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“Dotell.”
“You’re going to wake up with my head between your legs every day for a year. And that’s just for starters.”
I bite my lip as my pussy clenches in anticipation. “You don’t have to make anything up tome.”
“Saysyou.”
“This is me expressing my gratitude to the universe that there is still a you, and a me, and an us. There’s no end to that, as far as I’m concerned.”
His eyes warm. “My sweet girl. Come here and kissme.”
I keep my hand on him, still moving, while I scoot closer and fit my mouth to his. Several of his cousins’ wives — recently married women around my age, who understand life with an Adamo man — have pointed out that there’s not another woman on the planet whom Romero would allow himself to be dependent on this way. However reluctant he may be to let me take care of him, the fact that he’s willing at all speaks volumes.
A cell phone goes off and we both groan. “Yours,” Rome says, and I release him so I can roll over and grab my phone from the nightstand.
“Brianna Rose Callahan, what are you doing calling me this early?”
“Funny, Lando said the same thing. Only without the middle name.” My sister sounds appallingly chipper for this time of the morning.
“So go bother Lando. Why are you pestering us?” My sister and Romero’s brother have some kind of strange friendship, or maybe courtship, going on. I don’t know if they’re sleeping together and I’m making it a point not toask.
“Because he figured if he had to suffer, you should too. He wants to have a pancake breakfast, followed by the entire Fast and Furious franchise. Quinn’s going to test out a new ice cream recipe.”
I hold the phone to my chest and roll back over to face Romero. “Pancakes and movies at your brother’s, with ice cream by Quinn.”
He arches a brow. “Up to you, gorgeous. It’s your dayoff.”
“It’s your brother,” I counter.
“And your sisters. Plural.”
He has me there. “We’ll be there in an hour,” I tell Bree, and click the phone off. Since Lando’s house is only a few minutes away, that gives us plenty of time. Tossing the phone on the nightstand, I snuggle up to myman.
“Now, where werewe?”
* * *
As soon aswe walk into Lando’s house, my brother nods at me and announces, “Got an update. Thought it would be better if you were all together when you heardit.”
Jade and her sisters move together instinctively, and I come up behind her. I will always have her back, literally and otherwise.
Lando doesn’t waste time. “Buford’s been extradited to Florida. They want him for a bunch of stuff down there, and we’re happy to see the back of him. If he ever gets free, we’ll snap him up and bring him back on the arson charge.”
At first, everyone assumed that Santiago had torched the farmhouse, but it turned out to be Buford — his idea of a grand romantic gesture. Deirdre showed her appreciation by skipping town and leaving him to deal with the fallout.
“As for Deirdre,” Lando goes on, “Carlo and his crew have thoroughly investigated her. I’ll spare you the details, but they’ll be on file if you ever want to know more. Bottom line, it appears she is the woman who was married to your father, Patrick Callahan.”
Meaning she really is their mother. It kills me to see the pain on their faces. It must be like losing her all over again, to know that the woman who birthed them is so devoid of decency. Jade’s chin trembles and I pull her close, trying to anchor her in mylove.
“I use the past tense advisedly,” Lando says. “Your father divorced her in absentia. She never got the notice because she was overseas and no one knew where to findher.”
None of the girls says anything. What is there to say, except that they’d have been better off if they never knew her at all? And what a sad commentary on a life thatis.
“So she had no legal claim to the farm,” he continues. “Not that it would have done her any good if shehad.”
Two weeks after the fire, the bank called the loan. The sisters had lots of proof by then that they had a viable business model, but they had no cash on hand. The bank plans to auction it off; we’ve all been trying not to think aboutit.
“The auction was yesterday,” Lando says, and Jade gasps and closes her eyes. I tighten my grip, wishing I could shieldher.
