Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 80014 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 400(@200wpm)___ 320(@250wpm)___ 267(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80014 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 400(@200wpm)___ 320(@250wpm)___ 267(@300wpm)
“But why would you save me, instead of saving yourself?”
“Because I care about you so much, Reno, and I needed you to be okay.”
He caressed my cheekbone and studied me with wonder in his eyes. When his lips met mine, the kiss was sweet and tender.
Then he held me in his arms and rubbed my back. As I let myself relax, I marveled at how effortless it was to be with him. I’d spent so much of my life afraid to trust, afraid to let anyone in, lying by telling myself I was fine on my own. But I didn’t feel afraid anymore. Instead, I felt like I was exactly where I belonged.
I wanted to explain to him how huge this was, but I couldn’t find the words. What I said instead was, “I’m so grateful for you, Reno.”
His eyes crinkled at the corners when he smiled at me, and he said, “I’m grateful for you too, doll face.” That made me so happy.
We spent the next few hours in bed, alternately talking or napping. I knew it was hard for Reno to allow himself to relax, especially while the situation with Greco was weighing heavily on him. But he managed to be present in the moment, and it meant a lot to me.
Finally, in the early afternoon, we emerged from our room to meet with Romy’s cop friend. Reno and I were both unfailingly polite to this guy, but there was also a lot of stiffness and formality, which definitely wasn’t our norm.
I wondered if the cop picked up on it, and if he actually bought our story, which we tried to spin as a random robbery and kidnapping for ransom. There was no other way to avoid exposing Adriano’s illegal gambling operation. Fortunately, Romy wanted to give us some privacy, so he’d left to run an errand after he introduced us. Otherwise, he would’ve called bullshit on the whole thing.
By the time Romy returned, his friend was putting away his notebook. The cop handed over a business card and asked us to call him if we remembered anything else. Then he paused and looked at us closely before he left. Okay, so he probably suspected we were lying, but since we were the victims of a violent crime, he wasn’t going to put us through the ringer.
Meanwhile, Romy was sweetly oblivious. “See? I told you it’d be quick and painless,” he said with a smile.
“I’m just glad to get it over with,” Reno muttered. Then he changed the subject with, “How’d it go at the bar today?”
“Fine. The new window was installed, and it only took me about an hour to clean up the glass and blood. It’s all good as new and ready for Mom when she gets back from L.A.”
“Thanks for taking care of that.”
“Not a problem.”
Reno took a sip from a glass of water, and then he asked, “What do you think of Mom’s new boyfriend?”
“I like him,” Romy said, as he got comfortable on one of the mustard yellow club chairs. “Once you get past being called ‘dude’ every three minutes, he’s actually a great guy. Best of all, he adores our mom. I think she finally found her other half, and you obviously have, too. That just leaves me, Romeo Fifth-Wheel Russo.”
I asked Romy, “You’re not currently seeing anyone?”
He tried to smile, but it was unconvincing. “Nope. I’ve officially given up on finding love.”
“At twenty-seven? That seems a bit premature.”
“I’ve been dating for a decade, and I’m over it. I really tried to put myself out there and find someone, but all it got me was heartbreak, over and over again. I’ve been dumped, cheated on, lied to—it was pretty much a dumpster fire. So, I guess I’m just destined to be single, and I’m okay with that.” No, he wasn’t. The sadness in his eyes told me otherwise, loud and clear.
“You just picked the wrong guys,” Reno said. “You’re drawn to bad boys, when what you need is someone nice. What about your friend that was just here, the cop? What was his name, Freddy? He was…”
He seemed to be at a loss for adjectives, so I tried to help. “Not horrible?”
“His name’s Frank, and god no,” Romy said. “Never mind that he’s straight. He’s also just so…”
I said, “Boring?”
At the same time, Reno guessed, “Cop-like?”
Romy shot us both a look, and then he said, “I want someone who’s passionate—about life…about me. Or I did, you know, when I was looking for love.” It made me sad that he was trying to talk himself out of something that clearly mattered to him.
He stopped talking when Dante, Charlie, and Vincent came into the room. The brothers seemed to intimidate him. I really hoped he didn’t think they were trying to replace him in Adriano’s life, because there was no way that would ever happen.