Total pages in book: 100
Estimated words: 95013 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 475(@200wpm)___ 380(@250wpm)___ 317(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95013 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 475(@200wpm)___ 380(@250wpm)___ 317(@300wpm)
“So this woman thinks she was on a date with you and you’re fully available?”
“I’m not sure what she thought it was, honestly. He sprung it on her just like he did with me.”
“How old is she?”
“Twenty-five.”
“Oh, a younger woman.”
I almost rolled my eyes. “Too young. I’ve never been into that. And even if I were, it wouldn’t matter, because I’m in love with you. Sweetheart, you’re letting this get to you when it shouldn’t.”
“How would you feel if this were reversed?” she pressed, knowing what my answer would be even if I didn’t give it. “Constantine?”
I sighed as I dragged my hands down my face. “Look, I didn’t have a choice.”
“So there was a gun pointed at your head the entire time?”
“Aurelia—”
“Answer my question.”
I sighed.
“Answer. It.”
“No. I wouldn’t like it.”
That seemed to settle the argument, because she turned her back to me, putting on a pair of gloves like she was ready to get to work. The silence was somehow louder than her shouts. She grabbed the washed tomatoes from the sink and tossed them into a steel bowl before she brought them to the counter.
I stood there and waited for her to say more. To at least look at me.
But she ignored me.
“Sweetheart—”
“Go, Constantine. I don’t want to hear you or fucking look at you right now.”
Chapter 15
Aurelia
I sat at the dining table in Sofia’s home, still in my work clothes that smelled like a kitchen. The tightness of the scrunchie holding up my ponytail started to make my temples throb, so I pulled it through my long hair until the strands came free. It relieved the tension in my scalp—but not the stress in my heart.
Sofia stepped into the room with a pile of clothes over her arm. “Good thing we’re the same size.” She gave me a warm smile before she laid the pile of clothes over one of the dining chairs. Then she moved to the barista-level coffee maker and brewed me a fresh cup of coffee before she brought it to me, along with a little jug of milk. “It’s decaf.”
“Thank you.” I brought the mug close, the smell of coffee always welcome, regardless of the hour. “And thanks for letting me stay with you.” I stared into the cup and saw the lighter-brown foam sitting on top . . . and immediately thought of Constantine’s eyes. “I know this must be awkward for you.”
“Not at all.” She pulled out the other chair and took a seat. “You’re my family, Aurelia—and not just because you carry my grandchild.” Her hand moved to mine and rested there for a moment before she pulled away.
The watery sensation started in the back of my eyes, but I quickly looked down at my coffee and waited for it to wane. “You remind me of my mother.”
She paused.
I continued to look at the foam, watching the small bubbles start to pop and dissipate.
“I take that as a great compliment, honey.”
When I recovered from the emotion that nearly took me down, I looked at her again. “I love him with all my heart, and we’ll work it out. I’m just so angry right now.” I grabbed the milk and poured it into my coffee, letting it rise just below the top.
“I don’t blame you.”
“You don’t?” I whispered.
She shook her head. “I heard the whole thing. Con didn’t come off very well.”
At least I wasn’t overreacting. “I know it didn’t mean anything. I believe everything he says. I just . . . feel disrespected.”
“I know.”
“He could have told me beforehand, but he didn’t.”
“To be fair, it sounds like he tried to avoid it as much as he could. And from what I know of Cosa Nostra, you have to be a man of your word or you aren’t a man at all. He made this deal long before you, Aurelia. It’s complicated, I understand that. Love isn’t jealous, but it is jealous when a line is crossed—and that line was crossed.”
I didn’t expect his mother, of all people, to be on my side with this. “I just picture him with this hot twenty-five-year-old, while I’m caked in tomato sauce at work, looking like hell.”
She gave a quiet chuckle. “You do not look like hell, Aurelia. And she’s only a few years younger than you. You’re still so young and so beautiful.”
“Thank you, Sofia.”
Our moment was interrupted by a loud knock on the door. Loud, distinct, angry . . .
The corner of her lip upturned in a smile. “Ready for this?”
“I really don’t want to see him right now.”
“Well, if I don’t open that door, he’s gonna break it down.” As she rose from the chair, he pounded on the door again, this time harder, shaking the whole house. She walked out of the kitchen and disappeared from sight.
From the other side of the house, I heard the door open and shut, but no conversation. Constantine’s footsteps could be heard down the hallway before he rounded the corner and stepped into the kitchen.