Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 93203 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 466(@200wpm)___ 373(@250wpm)___ 311(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93203 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 466(@200wpm)___ 373(@250wpm)___ 311(@300wpm)
“Marrying you has not been a hardship, Effie. Despite how we came to be, we suit very well. I look forward to our life together.” I cupped her cheek. “You are my wife. My family. I will protect you. Care for you.”
I saw the shutters come down over her eyes. I knew she wanted the whole thing. Love. Romance. I shook my head. “I do have affection for you, Effie. I care. I quite adore you, in fact. More than anyone else. It is all I have to give you. Respect, passion, my fidelity. Can that be enough for you?”
She pulled herself up, moving away from my caress. “Of course. You were very clear on that, and I am very lucky.”
“Effie—”
She shook her head, climbing from the bed. “It’s fine, Roman. I understand. And I am happy to be your wife. I will do my best to please you.”
She slipped into the bathroom, and I dropped my head into my hands in frustration. I wasn’t lying. I had great affection for her. The thought of something bad happening to her was abhorrent to me. I had to keep her safe. But I was incapable of the kind of romantic love she wanted. The kind Aldo and Vi had. That Luca and Justine shared.
I pulled myself up to the headboard, resting my hand on my bent knee. I didn’t want to lie to her, and I didn’t want her thinking that one day I would change. She had to learn to accept my limitations.
I flung back the covers and headed to the bathroom, where I could hear the shower. I was going to show her my affection in the only way I knew how.
And she was going to enjoy it.
Another fact I discovered about Effie was her enormous capacity for letting things go. By the time we left the shower and for the rest of the day, she was simply Effie. Charming, sweet, and sexy. She never mentioned our conversation and didn’t pout or try to bring it up again. She just moved forward. She was quiet when we left New York, her eyes sad as the plane lifted off the tarmac. She watched from the seat across from me, her elbow on the armrest, her chin propped up on her hand.
“We’ll be back, Little Tiger,” I assured her.
“I look forward to it.”
It seemed as if I was the one who couldn’t let things go. “Yet you look sad again. Like this morning.”
She shook her head, offering me a smile. “It is just that I am returning to a world I don’t know, Roman. I’m feeling a little trepidation.”
I ran a hand over my face. Of course she was nervous. I should have figured that out without her telling me.
I reached out my hand. “Come here, Effie.”
She unclasped her seat belt, and I pulled her to my lap.
“Sheila will not be happy I’m not buckled in.”
I wrapped her up in my arms. “I’ve got you.”
She rested her head on my shoulder.
“Effie, your life will be different—but better, I promise. You can putter around the house, help in the gardens, visit with Nonna. See Vi. Go shopping. Money is not an object. You don’t have to be up at some ungodly hour anymore and working until you’re exhausted.”
“But I was useful. I had a goal, things I accomplished every day,” she admitted. “I loved Bagels and Bites. It was all mine.”
“You can’t ask me to let you do that again.”
“I have to ask you for everything?”
I sighed and pressed a kiss to her head. “Until all the danger has passed, the estate is the safest place for you. If you want to go shopping or leave, you will have protection. I will not risk you. Not after everything I have done to ensure your safety.”
She stiffened, and I tightened my grip. “I don’t mean that. I am not talking about marrying you. I do not regret that in the least. Just give me this for a while, Effie.”
“So we could discuss my reopening my diner at another time?”
I shut my eyes at the pleading in her voice.
I let out a dry chuckle. “Why is it that every other woman I ever met would jump all over the chance to never have to lift a finger again, yet you, my wife, are trying to find a way to go back to a life of drudgery?”
“It was hard at times,” she replied. “But it was the life I knew.”
I pressed her head to my shoulder, resting my chin on her fragrant hair. “Please try this new life before you reject it, Effie. For me.”
She was quiet for a moment before replying. “I will.”
“If one day you want, we can discuss opening a Bagels and Bites in the hotel,” I offered. “But in the future.”
“Oh,” she replied, beaming at me. “I love that idea.”