Page 38 of Better Left Unsaid

Dom whispered in my ear, “I’m going to put Isabella down, and then I’ll come back out here and help.”

“Don’t worry about it. I think we can take it from here,” I said, placing a hand on his back and staring down at Isabella still sound asleep in his arms. It was the car ride. It always had that effect on her.

As he walked into the house, I turned to help Jade, picking up a suitcase in each hand and taking them in. “Mom loved this place,” I explained, watching as she still looked in rapture at the property.

“I can see why,” Jade said. “She was very fortunate to have all of this. You guys must have loved spending summers here as you grew up. I assume you’ve all had it since you were kids.”

I swayed my head back and forth. “We got this place more recently, but yeah, she loved the Hamptons. And she worked hard for everything she had.Bellissimahelped her get here, helped make her who she was, but she madeBellissima. We get our work ethic from her.”

Jade nodded. “Of course. Yeah. I didn’t mean anything by it. It’s just this is all so drastically different from how I was brought up.”

She put the suitcases she was carrying down first and then I followed suit, placing the ones I grabbed next to hers right outside the door. “I get it.” And I did. It was a lot to take in. We could be a lot to take in sometimes.

“My parents lived paycheck-by-paycheck, so there were times we ate canned soup multiple nights in a row. Going from that and then seeing all of this is—”

“A lot,” I supplied, smiling. I wanted her to know I wasn’t clueless—that we weren’t clueless.

“Something like that,” she replied, giving me a weak smile. “So, what happens on big trips like this?”

“Nothing in particular. We usually just all hang out. It’s our relaxation time.”

“No, I didn’t mean it like that. I meant with you and Dom.”

I gave her a perplexed look, my brows furrowing. “Nothing. Nothing happens.” I looked around to make sure no one was in earshot to hear her.

“You guys don’t try to sneak in a quickie or something?”

I cleared my throat. I made no promises for this time around, but more often than not, I was seeing someone when we’d come to the Hamptons, so we’d never engaged in the benefits part of our relationship. Thus, no sneaking around necessary.

Now, though. . . well, now I wasn’t too sure what was going to happen.

That really depended on Dom and how delicious he planned on looking this weekend. Who was I kidding? Dom always looked good. It was in his DNA.

Just as I was about to answer Jade’s question, Dom came over, the corner of his lips curled up into a smile. “Go ahead and unpack, Jade. I’ve got this with Maria,” he insisted, already practically pushing her inside the house.

“You’re sure?” she asked, raising a brow. “Ohhh.” She giggled and raked her teeth over her bottom lip. “Never mind. You two enjoy your time alone, but just remember you are outside and in broad daylight.”

I brought my hand to the back of my neck and looked everywhere but at my sister as my cheeks heated up faster than my curling iron.

“She’s gone,” Dom whispered in my ear, his breath hitting the shell of it.

“Thank goodness. By the way,outside and in broad daylight, could that be any hotter?” There was something so hot about how risky it was. My body shivered as I turned and kicked the door closed with my foot. “You know how I feel about you wearing chinos,” I said, drawing my arms up and over his shoulders as I leaned into him, so close that our bodies practically melded together. One wrong move and our lips would touch.

He made the first move, bringing his lips to my neck and nuzzling. My hands immediately found his hair, and I dug my nails into his scalp.

“This weekend is going to be torture, isn’t it?” I asked, my breath coming out slightly hitched. I didn’t even need to ask that question because I already knew the answer. Yes. It was going to be the very definition of torture.

“Feeling frisky, are we?”

I nodded. It was the salt air.

“I heard tonight everyone made plans to go to a club while Perla and Frankie stays back with Isabella and Gina.”

I couldn’t help but laugh as realization dawned on me when it came to why my sister was suddenly being so magnanimous about staying behind. Not that she wouldn’t do anything for any of us, but miss a night out at the club in the Hamptons? It was too generous. “Ahh. . . Perla’s baby fever has really kicked into high gear. She told me she was going to work on convincing Frankie it was time for them to start trying.”

“Nice. I was thinking maybe we can make something happen at the club. Away from prying eyes,” Dom said, moving his lips from my neck to my chin and causing a rapid shiver to run down my spine, like I’d just gotten out of a hot shower, and the temperature in the room was freezing in comparison.

“I like the sound of that,” I replied as his lips finally found mine and—

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