Hell, he’s practically a stranger.
“Yeah. He’s…he’s not a good guy, Jack. But he wasn’t always that way. My dad would beat my mom when she’d get in the way of his….” I pause to find the right word, but none seem to really fit.
“His what, Bianca?” Jack rasps.
“Teachings, I guess? You have to be groomed for the mafia. After all, it’s a family business.” I scoff. “But she wanted to protect her children’s childhood, and my dad didn’t like that much.”
There’s a weight to the silence that follows before Jack’s warm hand runs along my bare shoulder. I lean into his touch, savoring it. The gesture is comforting and keeps me in the present when my past threatens to keep me hostage.
“How did she die, Bianca?” he murmurs.
“There’s about a ten-year gap between Dominic and me. Did you know that?”
He shakes his head.
“Yeah. My dad got her pregnant with me in hopes that I’d be a distraction and she’d back off from meddling with Dominic’s…grooming. And it worked for a little while. But then he started talking about arranged marriages to men as old as he was when I hadn’t even gone to Kindergarten. My mom lost it.”
“Bianca––”
“He pushed her down the stairs. I can still remember how awkward her limbs looked as she just…laid there. A crumpled mess that needed to be cleaned up.”
“She died?” he chokes out.
“Broke her neck,” I clarify as a familiar numbness spreads through me.
Shoulders hunched in defeat, he squeezes me softly, and whispers, “I’m so sorry, Bianca.”
“Dominic gave me the bear the morning of her funeral. I held on to that thing like my life depended on it, ya know? It was my only tie to love. The only evidence I had that my brother had a heart, and the only thing I needed to remind me of my mom. In his own messed up way, I do think my dad loved her, though, because he stopped trying to arrange my marriage after her death. I became the old maid of the mafia. Yay me, right?”
It’s funny how differently my life could’ve turned out if it weren’t for a few key moments that altered my reality. And even though I’ve thought of this story a thousand times, it amazes me how quickly it changed my life in an irrevocable way.
“I’m glad you weren’t married off to someone else,” Jack murmurs before setting the bear back where it belongs.
I peek up at him, then smile tightly. “Sure you are. Now, you’re stuck with me.”
“And I wouldn’t have it any other way.” He gives me another quick peck. “Now, since I’m already up and you made me feel guilty for beer and popcorn last night, can I join you at the gym?”
I pause, and the bastard reads me like a book.
“I don’t have to,” he adds. “I know how much you like your alone time when working out.”
Again, my mouth opens and closes like a fish out of water before I ask, “How did you know?”
“You wake up at the ass crack of dawn so you can have the place to yourself. That way, you can focus on getting in a good workout instead of getting lost in what other people might be thinking of you. But you already know what I think of you, so I was hoping I’d be the exception.”
Digging my teeth into my lower lip, I stare at him through the vanity mirror and weigh my options when his giant grin distracts me.
His fingers dig into my tired muscles, massaging me in a way that should be illegal. With a soft groan, I drop my chin to my chest to give him better access to my back and neck while soaking up his magical fingers like a dry sponge.
“Come on, Bianca,” Jack murmurs, not even bothering to hide the fact that he’s totally manipulating me right now. “Let me in. I think you’re sexy. Smart. Stubborn.”––I laugh––“Caring. Beautiful. Let me tag along to one of your happy places. Please?”
Another groan escapes me before I lift my head and stare back at him through the mirror. “You really wanna come?”
“Yes.”
My face scrunches up, but I give in. “Fiiine.”
“Yes!”
“Don’t look too proud of yourself.”
With a faux gasp that turns my insides to mush, he clutches at his chest. “I would never. If I did, I have a feeling that you’d find a way to knock me down a few pegs.”
“And don’t you forget it,” I quip.
He laughs. “Let me go change. I’ll meet you