Page 92 of Ruthless Oath

“Your dad is so… I don’t know, powerful and scary. I didn’t realize he’s only fifty.”

“My mother’s death did something to him.” He shrugged. “It made him more dangerous than he already was. We stopped having fun when she died.”

“Losing her must have been difficult on all of you.”

“We didn’t just lose her.”

“What do you mean?”

“She was five months pregnant with another boy.”

“Oh.” I stopped stirring and reached for his hand. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t know that.”

“Not many people do.” He looked at the bowl. “You can pour that into the pan now.”

“You all must have been devastated.” My eyes filled with tears. I put the bowl on the counter and hugged him. “I can’t imagine what that must have been like for your family. I’m really sorry.”

“That was a long time ago.” He held me close, breathing deeply against my hair. “I try not to think about it.”

“But it haunts you.” I pulled back from him. “It has to.”

“It’s in the past.” He wiped the tears from my cheeks. “I’ve never seen you cry before.”

“I try not to.” I shook my head. “Crying can ruin a perfectly mastered face.”

“I’ve been mean to you. I’ve said and done things that really hurt you, but you’ve never cried.” He stroked my wet face. “I took you hostage. Locked you in a room. Left you alone after our first time. Called you spoiled.”

“I am spoiled.” I couldn’t deny that. I didn’t even know how to crack an egg, and it never even occurred to me that I should possess a few basic life skills. “You weren’t wrong about that.”

“I haven’t been that great to you.”

“You have your moments.”

“I’m trying to be serious,” he said. “You’ve gotten mad at me. You’ve stormed away. But you’ve never cried.”

I’ve cried. Just not in front of you.

“Do you want to make me cry?” I asked.

“I want to make you do a lot of things, but crying isn’t one of them.”

I wanted more than anything to stay here with him in this bubble we had created. Just the two of us. But that wasn’t possible. Not unless I could come up with a way to make peace between our families.

We couldn’t have a future until that happened.

More tears fell when I realized what a daunting task that would be. I couldn’t even figure out how to get access to a phone, much less work out a treaty between two families who had years of hate between one another.

“Hey.” Marchello wiped my tears again. “You don’t have to feel sorry about what happened to my mother. It was twelve years ago. We’re fine. She’s at peace.”

“You telling me a little about her helps me understand you.”

He cupped my face and lowered his lips to mine. “You might not like understanding me.”

“You’re wrong.” I kissed him, holding on and keeping him close to me.

“There aren’t many people who know me well or even want to understand me.”

“That’s probably because they’re all afraid of you.”

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