Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 82524 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 413(@200wpm)___ 330(@250wpm)___ 275(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82524 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 413(@200wpm)___ 330(@250wpm)___ 275(@300wpm)
“Are you going to stand there and stare at us all morning?” Rafe says it casually without looking in my direction.
But I grin sheepishly. Hattie waves at me. “Hi, Mommy.”
“Good morning, bug.” I walk over and kiss her hair. “What’s Rafey making today?”
“Banana pancakes.”
“You like those now?”
She makes a face. “Only because he made them.”
God, if my heart could swell, it sure as hell would.
“Good morning to you too,” I say, going over to kiss my big husband on his neck. “How’d you sleep?”
“Bad and never enough.” He tugs me against his side and bends down to kiss my ear. “How about her?”
I glance over my shoulder. “Better last night, but still not great.”
He nods grimly. “We’ll deal with it.”
“I know. We will.”
He pauses to kiss me. His taste is comfort with a sharp side of excitement.
We sit and eat as a family. I drink coffee and watch them joke and laugh with each other. They tend to gang up on me when they’re together but I don’t mind one bit. Hattie hugs me when she’s done eating and asks if she can go find Priya.
“Shouldn’t we give her a break?”
“Nope!” Hattie rushes off to the basement where Priya’s been staying in a guest suite.
“It’s fine, let her go.” Rafe absently puts his hand over mine. “Priya doesn’t mind. Besides, I told her I’d give her a thousand dollars every time Hattie bothered her outside of work hours.”
“Wow, she’s going to be rich by the end of this.”
“And you wonder why she took the job?” His fingers stroke the back of my hand. “I missed you last night.”
“I missed you too. I’d come back to bed, but—“
“No. You’re needed with her. I can wait.” His eyes are serious and deep. “I can wait as long as she needs.”
Fuck. This man.
Something in me finally thaws. I didn’t know it was there. I hadn’t noticed until now that I’d been holding back. But his words, his gaze, his touch—
It crumbles the last of my defenses.
“I love you, Rafe. You’re a good father to her.”
He seems surprised, but also delighted. “I don’t feel like I’m that good.”
“You are though. You’re doing your best. And I love you for it.”
“Do you love me for anything else?”
I laugh despite myself. “A few things.”
“Like what?”
“If you want to turn this dirty, you’re going to ruin it.”
“Me? Dirty? Never.” He leans down to kiss my lips. “I love you too, by the way.”
“You didn’t have to say it.”
“I know, but I like to. It’s been hard lately. With everything going on—“
“What is going on, exactly?” I know I shouldn’t ask him about this side of his life. He tries to keep a wall between Rafe-the-crime-lord and Rafe-the-husband, but the two bleed through to each other.
And besides, I nearly got killed the other day.
His expression hardens and I think he’s going to change the subject, but he blows out air instead. “With Nunzio dead, Denning’s much more willing to move forward with the merger. Nunzio was the one threatening him and scaring him off.”
“What about the guards?”
“Any of the men working that day were demoted. I don’t think they were involved. Nunzio ordered them to take an early lunch, and none realized they’d be leaving the place unmonitored. They were following orders like they’re supposed to.”
“That seems like we’re in good shape now though, right? If you got the traitor?”
He lifts his coffee and sips it, glaring at the table. “Ignazio’s still alive and I don’t think his influence is entirely gone. The other Capos are afraid now that Nunzio’s dead and none of them are speaking out, but that doesn’t mean they don’t agree with Ignazio’s viewpoint. Unless I can completely root them out, there will be problems again in the future.”
“What are you going to do?”
He shifts slightly and touches my wrist. “I’m going to handle it.”
“Rafe—“
“It isn’t your problem to worry about. You have Hattie to watch over. You have the house to deal with. One day soon, when this is all over, you can go back to work with Beth—“
“About that.” I clear my throat and take his hand between mine. I lift his fingers to my lips and kiss the letters on his knuckles. A. S. H. E. S. “Have you thought more about my suggestion?”
“The vote.” He purrs as I keep kissing his hand. “Careful. You’re going to distract me.”
“Yes, the vote, and you’re too easily distracted then.” I nibble his thumb. “I was thinking. What if me and Beth helped?”
“I don’t see how.”
“Well, you need the vote to look legitimate, right? And it will be, basically, even though you know how it’ll go before everyone shows up.”
“Yes, that’s true.”
“Then let me and Beth plan it. I’ll use the same venue where we got married—“
“Absolutely not.”
“Rafe—“
“You’ve been in too much trouble already. I won’t put you in that position again.”