Page 70 of Unforgivable Ties

“Maybe I just wanted you for dinner,” I teased, trying to avoid the subject of why I was so upset.

I had dragged her to hell and she would never get out. I liked the warmth, but Stephanie deserved so much more. She deserved the sun, the moon, and everything in between. And all I had to offer her was darkness.

“Is that so?” she asked, an amused smile dancing on her lips. But her eyes told me she was not easily fooled. Stephanie was smart, too smart for her own good sometimes.

“Mhm. I think you’re on the menu for breakfast and lunch, too.”

She giggled and lightly slapped my chest. “You’re something else.”

I leaned down and captured her lips with mine. I wanted to commit these moments to memory, because when she figuredout her fate with the mafia, she would never want to see me again.

Stephanie

“How did you find out about this, anyways?” Vincenzo grumbled, his hands tightening on the steering wheel.

He had neglected to mention that his 36th birthday was coming up. When I found out, I only had two weeks to prepare, and had to scramble to come up with something.

“I went through your wallet,” I responded nonchalantly.

“Wait, what? Why would you do that?” he took his eyes off the road to glare at me, his eyes narrowing.

“Calm down. I was looking for another keycard because I lost mine. You were asleep, and I didn’t want to wake you up. I happened to stumble upon your driver’s license and the date stood out to me,” I said, trying to maintain an innocent expression.

Vincenzo’s grip on the wheel loosened fractionally. “Next time, just wake me up. Less complicated, less invasive.”

“Sure thing,” I replied with faux obedience. Secretly, the smirk that danced on my lips betrayed my real intentions.

As we drove on, the city skyline disappeared from behind us, the road turning more rural.

“Where are we going?” Vincenzo asked.

“Not telling. I’m kidnapping you. The mafia has been a bad, bad, influence on me,” I giggled, but there was some truth behind the statement.

“How are you kidnapping me?” he laughed, the corners of his eyes crinkling. “I’m the one driving.”

“True, but you don’t know the destination. You’re at my mercy,” I said with a theatrical flourish. “And it’s far too late to back out now.”

He merely rolled his eyes at my antics, but I could make out a smirk tugging at the corners of his lips. He was enjoying this, despite his show of annoyance.

The car roared down the desolate highway, surrounded by nothing but open fields and a clear early morning sky. It was both thrilling and terrifying at the same time. He had always been the one to call the shots, to control every situation we found ourselves in—but today, I was the one making decisions.

An hour later we pulled into Frostfire Lodge. Now that my tuition was paid and I didn’t have to pay rent, I had enough money to splurge on getting us a room at one of the nicer ski resorts. It certainly wasn’t the best room, but I was happy that I could do something nice for Vincenzo for his birthday.

He parked the car in the front of the lodge, and we sat in the car for a few moments.

“Do you like it?” I asked nervously, biting my lower lip.

“I do,” he responded, placing his hand over mine. “I haven’t been snowboarding in a long time. Thank you.”

Two hours later we had checked in, had put on snowsuits and were readying ourselves for the slopes. Vincenzo made everything he did look effortless. He had easily put on his boots and had snapped one into place in a short amount of time.

I wasn’t as graceful. I struggled with the bindings on my snowboard, constantly checking to see if Vincenzo was watching. He was, of course, but he seemed to find my floundering amusing more than anything else.

“Need some help?” he asked, pushing himself over to me.

He was already helping me before I could answer. “I’ve never done this before,” I said, turning pink not from the cold but from embarrassment.

“I can tell,” he responded, snapping my boot into place. “Why’d you pick snowboarding?”

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