As much as she loved the house, she was about to make the biggest decision of her life, financially and emotionally.
Talia’s heart beat wildly at what she assumed he was saying without actually saying it. The man had a habit of not answering to the obvious. Actually no, he did. He stared, like he was at the moment.You are jumping to conclusion Talia. Pump the brakes, take a breath and try and clear it out before you have a heart attack.“Is this going to be the car again? Just because you live in my apartment I would never ask you to split the rent. Sure, pay for a few things here and there but—”“You know what I mean,” he said, cutting her off.Talia clenched her jaw hard. No, she didn’t want to know what he meant!“Just because in three months the house will be officially mine doesn’t mean I’ll move in immediately,” she went on with her rumble. She pressed her hand to her forehead as an anxious tremor came over her with a chill. “You’ll probably have figured everything out b
Was that understanding? Or was it a concession? She wondered as a soreness filled her chest.Digging her fingernails into the palms of her hands, she gave him a strained smile, an apology on her lips. She was too much of a coward to trust that he was done searching. To trust that the peace he was desperately looking for was with her. The peace that he greatly needed. She truly understood that he should seek it out until he found it, even if it meant leaving her behind. She understood. She supported him even if it hurt like hell. With that thought, the gatekeeper slowly pushed the door closed, snuffing out that little light.It was better to be clear, resolute than jeep encouraging something that would only end badly. The man wouldn’t even let her into the darkest corners of his heart and mind, the reasons behind his anxieties. If he couldn’t trust her with those, how could she trust her with her heart, her future? It was like asking her to bungee jump
Elbow pressed to the arm of the chair, he leaned in closer towards her, a fire in his eyes that told her to listen carefully and believe every single word that would be coming out of his mouth because he meant each one and said, “It means, I’m going to start living my life the way that I want and no one is telling me otherwise. Not. Even. You.” Then he sat back in his seat, like he hadn’t just blown her mind with that statement and casually asked, “When are we moving in?” Ha! He may have shocked her, but he hadn’t turned her brains to mush. “Since I’m paying for the house and I bought it for me, I’m moving in three months. You’re still a guest in my apartment. You can take over the lease if you want.” His brows pulled in a deep V over his narrowed eyes. “You didn’t hear me.” “Oh I heard you,” she said standing up, “but no one strong arms me into anything.” She shrieked with a sharp intake of breath when he grabbed her by the arm and pulled her onto his lap. His arms wrapped aroun
Months later…Talia McKenna sat in the beautiful church listening to the choir sing the bridal march as she watched the bride sashay down the aisle to her waiting groom with grace befitting a princess. The beautiful voices echoed in the large hollow ceiling, bouncing off the walls, creating an angelic feeling inside the church. It hugged her, giving her comfort, and she sat there in complete awe, for a moment, forgetting why she was there in the first place.The architecture blew her away. The church looked historical, something from the seventeen hundreds and Talia was surprised there weren’t any tourists wandering into the church, taking pictures in complete wonder of the beautiful infrastructure.Of course getting by the heavy security would prove an issue. There was a wedding currently in progress and the bride would most definitely take offense to any interruption. Talia knew without a doubt the groom would. He was the type of person who didn’t appreciate interruptions, plans goi
Rafe wasn’t sure exactly how long he stood there, looking at Talia. He’d tuned out the yelling and commotion brought on by the surprise interruption. He didn’t give a single glace to Gabriella as she insistently tugged on his jacket sleeve trying to get his attention, and just stared at his object of torment for the last five months with fleeting joy. He’d woken up every morning since that fateful day wet with more than just sweat, remembering how her small, voluptuous, naked body felt bucking under his as he rode them both to ecstasy, which usually left him feeling like he was in a drug induced haze. But waking up alone with nothing but her memory left him feeling frustrated and incomplete. Her betrayal had broken him and as the memory of the last time he’d seen her played in his mind, his rage grew.Inferno! His fisted hands shook at his sides as he charged down the aisle towards her.“What the hell do you want here, Talia?” he bellowed, bringing an uncomfortable silence into the bu
