Page 33 of Lies like Rubies, Part Two (Savage Jewels)

“You let me sleep through lunch,” I answered, unsure of myself, unsure of where we stood, unsure of where I wanted us to stand.

He grunted, then grabbed his phone and thumbed a quick message. “You’ve got five minutes to get dressed before your daughter comes running in.”

I leapt off the bed, only to look around wildly, no idea where clothes might be.

“In the dresser.”

I threw on sweatpants and a T-shirt just in time for Lizzie to burst in. “Mamma!” she squealed. I let her leap into my arms, falling backward into the bed, ignoring the pain as she elbowed my bruises.

“Hey, sweetheart!” I dragged her into my embrace, holding my sweet girl tight.

“Uncle Nico’s grilling hot dogs!” she said. “He promised he’d give me the first one!”

Lizzie was growing up so damn fast. Too fast. In only a week, her speech had grown clearer, and I clamped down on the regret that my own relationship with my parents meant that I didn’t trust them with her.

“That sounds delicious, sweetheart.”

“Come on!” She crawled off of me, and I hid the wince as her hand landed on my ribs. I let her lead me down the stairs.

“Slow down,” I said, tugging her back to me and laughing. She dragged me through the house too quickly for me to get any more than an impression of sparseness.

“Uncle Nico!” Lizzie shouted, abandoning me. Affection for her combined with sadness that she’d so quickly abandoned me to greet my lover. My sadness swiftly replaced with wonder at her trust in him as he ruffled her curls and bent down to offer her a hot dog wrapped in a napkin. Their relationship had clearly developed in my absence.

Nick walked over to me, a question in his eyes as he held out one arm, inviting me to snuggle against him.

“No strings attached,” he murmured, somehow reading the indecision in my mind.

Uncomplicated, he’d promised me. And he was keeping his promise.

I stepped up to him, accepting the arm around my shoulders, the fingers that pressed me close into the heat of his body, the gentle kiss on my temple. Together, we walked back to the grill.

“How do you like your burgers?” he asked, and thenormalcy of the afternoon broke something inside of me. I gasped, trying to hold back the sob that threatened to burst out of my chest.

“Easy, baby girl,” he murmured. “Tell me what you need.”

“The list of shit I need right now is long.”Revenge. Graduate. Make sure no one can ever hurt Lizzie or me again.

“Whatever it is, we’ll find a way to get it to you.”

No. I couldn’t depend on anyone else. I’d have to do it myself.

“How do you like your burger, baby?” Nick repeated, the words grounding me. Normal. This was fucking normal. Grilling on a Saturday, watching my kid play on a swing set, enjoying the weight of a handsome man’s arm around my shoulders, this was all so absolutely fucking normal. Domestic even. With a force that stopped my heart, I realized this is what I wanted for the rest of my life.

Quietly, I laughed at my naiveté of a week before, when I thought that all I needed to be happy was to wish for it to be so.

“Medium,” I told him, watching Lizzie giggle as Lorenzo pushed her on a swing.

Dante stepped up to my other side. I looked over and did a double take. If the man had been devastating in a suit, I didn’t have words to describe him dressed casually. In dark jeans and a T-shirt that hugged the muscles of his shoulders, Dante was breathtaking.

“Medium rare,” he requested, then took my hand. I tugged it away.

“You broke your promise,” I whispered.

“I did,” he admitted without looking at me.

Nick squeezed my shoulder but didn’t say anything,quietly paying attention to the grill as the heat radiated off into our faces.

I pulled away, and Nick grabbed me back, dragging me in for a quick kiss on my forehead. “Give him hell, baby girl.”

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