Leaning back against the sofa, I wrap my arm around Rosana’s shoulders and we both tilt our heads back to look up at the ceiling.
“Aunt Irene is a total bitch,” Rosana whispers.
“Yeah,” I agree. “But now you’re here with me.”
“Yeah.”
We stay on the sofa, just staring at the ceiling until the front doorbell rings and Renzo announces that the pizzas have arrived. The rest of the evening, we spend eating pizza, I drink wine, Rosana drinks Sprite, and we laugh.
It’s one of the best nights of my life, but my eyes keep drifting over to Massimo’s empty chair. Then my thoughts go back to him, to the way we were for those few beautiful days before he left me. My heart aches just thinking about him, missing him.
Later that night, I lie in bed, Rosana next to me until Renzo moves out and she can claim his room. I could put her in the second guest bedroom, but it’s right next to Renzo’s room and I just don’t think she’d be comfortable all alone up there next to him.
I don’t speak and neither does she, not for a while. “Did you love him, your Massimo?” Rosana asks.
“How can you love someone after only a week of being together?”
She hums. “I think you could. He’s hot too,” she says before she lets out a giggle.
Turning to face her, I lay on my side, tucking my hands beneath my cheek. “He is beautiful, but he’s damaged,” I whisper.
“We’re all damaged, Pip.”
“Yeah,” I agree. “We are, aren’t we.”
“Totally. I still can’t believe you’re married to a Made Man and living in this badass house.”
Smiling, I pinch my eyes closed. I know that she can’t see me, but I wish that she could see the pained expression on my face. If she could, she would know that this isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Married for less than a week and having your husband thrown into prison, then him asking you for a divorce and not allowing you to visit him. It’s a nightmare.
“What you see on the outside, it’s not a true representation of the reality, Rosana.”
“I know, Pip. I saw Bellarosa, and I know that you’re owned by Massimo. I also know that most Made Men are trash. I don’t think he is one of them though. I don’t think his closest guys are either. The way they looked at their wives at your wedding, the way they watched them. The way Massimo looked and watched you.”
“How was that?” I snap.
Rosana laughs softly. “Like he adores you, Pippa. He does, too. He looked at you like he couldn’t believe you were his. I know your situation isn’t normal, but I want that.”
I snort. “No, you don’t.”
She hums. “Maybe not the exact way it happened with you. But still, a guy who looks at me like he can’t believe I’m his. I want that.”
Reaching out, I touch her nose. “I hope you get whatever you want in life, Sana. Whatever you want.”
We don’t say anything else. I don’t sleep, my mind spins with thoughts of my wedding day, of the way Gavino, Arlo, and Luca all looked at their wives. The way Nicola talked about Benicio. They adored them and I never imagined that Massimo could think and talk about me that way.
Does he… adore me?
Could he… love me?
I know that I love him. It was easy to fall in just days for the man. He’s broken, but he’s not demolished… at least he wasn’t. But in five years, will he be savable or will he be a complete stranger?
MASSIMO
Renzo appears in front of me. He looks the same bearded, shaggy fucker as he always has. It’s only been four months, but fuck, it feels like it’s been a lifetime. I don’t know how I’m going to last another four and a half years in this fucker.
“How is she?” I ask. I feel like a junky looking for a fix.
Renzo’s teeth appear as his lips turn up in a smile. “She’s good.” He chuckles. “Crazy, a little clingy, and not a fucking normal wife, but she’s good.”
I chuckle too, looking down at the table and shaking my head a couple of times before I lift my gaze back up to meet his.
“You’re not watching her anymore?”
“Determined there was no danger to her. Roman hasn’t been found, but he was in with the feds, he’s probably in their protection. We’ll find him and deal with him when it’s time.”
“Good.”
Renzo leans back, his gaze searching mine. “She’s not alone though.”
I can feel my face heat as red fills my vision. The thought. Just the fucking thought of another man in my house, in my bed. If I wasn’t stuck in here, I’d fucking kill them both. Leaning forward, I growl toward him.
“Tell. Me. Everything,” I demand.
Renzo laughs. “Cugino,” he says on a wheeze. “Her sister, Rosana, moved in. She’s taking the aunt to court for custody. Jesus Christ, but you’re easy to rile up.”
“Fuck you,” I snap. He’s still laughing as he shakes his head. “You really want to make me feel like that when I’m up in here?” I ask.
Renzo shakes his head. “It’s good for you, Mass. This place is a fucking gray and beige hellhole. If you don’t add a bit of yourself here, you’ll get lost in the sea of depression.”
“It is depressing as fuck,” I grunt.
Renzo dips his chin. “Then maybe you need to allow your wife to come and visit you a few times, yeah? Add that splash of color that you clearly need in this place.”
“She comes here and what? We chat about our day? I tell her who fucked who, who got raped, who was shanked?”
Renzo shakes his head. “Maybe you fall in love with her. See the woman that she is beneath her rockin’ body? Maybe you help her with this shit with her aunt and sister? That cunt is trying to
