Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 82121 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 411(@200wpm)___ 328(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82121 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 411(@200wpm)___ 328(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
“We fucked like it was the end of the world.”
I groan, tipping my head back. My mouth waters at the thought. He’s right, that was some very world-ending sex. “Yeah, we really did, but sex is just sex. It was fantastic, okay? I still think about it all the time, but—”
“I knew you did.” He comes closer. I back away, my hands up. I don’t like that look in his eye. Well, I love it, but I don’t want to love it. “Tell me exactly how you touch yourself when you imagine me fucking you.”
“Stop it,” I whisper, looking at the door meaningfully. “We’re not getting married, and we’re not doing that ever again.”
“We are. Ideally both, but I’d accept marriage.”
“I’m not doing this with you. What do I have to do to get you out of my apartment? I’m exhausted and I want to go to bed.”
He tilts his head, considering. “Say you’ll marry me.”
“That’s not happening. Try again.”
“Tell me what your family needs.”
I open my mouth to tell him off—but clamp down again. Because that’s not insane or unreasonable. It’s generous and too much, and I don’t want anything from him, but at least it’s a way to end this conversation that doesn’t involve me wearing his stupid ring. I just want him gone so I can move on with my life.
“Will that get you out of my apartment?”
“Yes. I promise.”
We need a thousand things. This place is one sneeze away from getting condemned. But I have to keep it simple. “A backpack for Jason.”
“How big?”
“School-sized. I don’t know. He’s in community college at Bucks. Takes the train there and back every day.”
“Backpack. Done.”
“And slippers for Nana. Something fuzzy and pink.”
“Backpack and slippers. What do you need?”
“Nothing.”
“Do you have prenatal vitamins? Have you seen an OBGYN yet?”
My hands wave in the air. What’s with this guy and planning everything? “I mean, I’ve thought—”
“Vitamins, a backpack, fuzzy pink slippers, and the name of my family’s doctor.”
“I can’t afford your family’s doctor.”
He gives me a look like I’m an idiot, which I don’t appreciate. “You don’t have to worry about money.”
I stare down at the floor, turning red with embarrassment. “Why are you doing this?”
“Because I want to marry you.”
“But why? I don’t understand. I’m a nothing girl. I’m a total nobody, and you’re—” I gesture at his suit. It must cost more than our rent for an entire year. Meaning, the power imbalance between us is pretty hard to ignore.
He doesn’t answer right away “I come from a difficult family. There isn’t much that I can call my own. And maybe I’ve been searching for something for a while now, something to give me a little meaning, and maybe—” He stops himself, but I know where he’s going.
I’m not the solution to this guy’s existential crisis. My baby sure as hell isn’t either. “I think you should go.”
He nods like he expected that. “You are somebody, Molly.”
“You’re wrong about that.”
“We fucked like the world’s ending, remember?” He smiles and it makes my heart race into my throat. “That’s something. Goodnight, baby.”
Chapter 10
Saul
I’m in a good mood back at the Rossi manor. I barely even notice time slipping past as I deal with the usual crap from my Vegas team then pivot to taking calls about the Irish making moves at the edges of our territory. The clan chief, a guy named Finnian Lynch, has been getting aggressive lately. I can’t tell if he’s scared or desperate. Maybe a little bit of both. But the guy’s always been a little unpredictable.
Not that anything can bother me right now.
Molly doesn’t want to get married. God, the look on her face when I told her that’s what I wanted. It was pure terror. I mean, the exact opposite reaction a guy wants when he proposes marriage to the mother of his baby. Except it didn’t bother me, not one tiny bit.
For the first time in my life, I’m sure about something.
This is the right course of action. This is what I really want. Normally, I’d have a thousand reasons why I shouldn’t do this, why it’s a mistake, why it’ll make the Famiglia’s life harder, but none of that matters to me right now.
All I can think of is Molly and my baby.
“Why do you have pink fuzzy slippers?” Stefania’s standing at the door to my office frowning at the bag of stuff on my couch. I turn away from my computer and frown at her. I hadn’t even noticed when she came in.
“My feet get cold. Want a pair?”
“Nah, I’m more of a plaid kind of gal myself.” Her arms cross over her chest. “Seriously, what’s the deal?”
“Don’t worry about it.”
“Oh, that only makes me even more curious.” Her eyebrows waggle. “Do you have a girlfriend?”
“Several.”
“Gross. Absolutely foul. Never speak to me again.”