Page 55 of Bones

He grins at me with a nod. “I do, and now so do you, but I work hard for every penny we have, wife.”

“Breaking bones,” I joke before I take a sip of my coffee, and he laughs out loud.

“Is that all you think I do?”

Licking my lips, I say, “This coffee is really good, but to answer your question, I saw a mafia movie once. So you probably do a lot of the shady shit I saw on it.”

He takes a sip of his drink, and shakes his head as he swallows. “Don’t believe everything you read, or see on television.”

As soon as he says it, he swallows hard and says, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean anything by that.”

I force a smile. “I know you didn’t. It’s okay. Most adults can read.”

Reaching out, he takes my hand in his. “We’re going to fix that.”

I’m just hoping I’ll be able to learn to read before our children do, because it would be humiliating to have to explain to our kids’ teachers that their mother can’t read. Luca has this idea that he can undo everything that was done to me, but he’s wrong. He can’t. As they say, you can’t unring a bell. I’m willing to try for him, because I’m falling madly in love with this man. I have every reason to hate him, yet I don’t. He is my happy place.

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

BONES

Our server Miguel brings our food and sets it on the table in front of us. I chuckle as Athena’s eyes get wide, as she stares at her plate in disbelief.

“This is too much, Luca. I can’t eat this much.”

I don’t understand the issue with the amount of food on her plate.

“Eat what you can and leave the rest.”

She gazes at me from across the table. “This is a waste, Luca. People are starving, and I’m going to throw half my food away. It’s irresponsible.”

Her expression is serious, so I don’t laugh. “Would you like to donate money to the hungry?”

“Oh my god, could we?” she asks excitedly, and I nod because, fuck, if it makes her smile like that, I’ll donate to any cause. Her face lights up and it makes my chest squeeze. Her right eye is black and blue, but the other smiles right along with her mouth. The right cheekbone below her eye is yellow and purple, but she’s still gorgeous to me. My entire staff have been instructed to not stare and make my wife feel uncomfortable.

Athena takes a bite of pancake and chews with her eyes closed. I know this is likely making her think of her mother, so I ask her questions while she eats.

“Do you have any idea why she left?”

Her eyes pop open as she shakes her head. She swallows her food and says, “No idea.”

“Was your father abusive to her?”

She laughs bitterly. “I don’t know. I never saw him do anything to her, but of course he must have been. Knowing the things he did to me, I’m not sure he was ever capable of not being abusive.”

I may regret my next question, but I need to know. “You told me Manny was your first. But your father?”

She shakes her head. “Really, Luca? Did you expect I would tell you my father took my virginity? Manny was my first in my mind, because back then he was sweet to me. I willingly gave him what he wanted. That was never the case with my father.”

“One last question and then I’ll stop.”

She stares at me while she continues to eat, clearly more hungry than she realized.

“Did you never tell anyone about the abuse?”

I know she may not have had the opportunity if he wasn’t even sending her to school, but if I find out anybody knew and did nothing, I’ll kill them.

“William,” she says with a heavy sigh, “I told him and he was disgusted with me. Like I had a choice. I honestly thought he’d try to help. Instead, he made me feel worse than I already did, and then fucked my mouth and called me a whore.”

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