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“I had to do something.”
“Something, fine, but what you did wasn’t just something. It was a dangerous, terrifying high-wire act that caused total chaos, all because your mother doesn’t know your favorite color or you want to ride a horse! You should be thanking God every day for the life you have.”
“Nick… I don’t understand… you were so kind when I told you everything at Henri’s.”
“I was holding back my judgment until I met your parents and brother. Now I have, and it’s obvious they love you very much. What you did was selfish, ungrateful, and outrageous. Are they perfect? Of course not, and believe me, I know what it’s like growing up in a family like yours, but you give the phrase Mafia princess a whole new meaning. If you ever, and I mean ever, pull crap on me—”
“I won’t.”
“Let me finish!” he barked. “If you ever pull crap on me, and I mean if you lie, try to manipulate me, or go behind my back about anything, it’s over. Is that clear?”
“Ouch, yeah, it’s clear,” she replied, cringing as she spoke.
“I’m still not convinced you know how fucking lucky you are,” he continued, shaking his head, “and I don’t just mean that you came out of that fiasco in one piece, I mean living in your father’s luxury compound and all the benefits you have. I’m surprised being around Sammy you weren’t more aware of your good fortune.”
“I get it, I do. You can stop lecturing me now. I’m not a spoiled teenager.”
“You may not be a teenager, but you are definitely spoiled.”
As he picked up his coffee mug and took a drink, she let out a sigh and dropped her gaze to the table.
“You’re right,” she mumbled.
“About what?”
“Looking back, I can see how nuts it was, and when I said goodbye to Mom just now I felt really guilty.”
“Guilty?” he repeated. “You’re feeling guilty?”
“I’m not a sociopath, Nick,” she retorted, raising her eyes. “When the idea came to me I was furious. It was a spur of the moment thing that took on its own momentum.”
“Bianca,” he said solemnly, lowering his voice, “I can help you with your guilty conscience.”
“You can?”
“You need to be punished, but you’ll have to ask me.”
“Ask you?” she repeated softly, her face flushing as she stared back at him.
“Obviously it will have to be after Sammy leaves, though that will give you time to think about things.”
“Like what?”
“Whether or not you want to be with me. I won’t be overbearing, but I’ll lay down the law and expect you to follow it.”
“Nick, of course I want to be with you,” she said earnestly, “but after everything I’ve done, why do you want to be with me?”
“It’s very simple,” he murmured, leaning across the table. “I love you, Bianca, and that’s all kinds of wonderful.”
She stared at him for a moment, then took a deep breath. “Nick, after Sammy leaves, please, will you punish me?”
CHAPTER25
Leaning back in his chair and studying Bianca’s earnest expression, it dawned on him just how unwanted she must have felt. Her brother was deeply involved with her father in the family business while she’d been kept at arm’s length, and with her mother constantly busy with outside interests, Bianca had been left alone in her gilded cage. It was no wonder she and Sammy had found comfort in each other. Though they’d come from opposite lifestyle extremes, they had been living with the same result.
“Nick…?”
“Sorry, I was just thinking,” he murmured, glancing at the dishes still sitting on the table.
