Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 84843 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 424(@200wpm)___ 339(@250wpm)___ 283(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84843 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 424(@200wpm)___ 339(@250wpm)___ 283(@300wpm)
“Hey, Mom!”
“Hi, baby.” I eyed Stefano warily. “Good morning, Stefano.”
“Hey, Tesoro,” he replied, calm and relaxed. “Sleep well?”
“I did,” I replied. “Um, you?”
“Other than your sofa is tiny, great.” He winked. “Thanks for letting me crash.”
“You’re welcome.”
“I made coffee.”
I headed to the corner, grabbing a cup and pouring some of the hot, fragrant liquid. It was a treat to have it ready and waiting for me.
Theo slid from his chair. “I gotta get dressed. Will you be here when I get back, Stefo?”
“Sorry, no, little man. I gotta head home, shower, and get to work.”
Theo’s face fell, and he inched closer to Stefano, his voice pleading. “I’ll see you soon?”
Stefano reached out and ruffled Theo’s hair. They fist-bumped and Stefano grinned. “For sure. I’ll come hang with you again.”
Theo’s face was wreathed in smiles as he hurried down the hall. I chuckled. “He sounds like a herd of buffalo when he walks.” I tilted my head. “You were far quieter last night.”
He grinned, pushing back his bowl. “I had precious cargo.”
“You turned off my alarm.”
He held out his hand and tugged me to the chair Theo had vacated. “I woke up beside you in the night and realized I’d fallen asleep before you came back.” He grinned sheepishly. “I’m sorry about that.”
“You were tired.”
“So were you. When I woke up this morning, I heard Theo thumping down the hall to the bathroom. I figured his next stop would be your room, so I slipped back to the sofa. When he saw me, I told him I had fallen asleep and you let me stay over. Then I got us breakfast and, yes, turned off your alarm so you could sleep.” He tucked a curl behind my ear. “I wanted you to have a little extra rest.”
“Thank you.”
He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to my forehead. “It took everything in me not to wake you in the night and finish what we started. But I enjoyed having you tucked up against me.”
“I slept well,” I confessed. “I felt…safe.”
He studied me for a moment, frowning. “You don’t usually feel safe?”
I stared into my coffee cup. “Sometimes, no.”
Silence lingered until he wrapped his hand around mine, his skin warming me more than the hot feel of the mug. “We’re going to talk about that. But right now, I need to get home, shower, and head to work. What are you going to do today?”
“Spend some time with Theo. Make more soup.”
“You could always drop by the garage. See Charly. I can let Theo have some mechanic helper time if you have things you need to do on your own. My day is pretty light.”
“I can’t ask you to do that.”
He met my eyes. “You’re not. I’m offering. I enjoy spending time with him. The guys would all watch over him.”
“I’ll, ah, keep that in mind.”
“Saturday—you have plans before you head to the bar later?”
“No.”
“I was thinking we’d go on a picnic to the park. We could spend the afternoon, and then you can go to work. I’ll bring Theo home and spend the evening with him.”
I opened my mouth to say no. But he held up his hand, stopping my words.
“Think about it.”
“Why?” The word was out before I could stop it. “Why do you want to do that?”
He frowned, pulling my hand to his chest. “I want to know you, Gabby. To be part of your life. I know your life contains Theo, so therefore, he will be part of mine. He needs to get to know me the same way you do. And I need to get to know you. So sometimes it will be just us and sometimes all three of us. I want him to know he’s important too.”
“I don’t know if I’m really what you should be going after, Stefano. My life isn’t—” I waved my hand, unsure how to describe it “—my life isn’t my own to give.”
“I’m not sure what you mean by that.”
“It’s complicated,” I told him. “Maybe too complicated for anyone.”
“Why don’t you let me decide that?”
“I can’t risk Theo being hurt. If he gets too fond of you—”
He cut me off. “He already is, Tesoro. And I’m fond of both of you. Too damned fond, frankly, given how skittish you are. So, let’s just call it what it is.”
“Which is?”
“A relationship. And going forward, we’re in it together.”
A relationship. With Stefano.
I hadn’t planned on a relationship with another man—ever. My heart rate picked up just thinking about the implications.
“I don’t know if it’s possible.”
“What has you locked in the past, Gabriella? What are you running from?” he asked quietly, my name rolling off his tongue, sounding like a caress.
I shook my head fast. “Not now.”
“Soon. I can’t fight what I don’t know is coming. I can’t protect you and Theo from the unknown.” He stood and pressed another kiss to my forehead. “Give me the information I need. Trust me enough to tell me.”