Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 96129 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 481(@200wpm)___ 385(@250wpm)___ 320(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96129 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 481(@200wpm)___ 385(@250wpm)___ 320(@300wpm)
I sighed heavily, taking a seat on the barstool at the corner of the counter.
“Nothing on Gabe?”
“No, but I don’t feel sick to my stomach, so that’s a good sign.”
“You and your twin shit.”
“It’s real.”
“If you say so.” He bit the apple again. “It’s a good thing Mikey and I don’t share that. Can you imagine? He’d have the guiltiest conscience.”
“Or you’d be a saint.”
“Right.” He laughed. “Does your dad know Gabe’s missing?”
“Yep.” I’d finally called him and told him every detail, minus the bit about Rosie.
“And?”
“He doesn’t seem too worried.”
“Huh.”
“Exactly.” I frowned. “Something about the way he said it made me think he knows where Gabe is, but he didn’t want to tell me.”
“Maybe Gabe’s working for him.”
“Why wouldn’t they tell me?”
“Maybe they think you’d get pissed that Gabe’s involved in any of this kind of shit.” Another bite, another crunch. “You’re a little overprotective of your siblings.”
“I guess.”
“Speaking of which, what’s up with your sister?”
“In the process of transferring to Columbia.”
“Why?”
“To be closer to us?” I shrugged. “I think she thinks it means she’ll have a little more freedom or something.”
He scoffed. “She should know by now that Giuseppe will set up an ivory tower to keep her locked up no matter where she goes.”
I nodded gravely. Our father had everything planned out for Lenora. It was disgusting and something I hated for her, but there was very little I could do to help her. Her mother – our stepmother – had been in a similar situation. Much like me and Gabe, Lenora was practically bred for this life. We tried not to think about it in those terms, since it felt like we were cattle and not human beings, but that’s how things were. It was worse for Lenora since she was a woman. Dad controlled everything from her haircut to keeping her a virgin until her wedding night. It wasn’t like I didn’t like the idea of my little sister being protected, but it was all so antiquated.
“Is your dad still hell-bent on picking her husband?” He finished the apple, tossed it in the garbage, and opened the fridge again. “What else do you have in here?”
“She talked him into letting her choose. He has a list for her, but he’s hoping she picks the Italian nobleman.”
“Nobleman?” Rocco looked over his shoulder. “It’s like a fairy tale. The little principessa will be so pleased.”
“You know she hates it when you call her that.” I felt myself smile thinking about the way my sister shot daggers at Rocco each time he did. “Speaking of fairy tales, what’s going on with Crystal?”
He let out a forced laugh. “She finally got a boyfriend, so I’m hoping that means she’s found a new obsession.”
“For your sake, I hope you’re right.”
“What’s going on with –” His sentence was cut short by the beep of the front door. His gaze swung in that direction and the moment his jaw unhinged, I knew Rosie was home. He glanced at me and muttered a low, “What the fuck?”
“Nice to see you again too, Ol’ Blue Eyes,” Rosie said, walking into the space.
I felt my lips twitch. I hadn’t heard anyone call him that in a decade and from the look on his face, I was sure Rocco hadn’t either. It was what all of the parents called him back home. He looked nothing like Frank Sinatra, but his eyes were blue and that was all it took for the name to stick. I didn’t turn to her immediately. It was difficult enough having her sitting across from me at Oui. It had been even more difficult to ask her those questions and pretend I didn’t care at all, when in fact I wanted to drill her for more information. I wanted the names of every person she’d ever been intimate with so I could look them up. For their sakes, it was best that they remained faceless. For mine, it was best I didn’t think about it much. She was becoming an obsession. A liability. Neither was something I could afford, but it was too late for that. I knew that even if I could take her home today, I wouldn’t be able to walk away.
I finally made myself look at her and instantly wished I hadn’t. Her long, dark hair was up in a sleek bun that I was itching to undo. She was wearing a black sports bra and the tiniest pair of black biker shorts I’d ever seen. I was sure if she turned around, I’d be able to almost see the tips of her ass. When she walked toward the fridge, I confirmed it and nearly threw myself over the counter to cover Rocco’s wandering eyes. I couldn’t blame him for looking, though. Her ass looked incredible in that poor excuse for shorts. She looked incredible. This wasn’t helping my trying not to drag her into my bedroom.