AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Breakfast? Coffee?”
“Coffee.” He makes a face. “You still eat a lot in the morning?”
“Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.”
“I don’t think that’s actually true. But just coffee for me.”
I pour him a cup. He gives himself a tour of the downstairs while I plate the food and shovel some down. “What do you think?” I ask when he comes back.
“Not bad. Good bones. And close to your wife’s house.” His face darkens at the last bit. “Where is she?”
“Sleeping upstairs.”
“Then let’s talk out back. Wouldn’t want to wake your new bride.”
I grunt in reply, set my plate aside, and lead him onto the porch. The yard’s a little overgrown—I haven’t had time to keep it up—but I’ll hire people to fix that soon. We sit in a pair of metal chairs the last owners left behind, our drinks steaming in the cool morning air.
“What are you doing here, Saul?”
“We should talk.”
“Yeah? Did Renzo put you up to this?”
He grimaces, which confirms it. “Even if he did, he’s right.”
“What’s there to say? I shouldn’t have married Allegra, but I did it anyway. I gave you my Vegas business to make up for it. You’ll be richer than me in a few years and the Famiglia will keep on earning its cut. Renzo gets his alliance. Everyone wins.”
“Everyone wins,” Saul echoes, not looking at me. “Except you.”
I grunt and sip my coffee. I know what he’s about to ask. It’s the same thing Allegra keeps asking, and it’s the same question I keep asking myself.
“Go ahead. Spit it out.”
He shakes his head slowly. “You really never got over her, did you?”
I’m surprised by that. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“After that shit in college, you ran off to Vegas to get away from her. I thought you would’ve moved on in ten years, but you really haven’t.”
“I’m fine. I’m over it.”
“You’re a fucking liar. Why did you care so much that I was going to marry her, and why did you risk so much to take her for yourself? And how the hell did you convince her to do it?”
“Like I told Renzo?—”
“He’s not here so don’t give me that bullshit. How’d you do it?”
I clench my jaw. “You don’t believe that we’re in love?”
“I believe one of you is. I think she’s got other reasons.”
I go quiet. Saul can be very fucking perceptive sometimes and it’s more than a little frustrating. But I don’t know if he’s right about loving her.
I want her. That’s true. I can’t get her out of my head and whenever she’s around, I have this stupid, physically painful need to reach out and touch her. I like her smile, I love her laugh, but she’s right, we don’t know each other anymore. It’s been ten years.
How can I love a girl I haven’t seen in a decade? We only spent a week together.
But I blew up my life. I gave up Vegas, everything I’ve known, everything I’ve built, just to be with her. When she asks why I did it, I’m not lying.
