Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 62266 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 311(@200wpm)___ 249(@250wpm)___ 208(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 62266 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 311(@200wpm)___ 249(@250wpm)___ 208(@300wpm)
My hand goes to my stomach. I can’t help but smile. As much as I want to be with Z, if we never are, at least I have this part of us. A little piece of him. Even if Z regrets it, I’ll cherish that moment in time. Not that I’m still not pissed at him. I am, but I will always love him. He’s been a part of my life from the start. It’s hard to imagine my life without him.
What if in time he starts to date someone seriously? Would he bring her home? I would have to see this person on holidays and at every other important event in our family. That sounds like torture. I can’t help all the directions my thoughts are going in as I wait what feels like an eternity for Marks.
I don’t know anything about my brothers’ or Z’s dating life or, I suppose, fucking life. That’s what the men in our world do. They have mistresses and go to high-end brothels or sex clubs. I have more than once wondered if Z took part in that lifestyle.
No one ever brings people home. You wouldn’t dare unless it was serious. Hence why I knew nothing of that part of their lives. At one point I thought War might be asexual. I have no idea what Ronan's sexual orientation is. That man is tough to read.
As for Z, I could picture him as a dater, I think. I don't want to. Out of everyone, he can be the most social. He has personality, and he’s funny. He has a way of calming a room and easing the tension. A few times I thought it was an act, that I'd catch this expression on his face, but who knows? I thought I knew Z, but maybe I don't know him at all.
"Buonasera," an old woman says in passing.
“Buonasera,” I respond with a smile, leaning back on the wooden bench that is starting to hurt my ass.
Everyone is friendly here, saying hello and smiling as they pass. Marks isn't a fan. She's suspicious of everyone. She has major paranoia.
If I had to guess from the bits and pieces I've put together, she gets it from her father. Even around the topic of him, she's tight-lipped, and I don't know if it's because she doesn't want to talk about him or if she does it on his behalf.
My phone goes off from inside my purse. I’m guessing it’s Marks being overwhelmed by all the pregnancy tests, but it’s not. I see it’s a call from my mom. I answer. Her and my father's faces pop up together when I do. I can tell from the background they're back home but in their place in the city. Since my brother War has taken over more of the family business responsibilities, they have been traveling more, and often came and stayed for brief stints near my school when I was abroad.
“Hey,” I say. Mom gives me a warm smile. Dad’s face is always stoic; even when he chuckles, it remains that way.
"Hi, sweetheart," Mom says. "How is Valle di Luminara?"
"It's beautiful here."
"It is one of my favorites," Mom agrees.
"We have friends there this week," Dad chimes in. "The Amato family." I try to place the name. I know I've heard it before, but I swear my dad knows everyone.
"Yeah, half the houses here, they say, are vacation homes."
"You should go say hello to the Amatos. Take them a gift." Oh, man.
"Dad." His name comes out whiny, and I know it.
"Basta.” There is a soft warning in his tone that has me checking my own. My father didn't rule with an iron fist, with me at least. I can't say the same for my brothers, but I do have a ton of respect for him, and if he warns me to cut the crap, I do.
"I don't know them; it will be weird."
"It would be inappropriate for you to not greet them."
"Okay," I relent, knowing this isn't a suggestion.
"You know their son Salvatore. He's single."
"Mom, no." I shake my head. "Tell her, Dad." My parents told me not to consider dating until I finished school, not that I ever tried.
I haven't finished school, but I'm in no rush to return. Not sure I'll be welcomed if I do. It might be college, but it's a Catholic one. No way I can walk around with a baby bump and have no husband. Oh, sure, I could. They wouldn’t tell my father or War no, but the judgment would be harsh.
Shit, why hadn't I thought about what my parents are going to think if I am pregnant? If they found out it was Z who got me pregnant. Double shit.
“I have been getting many requests, Cosima,” Dad starts.
“I thought—”
“I'm not making you do anything.” Except go visit the Amato family. Once my mom said the son's name, it clicked in my mind who they were. They’d been at my brother’s wedding. If I recall, Z and I had gotten in a fight about their son. That had slipped my mind, but I did have a few too many champagnes that night, and I might have been flirting with a few people to see if I could get a reaction out of Z. I had, but at the time, I wasn’t sure if it was jealousy or him being protective.