Page 59 of Twisted Knight

She nodded. “It’s obvious that you and Dom are close and that you are not…” She cocked her head to the side as if she was trying to figure out her next words. “You don’t seem to mind the life we lead.”

Cassie and I never really addressed me knowing the truth about Luca and Dom. I think part of her felt guilty for not sharing even if I knew it had not been her place to. Now we were just comfortable in our knowledge.

As for Dom and me, we were close—as close as he allowed me to be at least. Since the night we’d shared in New York, I’ve shared his bed.

I was scared of it all, of all the feelings he woke up in me, but I was addicted. I couldn’t tell him goodbye yet.

“Do I mind? I mean that’s probably not the life I would have chosen, but Luca and Dom, they are good men, decent men with value, and that's all that matters to me.”

She nodded with a small smile, as if I’d given the answer she expected.

“Why don’t you stay?” she asked.

My heart leaped in my chest. I wanted nothing more than to stay. There was nothing good waiting for me back in Calgary.

“My plane is not for another two weeks.”

“It’s not what I mean. Why don’t you stay… permanently?” she asked, standing up and putting Marco in his bed.

“I don’t know. There are so many parameters to take into consideration.”

“There is,” Cassie agreed, grabbing the baby monitor and jerking her head toward the door. “But the most important part here is, would you want to?”

I followed her down the hall. “My willingness to stay here is not the only crucial factor. There’s Luca, Dom, housing, and visas.”

She waved her hand dismissively as we went down the stairs to the kitchen. “This house is humongous. You moving in will barely be noticeable, so that solves the housing.” She turned toward me as we reached the kitchen. “Tea?”

I nodded mutedly.

She pointed at a stool. “Sit.”

“Yes, ma’am!” I couldn’t help but smile at her bossy attitude. She was the same with Luca and Dom, and seeing her tiny self order big bad Mafia men around was both funny and endearing.

“Luca really likes you and I told him I was intending to ask you to stay. He loved the idea.” She turned the kettle on and turned around, setting a cup in front of me. “Luca wants nothing more than Dom’s happiness and you’re making him very, very happy.”

I blushed at the compliment. I hoped I was making him happy, at least half as happy as he was making me, and knowing that both Cassie and Luca noticed that really made my day.

“He’s making me happy too.”

“I noticed and I love that for you.” She grabbed a chocolate chip cookie she made the day before and bit a piece off. “So what do you say?”

I looked down at my cup, thoughtful. I wanted to stay; of course I did, but was it what Dom wanted?

“Is it your job? I thought you could do it just as well from here.”

“No, I mean, yes, I can. It’s a web-based therapy; I can do it from anywhere.” I glanced at the clock. “I even have a new patient in twenty minutes. That’s not the problem.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

“Dom.”

“Dom?” She frowned, holding her cup halfway to her mouth. “I thought you liked Dom.”

Like…I was way pastlikeand that was the issue.

“Me liking Dom is not the problem. Dom and I, we’re not discussing our relationship.” I took a drink, trying not to show the extent of my embarrassment. “Who says Dom would like for me to stay?”

Cassie burst into laughter, and I looked at her with an eyebrow raised until she stopped laughing.