Page 69 of Satin Empire

Alana looks thoughtful. “I guess you do have to be good with people if you’re a nurse, and I’m not very squeamish. But I don’t know, that’d be a lot of school.”

“Stefania went to college,” Maddie points out. “There’s precedent.”

“If my wife wants to go to college, she can go to college,” I announce, even though I’m not sure I love the idea. She’d be gone all day without me, and I’m a jealous, controlling motherfucker—if a guy so much as looked at her wrong, I might end up getting her expelled and potentially arrested.

“How about we let her decide what she wants to do,” Gian says, always the voice of reason, and the conversation moves on to children and business and a thousand other topics. But I catch Alana staring off into the distance thinking about something, and I wonder if she’s picturing herself in scrubs and walking through a hospital.

Afterwards, as we’re heading back home, she’s staring out the window at the buildings flashing past. “Did you mean it when you said I could go to college?” she asks.

I keep my eyes on the road, because there is a part of me that wants to forbid it, but that would make me a real piece of shit. “Yes, absolutely. If that’s what you want, I’ll make it happen.”

“I mean, I’d want to get in somewhere on my own?—”

“Were your grades good?”

“Well—”

“And how about your SAT scores?”

“I mean?—”

“Baby, I know you’re smart, and I’m sure your school stuff is fine, but you’re a Rossi now.”

She sighs and bats my hand away when I try to put it on her thigh. “If you’re going to convince me to let you do everything for me, you clearly don’t understand what I want.”

“Not at all.” This time, I grab her leg and don’t let go, even when she digs her fingernails in, the little creature. “What I’m saying is, the Rossi family has connections. You have resources. There’s nothing wrong with using those resources. People do that kind of shit all the time.”

“I don’t know.” She leans back and stops trying to claw my skin off. “I didn’t have much growing up. Gran worked hard and Mom always had a job, but things were still tough. I hate the idea of letting your money buy me whatever I want.”

“Too fucking bad.”

Her eyes go wide. “Excuse me?”

I grin at her and lean over to kiss her cheek at a red light. “I said, too fucking bad. I don’t care if you’re too proud to accept my family’s help. You’re my wife, and you’re going to fucking Penn.”

“You’re only saying that because it’s nearby and you can keep an eye on me.”

“Damn right. You think I’m going to let you get drunk at frat parties and make out with some stupid coed kid with one of those terrible broccoli haircuts? Some idiot that says facts to everything?”

She laughs and leans over, kissing my neck in a very distracting manner. “You’re already jealous. It’s cute. And annoying. But mostly, it’s cute.”

I turn my head and catch a quick kiss. “I mean it, baby. If you want to go to school, you can do that. If you want something else, we’ll figure it out.”

“I know you mean it.” She leans her head on my shoulder. “It’s funny. I’ve always been kind of lost, and when we got married, I figured that was the end of ever finding myself, you know what I mean? Except now it’s obvious that if I hadn’t married you, I would’ve been stuck in my stepfather’s house forever, and I never would’ve had even an inch of the freedom I have now. And I love you for it.”

I slam on the brakes. She yelps as my truck comes to a halt in the middle of the street. Luckily, we’re on a quiet, shady one-way avenue only a block from home and there aren’t any other cars around, but I’m not thinking about traffic. I shift in my seat and stare at her.

“You love me,” I say.

Her mouth is open. She looks as surprised as I feel, and she raises her hands as if trying toward me off. “I mean, I just said, I just meant?—”

“You said you love me.” I grab those hands and hold them tight. “Say it again.”

Her cheeks turn pink. Fuck, the expression on her face is pure heaven. “Really? Is this some weird power trip?”

“Say it again, baby. I want to hear you say it.”

“I love you.”

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