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)
She was seated at the desk when I walked inside, and she gave a slight flinch when I appeared. “A heads-up would be nice.”
“So you can take off and avoid me?” I moved to the other chair by the desk, the same one I’d sat in when I found out her husband had been a cheating asshole.
She finished something on her laptop before she closed it, but she still wouldn’t look directly at me.
I knew she was embarrassed—as she should be.
“Look, I’m sorry for my viciousness. No excuse for it, and that’s on me. But you also need to make some changes if we’re going to coexist in this village.”
She sat back in her chair and crossed her arms over her chest.
I waited for an apology, but it didn’t seem imminent.
“This is the last olive branch I’m ever going to extend to you, Isabella.”
Her eyes finally flicked to mine.
“Then it’s no contact, pretend you don’t exist, you aren’t welcome in my mother’s house . . . all that heavy stuff. I don’t want that, and I know you don’t either. But I can’t keep entertaining this circus. I’m going to be a husband and a father, and I can’t have this shit show running buck wild anymore.” Thank god Aurelia was so understanding about it. Otherwise, this could have destroyed my relationship and chased away the love of my life. “So, can we forgive, forget, and move on?”
She looked away again, her arms noticeably tightening. She took a breath before she looked at me again. “I’m sorry for the way I acted, and I would love to move on. But I can’t see us ever being friends. It’s hard to imagine a time when I won’t love you anymore.”
“It’ll happen, Isabella. I promise you’ll meet someone, and I’ll fade so deep into obscurity that you’ll forget you ever loved me in the first place.” It was the way I felt about Aurelia, my love for her so deep and raw that it was hard to remember a time when I wanted to spend my life with someone else.
“I hope you’re right.”
I was relieved I’d gotten an apology out of her, because if I hadn’t, it would have left a bad taste in my mouth. I needed to know that the woman I once loved wasn’t a narcissistic asshole and I was too blind to see it. “I know I am.”
Chapter 18
Aurelia
Constantine was himself once again. He always greeted me when I came home from work with a smile, and when he took me to bed, he was all over me, loving me deeply and passionately, just the way he had when we first met. I didn’t work on the weekends, so that was the time I lounged around the house with Constantine and Medusa. I would lie on the couch snuggled into a blanket, and Constantine would lift up my shirt to expose my belly that hadn’t changed much at all and kiss it everywhere like I was six months along.
He said he’d talked to Isabella and worked things out, but he never gave the specifics and I never asked. His mom would text to check in with me, and she and I started to have our own conversation thread. Instead of feeling like my future mother-in-law, she felt like my own blood.
Constantine took me out to dinner throughout the week, and tonight, we ended up at his favorite spot, Trattoria da Nino. He’d taken me there before, during that first week we met, and he knew everyone on the waitstaff . . . as always.
We had a nice table outside, but it was too dark to see the water now. A summer breeze flowed over us and brushed through my hair like soft fingertips. The dress had been a little tight when I’d put it on, so my body was subtly starting to change. I didn’t notice it with the naked eye, but clothes didn’t lie.
Constantine merely glanced at the menu before he looked at me again. “What are you thinking, sweetheart?”
“The pappardelle pasta looks good.”
When the waiter came over, Constantine ordered wine for himself, the bruschetta to start, and then ordered our entrées. As always, he wanted the fresh catch of the day and requested to clean it himself.
After the wine was poured, he sat with his elbows on the table and stared at me. “Think I found a spot for the restaurant.”
“Yeah?”
“It’s kinda tucked away off the main street, but I like that.”
“The best things in life are always off the beaten path.”
“Sometimes,” he said as his eyes stayed on me. “Excited for that doctor’s appointment next week.”
“You’re the first man ever to say that,” I said with a chuckle.
“It’s the start of a new adventure. I’m excited.”
“Well, you aren’t the one who has to push this adventure out of your vagina.”