Total pages in book: 128
Estimated words: 121360 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 607(@200wpm)___ 485(@250wpm)___ 405(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 121360 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 607(@200wpm)___ 485(@250wpm)___ 405(@300wpm)
Twenty-Five
Carter
I woke up Sunday morning with Mia beside me, buck naked and beautiful. I was on my back with her pressed into my side, his leg hooked between my knees. Her arm was draped around my torso.
She was all over me.
Luca fell asleep early last night on the couch, so Mia tucked him into bed before she joined me in my bedroom upstairs.
And I’d made love to her all night long.
My eyes had barely been open for a few seconds before there was a knock on the door. “Mom?” Luca’s gentle voice came through the door on the other side of the room. “Mom?”
I sighed and pulled Mia tighter against me, not wanting to give her up so soon. It wasn’t even eight in the morning, and Luca was wide awake.
Luca knocked again. “Mom?”
Mia finally woke up, no longer able to ignore the sound of her son’s voice. “I’ll be there in a second, baby.”
Luca’s footsteps finally trailed away as he ran down the hallway.
She sat up in bed and ran her fingers through her messy hair.
“Does that mean we’re busted?” My hand reluctantly let her go, my fingers aching for her the second she was gone from my embrace.
“He’s pretty smart for an eight-year-old. I think he already knew.”
“Is that a problem?”
“No.” She stood up and pulled her clothes on from the floor. “He’ll have to get used to it. He likes you, so I’m sure it’s fine.”
“Has he ever met any of the other men you’ve…” I couldn’t finish the sentence because I got jealous just thinking about the other men she’d been with. I’d slept with more women than I could count so it was hypocritical of me to care, but I couldn’t help it. Now that she was mine, I didn’t want to think about anyone else who had been before me.
“No. Luca has never seen the other men I dated. I always kept them separate.”
“So I’m the only man he’s ever seen you with?”
She leaned over the bed and kissed me before she headed to the door. “Yes…egomaniac.”
I smacked her ass before she got too far away. “I like that.”
“I’m going to get breakfast started. You want the usual?”
“Sure.”
She smiled before she walked out.
I lay in bed a little longer, knowing she would want to have Luca brush his teeth and get dressed before he went downstairs to the kitchen. Now that Mia and I were more open about our relationship, it didn’t make sense to keep them on the second floor. If something bad ever happened, I would be too far away to do anything. Perhaps I should move Luca’s bedroom across the hall from mine that way they could both be close by.
I got dressed and headed downstairs. Before I descended the final floor, I could smell the coffee and bacon. I headed into the kitchen and saw Luca sitting on one of the barstools at the kitchen island with a coloring book in front of him. He was coloring in a large T-Rex.
“Hey, little man.” I rubbed his head gently as I looked down at his drawing. “Pretty cool.”
“Thanks, Carter.” He handed me a crayon. “You wanna try?”
“Maybe after breakfast.” I moved around the kitchen island and came to Mia’s side as she stood at the stove. She was whipping up French toast, eggs, and bacon. “Something smells good.”
“Are you talking about the food or me?” She flipped the bread in the pan.
I grinned. “Both.”
She scooped the food onto a plate and then placed it in front of Luca. “Eat up. All of it. You didn’t eat your dinner last night.”
Luca must have been hungry because he didn’t make a complaint.
She came back to me and poured me a cup of coffee. “Breakfast will be ready in a few minutes.”
“Alright.” Instead of walking into the dining room, I remained beside her and sipped my coffee.
“You’re just going to stand there?” she asked, amused.
“Yep.” I kept drinking my coffee. “It’s my kitchen. I can do whatever I want.”
“I can’t argue with that… thought maybe you could read the paper or something.”
“That sounds boring. I’d rather watch you work in my kitchen.” I glanced at Luca on the other side of the kitchen, where he was focused on his coloring book.
“So…did your family think it was strange that you brought me along last night?”
“Did they act like it was strange?”
“No…but maybe they said something to you.”
“Not at all. They love you. Luca too.”
She smiled as she stirred the eggs. “They’re all so nice. I just want them to like me. I mean, I already knew they liked me before, but it’s different now that we’re…together.”
“Why would that make any difference?”
“Well…I’m sure no parent wants their child to end up with an abused woman who already has an eight-year-old son.”
I rolled my eyes. “Maybe normal people in normal places, but the Barsettis aren’t normal. We don’t judge people because of things like that. My father and uncle taught me not to judge a woman by what she’s been through. They taught me a real man will erase a woman’s past. He’ll make her forget every bad thing that happened to her because he makes her feel so loved. So, no, my family doesn’t care, sweetheart.”