He turned around to find himself alone in the office but for just a few minutes. Talia walked—more like waddled—in followed by the man who brought her. He led her to a chair and helped her sit down before he turned to the door.Rafe noticed the relief on Talia’s face when she sat down, before she winced, her hand moving to her back.“What do you want?” he barked, startling her.“I think it’s best to wait for your lawyer,” the man commented, moving to stand behind Talia.“I’m here,” Angelo spoke closing the door.“Wonderful,” Rafe commented dryly as he perched himself on the desk, then he leaned down until his face was inches away from Talia’s. He had an incredulous desire to kiss her lush lips but he held back and whispered, “What do you want, Talia?”He watched as the tip of her tongue darted out to slide between her lips. His fingers tightened on the edge of the desk to keep himself from reaching for the back of her neck and pulling her forward so she could run that tongue over his
Talia curled up on the couch at Rafe’s city condo, right in the heart of Rome. She knew she was being difficult demanding for it but, he’d told her once that the condo was one of his sanctuaries, and since she wasn’t feeling like puking up her guts in the perfect combination of morning sickness and see sickness, she chose stable ground. And the petty girl in her wanted to take it away from him. First, he’d moved himself into her apartment, then into her new home with false promises of a future. It was only fair.Thoughts of her Tudor home, felt like a thorn in her heart. She’d loved that house, no one knew that better than he did. She always felt safe in her home and he’d destroyed that by drugging her, leaving the main door wide open and her vulnerable to any psycho that might walk in off the street and do whatever they wished to her comatose body.If Carrie hadn’t come when she did…A shiver of fear ran through her, just thinking of the ‘what ifs’. Her life and her babies’ lives… Go
Talia stood by the arrival gates, impatiently waiting for Carrie to walk through. She hadn’t really known how much she’d needed Carrie around until she woke up that morning. Sleeping in Rafe’s condo, in his bed, shook her up more than she’d thought possible. She’d had the worst nightmare of her life.Since that day, she’d been having nightmares, but not as bad. She’d convinced herself that the drug was doing a number on her psyche because she never could remember the nightmare. But last night…She remembered the fear, fighting for what felt like her life. She remembered being on her back, looking up at someone holding her down but everything was hazy. Though she couldn’t remember the face of her assailant, she remembered the voices and one stood out. It was menacing, scary and promised such horror, she woke up in the middle of an asthma attack.It was a good thing she had a habit of sleeping with her inhaler
Rafe walked into his home feeling very pleased with himself. His revenge was finally complete, and soon the Rossi and DeLuca names would be nothing. They would disappear like an unfounded rumor. And then he’d rebuild the DeLuca name clean of all his father’s evil. He patted Angelo on the back. “Come cugino, let’s celebrate!” Angelo shook his head. “Rafe, there is nothing to celebrate—” Rafe raised his hand and cut him off as he walked towards the bar sitting at the far end of the living room. “Not now, Angelo. You can be my conscious tomorrow morning after I’ve drunk my scotch, kissed my sons, and made passionate love to my wife.” “I can see the first two happening, but I’m not sure about the last.” Rafe turned to his wife’s voice with a smile. She looked lovely leaning against the doorway with a radiant smile on her face. He couldn’t believe the same woman had almost died two months ago. How am I so lucky? He beckoned her with two fingers and she strutted towards him. When she
Talia felt sorry for her. The woman was caught between her husband’s crime and her son’s revenge. She hadn’t deluded herself as to think Rafe would let it go just because she’d asked him to. She knew he was up to something, just not something so extreme. But it shouldn’t shock her. When he thought she’d cheated on him with Renaldo and Alex, he’d left her destitute. He’d taken everything except the house which she’d just finished paying off with half of her savings.She knew Rafe’s wrath when he was wronged, all too well. She didn’t envy them.“Why is Gabriella here?”“Alex is my brother,” she responded with a maliciously satisfied look on her face.Talia took a deep breath to calm her. She still had nightmares about him. She could hear his voice, as he taunted her, promising to do disgusting things to her. Each time, she woke up with Rafe rocking her in his arms, and
Months later…Talia waited until they were a few feet away from the nursery before she spoke. “You know you don’t have to come back to Boston with me.”Carrie pouted. “How can I not? You’re my best friend, and I love you.”“But you love him too.”She nodded with a heavy sigh.Who would have thought Carrie and Angelo would fall for each other? They were complete opposites with nothing in common. He was always serious, and Carrie was only serious at work, the rest of the time Talia always wondered if she was auditioning for court jester.But their friends with benefits relationship that had begun when she was in a coma, knowing Carrie maybe before—Carrie had always used sex to forget situations that scared her, ever since her parents’ died in a car accident—had blossomed into a serious relationship. They were genuinely happy together. And that was to end just bec
