Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 79209 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 396(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79209 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 396(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
He sank farther into the cushion and crossed his arms over his chest. His hair was still dark, and he was muscular because he lifted every day. He was in his mid-forties but in excellent shape, and I could easily see him with someone my age or even a little younger. “I’m not looking for a wife. And I already have my children, so I’m not interested in pursuing that either.”
I suspected that was all he’d ever say on the matter, so I didn’t ask any further questions. “Because if you wanted to have someone to share your life with, Leo and I wouldn’t care at all.”
He smirked slightly. “That’s nice of you to say.”
“We want you to be happy,” I said. “Whether that’s with a woman…or a man.” I literally hadn’t seen him with anyone at all, so I really didn’t know what his interests were. Maybe he was afraid of what others would think of him if he wasn’t interested in women.
He chuckled. “I like women. I just don’t like relationships or commitment or conversation or bullshit.” He moved his hand to my thigh and gave me a pat. “Thank you for taking an interest in my life, Frankie. But this conversation is now over.”
9
FRANCESCA
It was late by the time Wolfe called me. “I’m sorry I got caught up.”
“It’s okay,” I said automatically, sitting on the couch.
“It was a big fucking mess.”
I didn’t ask for the details because I didn’t care. “Are you on your way?”
“Yeah.”
“I didn’t make dinner. Can you grab something?”
He paused, probably because I made dinner every night, so that meant something was wrong. “Sure. What do you want?”
“I don’t care.”
“Alright. See you soon, baby.” He hung up.
I sat on the couch in his oversized clothes and waited for him to come home. Twenty minutes later, I saw the flash of his headlights on the trees on the property before he pulled up in front of my house. I watched him get out of the car and grab the paper bag of takeout before he headed to the front door and let himself inside.
“I’m home,” he announced like he did every night.
I rose from the couch and approached him.
He carried the bag to the dining table and set it on the surface before he turned to look at me, his intelligent eyes doing a quick sweep of my expression before he dipped his head and kissed me. “Looks like your day was worse than mine.” He pulled out a chair at the dining table for me to sit and then took the seat beside me.
“You could say that.” I took a seat and leaned my side against the edge of the table.
He was pivoted in his chair to look at me, his knees parted so my knees could fit between his. He leaned toward me, his big hand moving to my thigh. His dark eyes took in my stare with a razor-sharp focus no one had ever given me. He hung on to every word I didn’t speak, analyzed every slight movement of my face. “Did you tell him?”
“No.”
His eyes flicked back and forth between mine. “Then what happened?”
“He told me he wants me to take over the business…and I need the right partner to accomplish that.”
He gave a slight nod like he already knew this.
“I guess Leo already knows this, but he never gave me any indication that he did.”
“Probably not easy for him to talk about.”
“Yeah, maybe. I don’t know,” I said with a shrug. “And then my dad brought up the whole thing with Alessandro and I said he wasn’t my type, and then he said he wants me to find someone who respects our family, who asks him for permission, all this other stuff that I didn’t want to hear.”
Wolfe didn’t react to this disappointing news.
“I just don’t understand why he suggests Alessandro…but not you. You fit everything that he’s looking for. All the qualities he listed, you have them. You literally make the most sense…so why?”
He gave a slight shrug.
“I would say it’s because he doesn’t like you, but he just initiated you into the family. He gave you his father’s blade to carve your initials into our oak tree. So…why not?”
“We won’t know until we ask him.”
“Well, now we can’t ask him.”
Wolfe cocked his head slightly.
“I can tell he’s going to be fucking pissed. Like, Mount Etna erupting pissed. And he’ll never approve of you or accept this relationship and—”
“Baby.” His fingers gently rubbed over my thigh through the material of the sweatpants. “We’ll figure it out.”
“He’ll kill you, Wolfe.”
“No, he won’t.”
“I know he appears serene and calm all the time, but trust me, when he loses his temper—”
“He won’t try to kill me because he knows I’ll kill him first.”
My blood turned colder than a frozen river in winter. “You—you don’t mean that.”