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“Hey, Mia!” Aria shouts. “How’s that hot husband of yours?”

“Aria!”

“What? He’s hot, you can’t deny that. Have you gotten to experience said hotness yet?”

I smile and feel my cheeks heat even though there’s no one here to see my embarrassment “As a matter of fact, yes, I have.”

“WHAT?!” they both screech together, and I pull the phone away from my ear. “Tell us everything. Now. Is he there?”

“No, he’s out at a meeting or something. I don’t know. I know not to ask too many questions.”

“Then spill, Mia. We want to knoweverything.”

I think I’ve needed some good girl talk, because everything just spills out of me. Noteverything, but a lot of what’s happened between me and Santino.

We talk for over an hour and they fill me in on their newest campaign ad they booked and club promotions they’ve attended. I was so envious of their lives for the longest time, but now that I’m with Santino, I honestly can’t say I want to be them instead.

Yawning, I lean my head back on the couch and close my eyes. “Alright, guys, I’m tired. I’m going to go to bed now.”

“Us too. Call us soon,” Gia says.

“And we want to see your new house!” Aria adds.

“I’ll give you a tour as soon as Santino finishes giving me mine.”

“Ohhhh, yes‘a tour’. I wish I had a man to give me a tour.”

“And with that, goodnight.” I roll my eyes and hang up, scooting down on the couch.

I hope Santino makes good on his promise to wake me up with his mouth when he gets home.

My phone starts buzzing on the table and I pat around with my eyes closed until I find it. I don’t even bother opening them to see who it is before answering.

“Hello?” I rasp, my voice thick with sleep.

“Mia,” someone says right away, their voice desperate and fraught with worry.

My eyes pop open in a flash and I sit up. “Who is this? What’s wrong?”

“It’s Emilio. Santino…he…”

Panic seizes me. “What happened to him?”

“He was shot.” My vision blurs. “Al and I rushed him to the hospital and he’s in surgery now, but they don’t know if he’ll make it yet. There was so much blood,” he adds quietly at the end, lost in the memory.

“Which hospital? I’m on my way.”

“Penn Presbyterian.”

“Where is that?” I ask frantically. “I don’t know that one.”

“Philly.”

“Why is he in Philly? He said he just had a meeting tonight.” I run to our room and change out of my pajamas and into the first thing I find, not caring if it matches or what I look like.“Forget it,” I say when he doesn’t answer me right away. “I’ll be there as fast as I can.”

“You don’t have to rush. I was just calling to tell you. I don’t know how long he’ll be in surgery or…”

“Don’t fucking say it,” I growl. “I’ll be there as fast as I can.”

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