Total pages in book: 19
Estimated words: 18755 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 94(@200wpm)___ 75(@250wpm)___ 63(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 18755 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 94(@200wpm)___ 75(@250wpm)___ 63(@300wpm)
But the nights—
The nights were hers.
He came home and found her wherever she was—the library, the kitchen, the garden she'd been poking around in because gardens needed attention whether they belonged to her or not—and he'd kiss her temple and ask what she'd read and listen to the answer like it mattered, and then at some point the listening would become looking, and the looking would become touching, and they'd end up in the bedroom or against the kitchen counter or, once, on the library floor between two shelves of first editions, and Kendra would lose herself so completely that for those minutes or hours she forgot to wonder about the rest of it.
But the days. The days were where the cracks lived.
She learned about the La Roccas the way you learn about a country you've moved to without studying the language—in pieces, from people who assumed she already knew.
She knew Dario would answer her question if she ever cared to ask, but she never did because she knew that was a time of his life her husband didn’t like to revisit. Thankfully, Mona, their Sicilian housekeeper, was there to fill in the gaps in her knowledge.
While Mona did her best to teach Kendra to make arancini, the older woman told her about how the La Roccas used to be one of the most powerful families in Palermo.
“And you know what I mean when I say family, yes?” Mona asked while rolling the rice between her palms.
“They’re mafia?”
Mona winced. “Just say yes next time, signora. There’s no need to say the word.”
Riiiight.
“Has signore told you about his grandfather?"
Kendra shook her head.
"Cosimo La Rocca built the hospital. The school. The roads. Everything in that town, the La Roccas built." Mona set down the arancini and made a sound that required no translation. "The government forgot us. The La Roccas didn't."
“And yet they still have enemies?”
“Doing something good doesn’t always make other people feel good. For some, it is the opposite, and they hate you for this.”
That night, Kendra lay next to Dario in the dark, and she couldn’t help but remember all the things that Mona told her about his family.
A part of her couldn’t believe she was married to a man like him, whose life made hers seem so small and inconsequential. The only thing that uniquely happened to her was catching Porter in bed with her twin, but that wasn’t exactly something to be proud of.
“I can feel you thinking, cara.”
“No, I wasn’t.”
“What are you thinking?”
“I really wasn’t—”
A soft sigh from her husband.
Oh no.
Because the moment she heard it, she remembered belatedly what he had warned her that fateful day in his hotel in Chicago.
When it comes to what we have between us, there must only be truth.
She didn’t have a chance to take her words back and say sorry.
Her husband had already rolled her to her back, and well...
It was the sweetest punishment ever, but it was also the kind that had her begging for respite—
But alas, this husband of hers who loved to spoil Kendra to death...
He was the opposite in the bedroom, ‘Nuff said.
Afterward, Kendra wasn’t sure if she had fallen asleep out of exhaustion or had passed out. When she woke up, her husband had already left for the office, and waiting for her were several unread messages.
Delete.
Delete.
Delete.
While she hadn’t blocked Porter or Thelma from contacting her, she couldn’t quite manage to talk to them just yet.
It wasn’t that she was angry with them or anything. She truly wasn’t. But that didn’t mean she was already okay.
Because every time she thought about her ex-husband or twin...
It was actually enough to make her heart shrivel, and that was why she couldn’t read any of their messages.
Not just yet.
“GOOD MORNING, MRS. La Rocca.”
“Good morning, Bonnie.” The brunette was in her late forties and had a smile that was as bright as the sun and rosy plump cheeks that made her look so much younger.
“You have a lot on your plate today,” Bonnie commented.
“I know.” Kendra smiled ruefully. “And sadly, that means the same for you, too.”
It still took getting used to, having her own bodyguard follow her around, and so Kendra had settled for a compromise by insisting that Bonnie walk beside her for as long as it was safe. This way, the older woman—who had been working for the La Roccas since her late teens—was more like her friend than security.
Unfortunately, however...
“You remember what we practiced, Mrs. La Rocca?”
Today wouldn’t be one of those days. The museum where she was having her next meeting was a lot more crowded than Bonnie expected. The older woman had stopped smiling, and it was like someone flipping a switch. One moment, Bonnie was beaming like she was the light of the world. The next moment, she was the Grim Reaper herself, and Kendra knew better than to make light of the situation.