Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 96129 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 481(@200wpm)___ 385(@250wpm)___ 320(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96129 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 481(@200wpm)___ 385(@250wpm)___ 320(@300wpm)
“You slept past four,” he said.
I sat up slowly, noticing that he was fully dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. “What time is it?”
“12:30.”
“In the afternoon?” I shouted, scrambling out of bed, even though I had nowhere to be.
“Where are you going?” He chuckled, following me to the bathroom. “Rosie.”
“I . . . nowhere.” I frowned and felt my lips twist when I saw the amusement on his face. “Holy shit. I can’t remember the last time I had nowhere to go.”
I could, actually. It was January 27th, but I didn’t want to bring it up since there was no bringing it up without discussing Anthony, and I was done paying attention to that man. He gave me space to do what I needed to do, and once I finished and he knew I was ready, he walked over and hauled me off the ground, kissing me deeply. He tasted like strawberries. I picked my legs up and wrapped them around him, deepening the kiss, moaning into his mouth.
“Fuck.” He pulled away, a wild look in his eyes when he met mine. “I was going to ask if you were up for a little trip, but I may cancel the whole thing if you keep moving your pussy against me like that.”
I stopped moving. “Little trip where?”
“Providence.”
That instantly iced my veins. I unwrapped my legs from him and set them down slowly. I’d thought about going back so many times and always came up with an excuse as to why I shouldn’t. It wasn’t like I had anyone to visit there anymore. I’d mentioned the memorial, though. It was one of those places I wanted to go in theory, kind of the way I thought about skydiving. I closed my eyes and pictured myself in the air, but I wasn’t actually considering jumping out of an airplane. With Dominic, I might though. But then, another wave of fear gripped me. Could we just show up there? What if something happened? The big rumor was that Patriarcha had been responsible for what happened. I wasn’t sure if people came to that conclusion since he’d been the big boss there, or because one of his guards had been killed, and not his wife. He swore he wasn’t behind it. He’d gone to all of the funerals and paid his respects and continuously maintained his innocence. I was probably the only one who believed him, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t scared to show my face there. He must have seen my panic, because he set his hands on my shoulders and brought his face down to eye level.
“We don’t have to go.”
“What if something happens while we’re there?”
“Nothing will happen.”
“Dom.” I bit my lip. “You can’t know that.”
“I do know that, Rosie.”
“We’re taking Nico and Marco?” I asked.
“Yes. Just taking me would suffice, you know?” He smiled softly. “But if you want me to put together a whole army to go with us, I will. We can even take Rocco if it’ll make you feel better.”
I snorted a laugh. “Hard pass.”
Dominic chuckled, pulling me to his chest. “You know he’s a badass, right?”
“I know. He’s a Marine and all that, but he’s still just Rocco Marchetti.”
He laughed harder at that. “Just Rocco Marchetti. I’m going to say that to him whenever he annoys me.”
“I want to go with you.” I pulled away to look up at him. “I do.”
The car trip felt way too quick, probably because I was dreading getting here. We went straight to the memorial. In the middle of the park stood a bronze sculpture of five women holding hands. My heart felt so heavy in my chest that I was afraid it would bottom out of me entirely. I was having trouble swallowing with the lump in my throat, and seeing through unshed tears, but I walked forward anyway. Dominic stayed a few steps behind me. I wasn’t sure he’d get this close. The faces didn’t look exactly like our mothers but definitely resembled them enough to make me gasp into my hand. I felt my knees give out and let myself fall to the ground. I stopped trying to hold back the tears and just let them flow. By the time Dominic’s arms wrapped around me, my face was buried in my hands, and I was openly sobbing. His grip tightened, but he didn’t say a word. He didn’t shush me, didn’t rock me, didn’t tell me it would be okay. I think I appreciated that the most. He just held me as I let out the pent-up grief I held inside. When my shoulders stopped shaking and my breath started evening out, he pulled away and gave me a moment to drop my hands from my face. When our eyes met, he looked devastated. He brought both hands up to my face and wiped my tears with his thumbs before setting his forehead against mine.