Page 53 of The Marriage Auction 2: Part 4

“Can’t wait,” he grated through his teeth and then let out a long-tortured breath when Maggie paused.

“Darlin’, we’re about to get into the worst of it,” Maggie said, her gaze gentle. She knew he didn’t want me to see him in pain, even though I wanted to be there for him. Regardless, I respected his decision for his own body and well-being.

“I’ll be in the study,” Muriel stated and then left the room.

I cupped Gio’s cheek. “Be strong, baby.”

“For you, always.” He offered me a weak smile as I crawled off the bed, careful not to shift him, then headed for the door.

“You’re the bravest, strongest man I know, Giovanni. You’ve got this!” I called out and then shut the door.

The moment I heard him cry out in pain, I let the tears fall. After taking a moment to catch my bearings, I swiped the tears away, lifted my chin and headed to his study where I knew Muriel would be waiting.

“I’ll be the best damn second-in-command you’ve ever seen,” I whispered, ready to take on whatever was needed on my husband’s behalf. Because a good wife had her husband’s back, and I wanted to prove I deserved the trust Giovanni had in me.

We are a team and there was no “I” in team.

Episode 103

Where in the World is Alana?

MEMPHIS

“Yeah, Ma, you and Dad own the house free and clear. You don’t ever have to move. You’ll need to pay the property taxes each year, but outside of that, your mortgages have been paid off.”

“I can’t…I don’t…I don’t understand, son. How is this possible?” Mom’s voice shook after I shared the good news.

I grinned as I thought about how incredible Naomi was, battling against her father. I was still worried about what she planned to do about working for him when the month was up, but ultimately, we came to New York to get my family’s home back.

“It was all Naomi. She went to war with her father and came out the victor. Their relationship, however, did not survive the battle.”

“Oh no, I’m sorry to hear that. After meeting her parents, I could tell there was some bad blood between them, but I had hoped when the two of you left to discuss the situation things would have gotten worked out. I’m happy to have our home back darlin’, don’t get me wrong about that. I’m eternally grateful to Naomi for having our family’s best interests at heart, but not at the risk of losing her parents. I can’t live with that type of unrest on my heart. Tell me you believe things will ultimately work out between the three of them?”

“Momma, I honestly don’t know. Some pretty harsh words were said between them, and I hate to admit it, but she disowned him outright. He’s going to force her to work for him at his company even though he knows her heart isn’t in it.”

“Good Lord, that’s awful.”

“I agree. But ultimately, Naomi’s happiness is what’s important to me. She has plenty of time to work on her relationship with her family. For now, we’ve agreed we’re focusing on our future, the wedding and my new job opportunity. And now that you own the house free and clear, we can get married as planned.”

“That is music to my ears, son. And what of the job? Did you meet with the university?” she asked, nosing into my life as usual.

“I met with them this morning. They offered me the position, provided I finish my coursework before spring training. I’ve already got things in motion on that front too. Scheduled my online class and made sure the rest of my credits were in line with receiving my bachelor’s degree. I start the class next month. Which means, after the wedding, Nay and I will have a couple weeks to honeymoon, and then move me to New York.”

“Babe, I was thinking about your apartment in Georgia. We should keep it,” Naomi interrupted my call.

“Ma, hold up for a sec.”

“Of course, I’ll be right here, listening in,” she teased.

I chuckled and turned to face Naomi, who was at the table working in some design program that she used to create new jewelry.

“What were you saying, baby?” I asked.

“I know we talked about having you move to New York, and that’s still the plan, but I like your apartment, and we’ll need somewhere to stay when we visit the family. I imagine you’ll want to take trips down to Georgia often, right?”

“Well, yeah, but…you like my place? It’s a dump compared to this.” I gestured around the palatial home we currently lived in.

She gave a little shrug and pursed her lips. “I like it. Reminds me of the you before me. Besides, I got used to spending time there. I don’t see any reason to make a change. We can afford the yearly rent. Plus, Syd can use it when she visits too.”

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