Total pages in book: 26
Estimated words: 25004 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 125(@200wpm)___ 100(@250wpm)___ 83(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 25004 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 125(@200wpm)___ 100(@250wpm)___ 83(@300wpm)
“I ran over it with my bike by accident. It was an accident!” he repeats. “And it was Gio who dropped his cigarette on your recital dress when you were in the fourth grade.”
Everyone freezes.
“What?” Lucia says in a way too quiet voice. “Gio?”
The older sister, the one with the white shoes, drops off her brother’s back. “You let Lucia get a spanking by Mom because she thought Lucia had smoked that cigarette and lied about it.”
“Gio?” His dad’s deep voice seems to echo in the small space. “You want to explain this?”
I slide my hand into Lucia’s empty one. Seems like someone needs saving. “I want to marry Lucia,” I announce.
My words have their intended impact. All eyes swivel toward me and away from Gio, who slinks away toward the exit.
Lucia stutters, “M-m-marry?”
I watch as Gio disappears before turning to Lucia. “Yes. I don’t want to just see you on Mondays but every day. It makes sense; that way, I’m not sleeping on your doorstep, and your father won’t be disturbed.”
“I’m disturbed.” The sister raises her hand. “Where’s the ring? The flowers? The fucking romance?”
“Don’t curse, Bianca,” Her dad says like it’s a habit.
“I can’t curse at a time like this? Mr. Head Doctor is acting like my sister is a convenience that he can just buy. It’s probably because she cooks so well, right?”
“I do like her cooking,” I admit a little confused. Why is Bianca upset I want to marry her sister? Isn’t this a good thing?
“Ha! See?” Bianca grabs Lucia’s free hand and tugs. “He just wants you because of what you can do for him, not because he loves you.”
Lucia’s lower lip trembles. She sucks it in and twists herself out of my grip. I let go because I’m afraid I’m going to hurt her. Or maybe it’s that I’ve already hurt her.
“I want her. I want you,” I correct myself. I’m not trying to convince Bianca. It’s Lucia I want to take home, and not just because I like her food.
“Say you love her then,” Bianca challenges.
“Now, Bianca, let these two work it out on their own.” Her dad adds. “We’ve got work to do.”
“I work here,” Enzo says.
“I don’t have work to do, and you’re retired,” Bianca adds.
“Let’s go.” Her dad ignores the words of his kids and ushers them out but not before casting a narrow-eyed warning in my direction. I’m fairly sure it means Make my daughter happy or I’ll cut your balls off.
Then, there is just Lucia and me. She spins around and gives me a tight smile. “I don’t want to hear you say I love you. It won’t mean anything after what just happened. I don’t want to marry you, either. It’s unnecessary. I’ll cook for you, and you can pay me, and if we get together and have a little fun on the side, then that’s good. If we don’t, that’s fine with me, too.” She smooths back the side of her hair. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to start prepping for tonight. You know where the door is.”
There’s no slam of the door, no crashing of pots and pans, no cries or screams. All of those would be less painful than the silence.
CHAPTER 16
LUCIA
The day drags by. My siblings are oddly quiet. I don’t think they’re used to me pushing back, and that’s exactly what I’d done. Not only had I pushed back, but I stood beside Jase while I did it. He might not know it, but that meant something.
Hell, it meant a lot. Growing up, we were taught to put family above all else. To never take sides against one another. So, me standing my ground when it came to Jase was a huge deal.
When Bianca demanded Jase say he loved me, I realized that I was in over my head. Jase isn’t a normal man. He has a desire and a want for me. He may want to keep me for his own, but could he love me? Could he focus on something other than his work? His responses sometimes are robotic. Jase is not good at social interaction. He is, however, very direct. That’s definitely something I’m used to with my family. They never mince words, but Jase takes it to another level.
I can deal with all of that. I find a lot of it endearing. What I don’t think I can handle is not being loved. My family might fight like cats and dogs, but we love each other harder. My dad fell in love with my mom the second he laid eyes on her. He had to do some chasing, but he got her in the end. She is his world, and I can’t imagine having anything less than that in my life.
“You okay?” Bianca is the first to break the ice with me.