Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 91238 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 456(@200wpm)___ 365(@250wpm)___ 304(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91238 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 456(@200wpm)___ 365(@250wpm)___ 304(@300wpm)
“I’ll talk to Renzo about it,” I say finally, getting to my feet. I walk around the island toward her. “Did you know that I have a very clever, very devious wife?”
“Devious?” Her eyebrows raise.
“Oh, yes. She has the mind of a killer.”
“I think I like that.”
“And the body of a goddess.”
“Ah, okay, I see where you’re going with this.”
I move closer until she’s pinned against the counter. “Are you sure about that?” I ask, my hands on her hips, my mouth dipping down to nibble kisses at her throat.
“Mmm, yes, pretty sure. And this devious goddess approves.”
“I thought you might.” My kisses move up until I find her lips. Her tongue slips into my mouth and I growl my pleasure.
Chapter 34
Allegra
The sun’s high in the sky as my shovel cuts into fresh dirt. I have a nice hole going, about a foot across and equally deep.
“That looks good.” Maddie kneels down next to me. Her hair’s braided back out of her face and her forehead glistens. “I think it’s deep enough now. Here, help me get it in.”
“I thought gardening was all about trimming and looking pretty in the sunlight.”
“I saved the hard tasks for you.” Maddie grins at me. “Got to welcome you to the family somehow.”
I laugh as we get into position and hoist the new shrub into the air. We wrestle it into position. The root ball fits perfectly into the spot I made. Maddie gets it prepped, pushes the dirt into position, and steps back to admire our work.
“What do you think?” I ask, weirdly anxious about the whole thing. “I told you, I’m not really much of a plant person. I don’t think I’ve ever actually dug a hole and put something into the ground before.”
“It’s perfect.” She beams at me. “I’m really happy you came over today.”
“Me too.” I wipe my sleeve across my face, admiring my handiwork. It’s another butterfly bush—she says Stella loves them, and she makes sure to put them all over the place. They’re scattered across the area to the point where it’s impossible to look somewhere without seeing at least one.
“The garden’s going to creep past the property line at this pace,” she says, wiping her hands on her pants. We wander back toward the house together, lugging our gardening equipment in buckets.
“Could be worse. The neighbors will love having some free landscaping. Plus, a cute young girl digging around in the dirt. What’s there to hate?”
She snorts a laugh. “Please. Young? Not anymore. I’m a moderately attractive mom at best. There’s a reason you were the one digging.”
I shake my head. For a woman who gave birth to one monster of a little kid, she looks fantastic. “You’re selling yourself short.”
We sit down together. I crack open a can of sparkling water and drink down half. Maddie watches me with a smile on her face like she’s having the time of her life. My shoulders and back ache from digging, which is actually kind of pathetic—that hole wasn’t even big and I’m suffering. I really need to start working out.
“How’s married life?” she asks.
“Honestly? I’m not really sure.”
“That would be a weird answer coming from anyone else, but I know what you mean.”
I glance at her. “You and Renzo?”
“We had a rocky beginning.” She suppresses a smile. “He walked in on me taking nudes for my ex-boyfriend.”
“Seriously?”
“Oh, yeah, tits out and everything. I think that’s why he wanted to marry me.”
“You do have nice boobs.”
“Believe it or not, pre-kids, they were even nicer.”
“What happened? To your marriage, I mean.”
“We started to trust each other. We had this connection and even though I only married him because I was desperate at the time, he won me over.”
“Sounds familiar.” I look out at the garden. It’s borderline wild with every inch of dirt filled with colorful plants, and it’s absolutely gorgeous. I can understand why Maddie and Stella like sitting out here together.
“I don’t know what kind of history you and Gian have, but I’ve been told something happened between you two a long time ago.”
“Renzo’s not supposed to know that.”
“He didn’t tell me.” Her eyes sparkle with mischief. “You think he’s the only Rossi brother I talk to?”
“Saul.” I curse and glare at the house. “That blabbermouth.”
“He didn’t say what actually happened, but he made it clear that you and Gian knew each other from a while back. I made some educated guesses.”
“And I just confirmed your assumptions, huh?”
“Yep, pretty much.”
I rub my face, shaking my head. “Here’s the thing. We had a really exciting fling back in college, and now all those old feelings are back, but I’m not sure I can trust him again.”
“You guys aren’t the same people you were back then.”
“No, you’re right.”
“What’s the problem?”
I gesture in the air. “Everything, basically.”
“Everything is a lot.” She leans back and stretches her legs. “I’m not going to offer advice since I’m not remotely qualified, but I will say that I’m happy you joined the family.”