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It may be just a time-out from our regular lives, but I don’t care. I’m going to treasure every moment of this ‘normal’ day.
Even if I know these orgasms are nothing like normal.
Stepping out of the shower, I wrap myself in a fluffy robe. The smell of bacon is wafting from downstairs, and I can’t resist, so I don’t even bother dressing before heading down in search of the scent.
Nero’s in the kitchen, wearing jeans—and nothing else. “Delicious,” I comment, padding barefoot into the room.
He grins. “Coffee?”
“Yes, please.”
He sets about pouring me a mug, fixing it just the way I like, with cream and sugar. There’s a plate of bacon on the counter and he’s scrambling up eggs in a pan; the toaster pops up two pieces of golden toast.
“Can I do anything?” I ask, taken aback by the show of domesticity. I haven’t seen Nero lift a finger in the kitchen since I arrived, it’s all been takeout and chef deliveries.
“Nope. Sit that cute ass down,” he says, handing me the coffee.
“I’m not going to argue with that.” I steal a piece of bacon on my way to the table, enjoying the view.
He brings over our plates a few minutes later, and I wait until he settles into his chair across from me before starting to eat. “This is good,” I say, tasting the eggs.
“Don’t sound so surprised,” he laughs.
“Can you blame me?” I shoot back with a smile. “I didn’t think you knew how to turn the oven on.”
“I’m a man of many talents.”
“Yes, you are,” I purr.
We eat in companiable silence for a moment, and Nero goes to refill his plate. “How’s Teddy doing?” he asks, and my head snaps up. But Nero’s question is sincere, with no hint of threat.
It’s a normal day, remember?
“He’s good,” I say slowly. “He made the dean’s list last week. Although, I don’t know when he gets any studying done, he’s turned into a real ladies’ man.”
“You must be proud of him.” Nero smiles.
“I am. I always knew he was smart, and I’m so happy that he gets to do something with that intelligence.”
“He’ll have the life you want him to have.”
That sounds like a promise, but I can’t rely on that. There are too many unknown factors at this point, too many things that can go wrong in our lives. That makes me think of Lydia’s appearance at the restaurant last night.
“Is it true, what you said?” I ask. “Will the FBI back off now?”
Nero sighs. “Maybe. Vance was their mole, so with him out of the picture, it gives us a temporary reprieve, at least. And if I can close this deal with the Kovacks, then I’ll be getting out of the criminal game for good. With nothing but legit real estate business on our books, there’ll be less for the Feds to chase.”
“Is the development going well?” I ask. They broke ground on construction over a month ago, and I know that Nero has been closely tracking the progress.
Nero nods, looking pleased. “Valuations on the buildings have already gone through the roof, and they aren’t even up yet. It’s the whole reason I’ve been planning the shift. There’ll be more than enough cash to go around. We won’t need to look over our shoulders anymore.”
I know he means ‘we’ as in the Barretti organization, but still, I feel a flicker of hope inside of me. If this works out, it could change everything.
Maybe our pretend scenario could become more real…
I head to art class,and Nero goes to the construction site to deal with business, but we make plans to meet this evening at the bar. I practically float through my day, still caught up in the bubble of closeness. I decide I’m not going to worry about what happens after this pretense is over, I’m just going to savor feeling happy for the first time in a long while.
I deserve that, after everything I’ve been through.
