Total pages in book: 148
Estimated words: 143870 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 719(@200wpm)___ 575(@250wpm)___ 480(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 143870 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 719(@200wpm)___ 575(@250wpm)___ 480(@300wpm)
“No.” I blanche. “Nothing happened with him. He took me to his office and made me sit there while he went back to his date.”
“You can’t tell me that man wasn’t being territorial,” Lucia argues. “Everybody saw it. Tommy was practically pissing himself he got out of there so fast. And I really don’t think Cristian is into Jolie.”
I shrug, hoping it’s not obvious how uncomfortable it is to talk about this.
“They looked pretty cozy to me.”
“She did,” Lucia says. “But he never touched her. And after he basically kidnapped you, he didn’t even talk to her. I saw him arguing with Angelo for a few minutes, then Bastien sent Jolie off with one of her guards, and the three of them sat and talked for an hour.”
“Well, what he did or didn’t do is his business.” I refold the same onesie for the third time.
“He also rejected your dancer friend,” Serafina points out. “God, that was embarrassing.”
“Tiffany?” I frown.
“Yep.” Sera nods. “He asked her point blank if she was lost. She thought he was joking, but he definitely wasn’t. It took about a full minute of awkward silence for comprehension to sink in.”
“Even then, she tried to save face by leaving him her number in case he changed his mind.” Lucia grimaces. “I think she actually died a little inside when he told her that he wouldn’t. That man has a talent for delivering the driest insults I’ve ever heard.”
I shouldn’t be surprised that Tiffany lied about their interaction. She can’t fathom that anyone would reject her. But either way, it doesn’t matter, and I don’t want to think about it anymore.
“There’s nothing going on between Cristian and me,” I tell the girls. “The Vitales are just keeping an eye on me because of a creepy customer at the club. That’s all this is.”
“Oh.” Lucia deflates. “Well, I guess that makes sense. Are you okay? Is this creep someone we need to worry about?”
“I’m good,” I assure them. “He won’t get anywhere near me.”
“Not if the Vitales have anything to say about it,” Lucia agrees.
“Okay, but if you weren’t with Cristian last night, then who was it?” Sera asks.
“Bran.” I blow out a breath, ripping off that Band-Aid too while I’m at it.
“Bran?”
“It’s an alias from Sanctum. I’m Morrigan, and he’s Bran the Blessed.”
“The Raven King?” Lucia arches a brow at me.
“Raven?” I echo in confusion.
“Yeah.” She nods. “According to the myth, his head is buried on the hill where the Tower of London now stands. They still keep at least six ravens there, and there’s a superstition that if they ever leave, the Tower and kingdom will fall.”
A weird feeling settles in my gut as I consider the coincidence. There are only so many aliases to choose from, but it’s ironic that we both chose names tied to the same symbolism. His the Raven King, and mine the raven goddess.
“I have to say, that is an extremely random piece of information,” Sera observes.
“My mom made us go on pretty much every tour you can imagine while we were in London a few years ago.” Lucia shrugs. “I heard the story from a guide.”
“Hey.” Mariella pops her head in the door, glancing around the nursery. “Did I miss everything?”
“Sort of,” Sera answers apologetically. “It came together pretty quickly.”
“Well, that’s the price I pay for being a workaholic,” Mariella says. “But it looks beautiful.”
It really does. The room isn’t exactly what you’d expect in a typical nursery. The space is soft and calming, with all wood furniture, sage green curtains, and frames of preserved greenery decorating the walls. The paint is a neutral cream color, with the exception of one accent wall, which has a stunning mural of a black stag among the trees. It’s a theme significant to the island’s history, but more importantly, to Angelo. I’m not exactly sure what it means, but Abella mentioned that he credits the mysterious black stag for leading him back to her during the most tumultuous phase of their relationship.
Now, they’re paying homage to the creature by giving their son his soprannome of Il Cervo—the stag. It’s a Vitale tradition, where a symbolic animal is chosen for each child to represent their personal qualities. Usually, those names are decided after the baby is born, but in this case, they couldn’t imagine their first son being anything else.
During Abella’s pregnancies, I’ve learned that the Vitales have a lot of family heirlooms and traditions that get passed down. The rocking chair in this room is the same one Nonna Vitale used to rock her babies, after which it was passed down to her daughter-in-law, and now, Abella. There’s also a rosary that goes to the firstborn son of every patriarch, a signet ring with the Vitale crest, and a leather-bound book that includes the family history.