“Come on, wake up already!”Talia attempted to move her head away from the incessant chanting in her ear. What the hell did Carrie want?She tried to open her eyes, but they felt so heavy. She struggled until she finally got them to obey and quickly closed them again when she saw Carrie’s happy face looming above her.“Here, open your mouth and drink.”Talia didn’t argue. She felt like she had cotton stuffed in her mouth and down her throat. The cool liquid felt heavenly as she swallowed her first sip.She opened her eyes again and looked at Carrie’s smiling face. “I’m having a nightmare,” she whispered hoarsely.Carrie snorted. “No, we’ve been having a nightmare. It’s about damn time you woke up, you selfish bitch!”Talia’s mouth fell open. “What did I do?”“You were in a coma for a month, that’s what you
“This is a bad idea, Rafe. Think about what you are about to do,” Angelo repeated as he pulled into the driveway of the DeLuca mansion. “You’re not in the right state of mind.”Rafe fisted his hands, pressing them to his thighs to keep from reaching for his cousin and ripping his tongue out. He’d been repeating those words like a broken record since the moment Rafe woke up and blurted out his intention. When he wouldn’t relent and had demanded for his car keys, Angelo finally gave in, offering to drive him to his destination. Though his rage was burning strong and growing with every second, his body was still weak from shock.Never in his life had Rafe ever blacked out, besides that one time he had a panic attack over a year ago. The fear of losing Talia was so strong, it had robbed him of all his senses. It was like his mind and body agreed to shut down and hide because he couldn’t handle the thought of Talia dying.
Rafe stumbled into the ward and found Carrie pacing the floor. Her face was wet with tears, and his heart jerked.Please, God, let them be alright!“Carrie, where is she?” he rasped.Carrie looked at him for a long while before she spoke. “You need to convince her to let them do it! You just have to!” she cried, fresh tears rolling down her stricken face.Rafe took a breath to calm himself before he grasped Carrie’s shoulders. “Convince her to do what?”“Signore DeLuca?”Rafe looked up at the doctor who stood behind Carrie. He swallowed the fear and nodded.“How is she?” he asked, a tremor in his voice.The doctor sighed visibly with relief before he moved closer. “Her blood pressure is climbing dangerously high, and she refuses to let us deliver the babies.”For a second, Rafe had held the hope that that look of relief
“Say that again, he did what?” Carrie’s eyes bugged out of their sockets, ready to fall into her lap. Talia understood her reaction, she was still in shock.“Besides falling asleep in my bed and leaving me with no choice but to sleep next to him? He woke up this morning and went about his business like everything was normal and nothing had happened between us.”She pointed to the island that separated the kitchen from the living room, “He sat across from me, had his breakfast, asked about my plans for the day. Then he reminded me to stay off my feet as much as possible and then left saying ‘see you in the evening’ and if I wanted him to bring something for dinner!”Carrie blinked shaking her head. “Take a breath.”Talia did as instructed, feeling some of the anxiety leave her. She felt like she was in the twilight zone. There was this anxious fear at the familiarity of the wh
After a few seconds of silence, she decided to just ask again instead of just wondering, “What are you doing here Rafe?”His eyes opened then. After a beat or two he said, “it’s my home.”“Not for the time being it’s not. And I thought this was just one of your properties, don’t you live with your family?”He snorted, then sipped at the mug.This was one thing Talia always found unnerving when they worked together and even more when they dated. He didn’t talk much, only when he felt like he needed to. The rest of the time, it was as if they were to read his silence and understand what he wanted. It frustrated her at work but also posed a challenge. She wanted to be the indispensable employee who could decipher the boss’ silence and deliver results that he wanted. He was demanding, strict with high expectations but fair. That was why she fell for him, a character from her favorite romance no
Cool it hormones. Pregnancy had her emotions on overdrive, including—a recent development—her libido.What was he still doing here? She turned and her eye caught his belt, it lay on the far end of the couch with his suit jacket socks and watch. He’d gotten comfortable, which meant he’d had no intention of going anywhere after he’d tucked her into bed. The alcohol made sure of it. But, he just lived a short elevator ride down, surely he would have been able to make it?“What are you doing here Rafe?”He raised—no, he pulled up one arm, judging by how heavy it looked as he raised it—and pointed to the ceiling, with one finger, his hand bobbing as his wrist struggled to hold it up.“Carrie moved in,” he said with a slight slur.She sighed, exasperated, “Yes, I know. She’s in the spare bedroom.”Talia didn’t like dealing with drunks, no matte