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The only person who won the money fight against Jess was Aunt Berta, who absolutely refused to take a dime for babysitting Jasper. Instead, she’d sat Jess down and explained why Jess was actually doing her a favor, giving her a reason to get out of bed each morning.
Tony had known his aunt was lonely after Uncle Renzo’s death, but he didn’t realize just how sad she’d been. He’d thought sharing dinners with him and Rhys, plus doing odd jobs, shopping and tidying, was filling her days and helping her move past her grief.
It had broken his heart to listen as she talked to Jess about her inability to have children—something she’d wanted desperately—and how her time spent with Jasper was giving her the chance to do some of that mothering she’d missed out on.
After that, Jess didn’t try to pay Aunt Berta again, though she and Jasper had practically wallpapered his aunt’s apartment with little thank-you notes and Jasper’s artwork, all drawn specifically for her.
Jess leaned back against the cushions, her eyes drifting closed. He’d hoped living with them would make her life easier, and while he knew it had in a lot of ways, she still worked tirelessly and there were still dark circles under her eyes. She was up at dawn, getting Jasper ready for school, and she didn’t stop until she put her head on the pillow, most nights after midnight.
Without her weekend job at the motel, he’d thought she would at least have a couple days to relax, but Jess wouldn’t even allow herself those hours off, often taking extra shifts at the diner or cleaning the hell out of their apartment in yet another attempt to “earn her keep.”
Rhys reached for Jess’s feet. “Here. Take off your boots. You’re home now. Try to relax a little and warm up.” He helped Jess pull off her boots.
“I’ll grab Luca tomorrow morning and we’ll go check out your car. See if we can get it running. If not, we’ll get the thing towed to my cousin Bruno’s garage.”
“You seem to have a cousin for every problem in the world.”
Tony grinned. “Rhys wasn’t exaggerating about the size of my family when he said there were thousands of us. In the meantime, I’ll drive you to work tomorrow night. No more rides with the Russos,” he said.
Jess shook her head. “That’s okay. If the car’s dead, I’ll just get it towed to a junkyard or something. I can take the bus to work. I should have been doing that anyway, but I’ve gotten a bit complacent, living the good life here with you two. Not being as thrifty as I should. That needs to stop.”
“There’s nothing wrong with complacency, Jess,” Rhys said. “Nothing wrong with feeling safe and comfortable.”
Most people tossed the word complacent around like it was a bad thing, as if it indicated being stalled or bored. For Jess, it meant so much more, something positive, something good. And Tony was glad to know she felt that here, but hated that she thought she shouldn’t.
He stepped next to her. “Rhys is right. There’s nothing wrong with being complacent. In fact, I think I’m going to go out of my way to make sure you keep feeling that way. Which is why I’m driving you to work tomorrowandpicking you up.”
She shook her head, intent on starting a fight.
He ran a playful finger along her nose, shocking her into silence, before he said, “Nonnegotiable.”
“You need to find a new word. You use that one way too much,” she grumbled.
He chuckled. “But it works so well.”
She narrowed her eyes, but he wasn’t letting her win another argument. She was going to have to learn to pick her battles. He claimed the other end of the couch, leaning against the armrest and dragging Jess toward him until she was nestled between his outstretched legs, her back resting against his chest. Rhys reached for her feet, pulling them onto his lap.
She sighed, all the air in her body slowly slipping out as Rhys began to rub them.
“Your feet are freezing,” he mused.
Tony heard the humor in her voice when she said, “I’m always cold.”
Her inability to feel warmth had become a running joke between them. Though they had the heat on, the apartment usually a balmy seventy, Jess would still be bundled up in thick socks and sweatshirts, while he and Rhys walked around in T-shirts and shorts.
“You need to gain weight,” Tony added, wrapping his arms around her tiny frame, tucking the blanket around both of them. “You’re still too thin.”
“Thought it was rude to tell a woman she was skinny,” she teased. “Besides, I’ve gained five pounds since living here.”
Rhys chuckled. “You’ve still got a ways to go. I call it the Aunt Berta fifteen. It’s why Tony and I started running every morning. I’m not sure what that woman puts in her food, but I’ve yet to taste anything she’s made that couldn’t headline at a Michelin-star restaurant.”
“You’re not kidding.” Jess groaned in delight when Rhys pressed his thumbs into the heel of her feet. “Oh God, Rhys, that feels like heaven.” She settled deeper into Tony, the tension in her body waning. “Are you ever going to tell me why you hate the Russos so much?” Jess asked.
“Shit.” Rhys chuckled. “Please, no. It’s another one of those Moretti epic tales. Might take a while.”
“Smart-ass,” Tony groused. “I can make it short.”
Rhys snorted. “Twenty bucks says you can’t.”
