Page 74 of Sins of the Son

It was strange wanting to comfort him, wanting him to comfort me.

I had spent so many years hating him.

Amara slipped her arm around my waist. “Come on, sweetie. Let’s go upstairs. You look like you could use a bubble bath.”

I rested my head on her shoulder as we climbed the central staircase. “Does that bath come with an obnoxiously big bottle of wine?”

Amara laughed. “Duh.”

I was ushered into a ridiculously enormous bathroom with a massive tub surrounded by windows with a view of the mountains. Amara turned on the faucet. As the tub filled, she squeezed a generous amount of pale pink liquid under the water stream, which produced mounds of fragrant bubbles.

As I stripped out of my clothes, my hand went to my neck. My Gemini charm was gone. It had always been on a cheap chain. It must have gotten torn off during our insane hate fuck on the train. I brushed off my sadness at the loss. I had enough on my plate without fretting over a cheap, gold-plated charm right now. Although I would miss it. I loved that charm.

Amara sat on the edge of the tub and tested the water with her fingertips before adjusting the tap. “Almost ready.”

I slipped into one of her silk robes and padded over to the tray someone had set before the glass-fronted fireplace. On it was displayed a bottle of wine, two glasses, and a small crystal plate of ciambelline al vino rosso. I picked up one of the sugar-coated, ring-shaped cookies and took a bite. As I poured us both a glass of wine, I took another bite, pleased that Rosa’s recipe for red wine cookies included cinnamon. I preferred those to the anise ones.

I handed a glass to Amara. As I stood over the bath, I frowned. “Wait, this isn’t the bathtub where Barone….” I looked down at her and raised an eyebrow.

She looked to the side, her cheeks bright red, as she raised her wineglass to her lips. “Where Barone what?” she asked, feigning innocence before taking a large gulp.

My mouth dropped open. “Oh. My. God. Ewwwwww. I’m about to take a bath where you and Barone fucked?”

Amara had told me about the night Barone had kidnapped her from the tub in my apartment, only to bring her back to his home to fuck her in his tub.

Amara waved me off. “Don’t be such a baby. It’s been cleaned since then. Get in before it gets cold.”

I shrugged out of her robe and slipped into the tub. After leaning back, I picked up the wineglass I had propped up on the edge. I took a long swallow before closing my eyes and resting my head back. “As long as you didn’t do something freaky, like take it up the ass while calling him daddy.”

Silence.

I opened one eye. “Amara?”

Amara shrugged as her blush deepened.

I splashed some watery bubbles at her. “You’re such a dirty girl!”

Amara shrieked with laughter as she backed up out of range. “That’s what he said.”

“Oh, God!”

Amara bent over, laughing so hard, she could barely get the words out. “That’s what I said. Several times, in fact!”

I waved my palms in the air. “Stop! Stop! No more. I’ll never be able to look Daddy Barone in the face again.”

After a few moments, our laughter died out.

Amara sat on the edge of the tub and popped a few of the bubbles, keeping her gaze averted. “So, are we going to keep making jokes or are you going to tell me what’s going on?”

I sighed. “You know the thing that we never talk about?”

She nodded.

“It’s time to talk about it.”

* * *

After a bottle of wine, lots of hugs, and countless tears, Amara and I were laying on her bed, mentally and emotionally exhausted.

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