Total pages in book: 132
Estimated words: 127249 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 636(@200wpm)___ 509(@250wpm)___ 424(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 127249 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 636(@200wpm)___ 509(@250wpm)___ 424(@300wpm)
The truth is I did. I belonged to him from the second I felt the sharp arrow of desire as his shoulder brushed up against mine. I’ll never forget his smile as he stared at my face while holding the lobby door open for me. It was a proprietary smile. After that day, whenever I sought him out in the guard lineup, he’d give me that smile, that private message that I was his. It’s a pity I was too lovestruck to realize he was never mine.
“Mommy?”
I clear my throat. “Mm?”
“Can we? Can we have pizza?”
“Um, sure. Why not?”
“Pizza it will be.” Dante reaches across Noah and caresses my cheek with the back of his hand. “But we better eat in. I’ll call for a delivery.”
“Can I have extra cheese and pepperoni?” Noah asks. “Please?”
“You can have anything you want,” Dante says. “Now, what are we reading?”
Noah puts a small hand on my leg, touching me with the utmost care. “The yellow plane.”
Dante shoots me a conspiratorial smile. “Why doesn’t that surprise me?”
I listen while Dante reads the story, simply enjoying the company of my son and his father. For many years, I’d thought this was something we’d never have. I’m happy for Noah and grateful to Dante for always making time for Noah, no matter how busy he is.
When we’ve tucked Noah in with his dinosaur, I slip out of the room, eager for some solitude to come to terms with everything I’ll soon have to face, but Dante takes my hand in the hallway and says, “Come with me.”
As always, my traitorous body, even in pain and convalescence, heats up at his touch.
“Dante.” I hold back. “Where are you going?”
As he’s clearly heading toward our bedroom, the question is stupid. What I meant to ask is why he wants me to go with him.
“I want to show you something.”
Those words always scare me. I don’t like it when I don’t know what to expect, but as someone who knows what it feels like to need closure, I sense this is something he has to do. Maybe it’s a good opportunity to get what I have to tell him off my chest. Postponing the inevitable only prolongs the pain. We may as well say our piece and get it over with.
Not looking forward to a conversation I can no longer put off, I let him take me to our room. Inside, he guides me to the walk-in closet and seats me on a new padded divan that I’m guessing he bought after the shooting incident. It’s true that the bench would’ve been uncomfortable. With the divan, I don’t have to sit up so straight. The backrest supports my weight, allowing me to relax my abdominal muscles.
He scrutinizes me. “How do you feel?”
“Fine,” I lie.
“Not too tired?”
“You wanted to show me something?”
He walks to his side of the room and brushes his jackets aside, revealing a safe at the back of the open closet. He punches in a code, not bothering to hide it from me, and takes out a flat black box.
I hold my breath as he carries the box to me. I know what’s in it even before he stops in front of me and lifts the lid. Hundreds of diamonds are mounted in gold, forming intricate flowers. Thin chains connect the petals to drape in a scalloped, V-shaped necklace that ends in glittering teardrops.
I’ve seen the necklace only twice before. The first time was when I retrieved the box and saw what was in it after my mom had given me the key. The second time was a week ago, when I got shot.
The first time, I tried it on. The diamond flowers covered my shoulders while the teardrops fell to the curve of my breasts. The weight was surprisingly heavy, reminding me of a man’s broad hands cupping a woman’s shoulders. In my mom’s case, the act I’d witnessed had been menacing. Threatening. In mine, that tender act had been grounding, making me feel safe. Until I’d learned about Dante’s betrayal.
Knowing that I’d literally hung a death sentence around my neck, I ripped off the necklace and put it back in the box.
Looking at the piece of jewelry in the clear light of the room now, it’s even more breathtaking than I remember. A pang of regret hits me when I think that Dante will have to destroy it to sell the stones. The diamonds will have to be extracted from the petals and centers of the flowers, leaving them unadorned and bare. Maybe Dante will have the gold melted, although its value is nothing compared to the diamonds.
“It’s beautiful.” I glance at him. “You got it back.”
“I did.” He closes the box and sets it on the dresser. “I thought you deserved a last look.”
“What are you going to do with it?”