Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 82121 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 411(@200wpm)___ 328(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82121 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 411(@200wpm)___ 328(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
“You break my heart. There’s no faith in you.”
“Faith? Sweetie, I’m walking on water right now. It’s inevitable that I’ll drown.”
Which only makes him laugh. He comes over and drags me into the room, practically forcing me to go through what he brought. Nana did a good job: I won’t need to go back anytime soon.
Traitors. All of them traitors.
“For now, we’ll live here. But I meant it when I said we could buy our own place. And if you want to move your brother and your grandmother—”
“Let’s see how we work out before you start uprooting everyone I care about.” This guy is relentless. He’s not going to stop until he’s got his hands in absolutely everything. Though they are nice hands.
“That’s fair. Go ahead and get settled. I’ll make dinner.”
“Hold on. Wait a second.” I hold up a palm, pretty sure he’s messing with me. “You cook?”
“I grew up in an Italian household and I was friendly with the chef.”
“Of course you had a chef.” I roll my eyes.
“There are perks to my business.”
“Which is what, exactly?”
He deadpans. “Sports gambling.”
I give him a little snort laugh. “We’re still pretending, huh?” Everyone knows this guy is in the mafia. He can’t hide it—the guy oozes danger.
“It’s better that we keep it that way. For a while, at least.” He walks past me, but pauses to trail his fingers down my back. When I turn to tell him to quit it, he’s already gone.
Heat pools in my stomach. One tiny gesture from him and I’m already thinking about that night. I stare at the bed and everything we did together plays through my head. It was one heck of a marathon session, I have to admit. The man is both a stud and extremely fit. I can’t really complain about his stamina, though he did leave me a little sore the next morning.
I get unpacked. I could live out of the boxes as a protest, but there’s no reason for it. I made my bed and I might as well get comfortable. Clothes go into drawers, get hung in the gorgeous walk-in closet, and by the time I’m finished, I find him down in the kitchen stirring a pot.
“Risotto,” he says.
“An ambitious first meal.”
“I probably should set the bar a little bit lower, but I can’t help myself. Mind pouring me some wine?” He ladles in broth and stirs, and I get him a drink. I’d like to have one myself, but the whole baby thing keeps me sober. His biceps are getting a workout as he keeps on ladling and stirring, ladling and stirring, but I don’t mind the show. I stare at his arm and try to ignore the tingling in my stomach again, but it’s impossible.
We eat together at the table. It feels strange, but not uncomfortable, and the food’s absolutely incredible. “Seriously, where did you learn this?”
“Life was hard for young Saul.” His smile seems self-deprecating, like he’s trying to make a joke, but I’m not sure he’s kidding. “I didn’t have a lot of time to myself back then and there weren’t many sympathetic people in my life. Our cook was one of the few. I spent a lot of time learning from her and complaining about my brothers and my father. I probably annoyed the hell out of her.”
“She sounds like a decent person.”
“She still is. You’ll get to—” But he stops himself and goes silent. Now it’s getting a little awkward. “Well. She still works at the house.”
“And I probably won’t get to meet her because I’m your dirty little secret, huh?” I sit back and cross my legs.
He grimaces. “I wouldn’t put it that way.”
“How would you put it then? You’re ashamed of the filthy Irish girl you knocked up.”
“I’m not ashamed of you.”
“I’m the wrong kind of girl from a bad neighborhood. What will all your fancy friends think when you bring me home?” I’m messing with him, but the more I say it out loud, the more painful it becomes, because I’m pretty sure there’s some truth to what I’m saying.
“Our families are at war. It has nothing to do with you at all.”
“Right, of course not.” I push back from the table, my appetite suddenly gone. “No, it’s fine, I just don’t feel good. Mind if I take a shower?”
He looks like he wants to argue, but he only shakes his head. “You don’t have to ask. It’s your house too now.”
“Right, still getting used to that. You don’t mind doing the dishes, do you?” I walk away before he can answer, my cheeks flushed red.
I don’t know why it bothers me. I don’t actually want to meet his family—they live in an entirely different world from the one I’m used to. And my relationship with Saul isn’t even like that. I’m in this because it benefits Nana and Jason, and because my baby’s going to need a father. It’s an arrangement more than anything, and so what if he doesn’t want me meeting his brothers? That side of his life is totally irrelevant.