I liked the post. Let him see that. Let him wonder how I found it and what I thought and whether he should come out of his study and say something. Let the wondering sit in his chest the way seven years of silence had sat in mine.
In the same breath, I received a notification from Salvatore: the arrangement, laid out in terms that any family lawyer would recognize. My skills, my knowledge, my loyalty, transferred to the Mancini operation in exchange for protection, compensation, and a life that didn't require me to bleed on a sidewalk while the man I loved drove past.
I clicked the link and signed without hesitation.
My thumb pressed against the inside of my ring finger. The bare skin where a ring had never been. Seven years, and he had never once offered. I pulled my hand away and set the phone down.
The next morning, Dominic woke up early and brought back bagels and pastries from a well-known bakery in Midtown. The kind of place where made men took their families on Sunday mornings, where the owner knew which orders went to which houses and never asked questions.
Just as I was about to open the bag with chocolate croissants, he slapped my hand away.
"You like peanut butter bagels, right? I got one just for you."
I froze for a second before realizing. The chocolate croissants weren't for me. They were for his aide. For Penelope Vitale.
I couldn't hold back anymore. "We've been together for seven years, and you still don't know I'm allergic to peanuts?"
His expression darkened, and he stood abruptly, snapping, "Stop making a fuss. Eat or don't. I don't care."
The Don's voice. The one that ended conversations in sit-downs, that made capos twice his age look at the floor. He used it on me the way he used it on everyone. As if I were just another person in the room who needed to stop talking.
As he prepared to leave, I walked into the bedroom and came back with a bag.
"When you see Penelope later, do me a favor and return this to her."
His brows knitted together before taking the bag. When he looked inside and saw the lace bra, a look of surprise flashed in his eyes. He opened his mouth like he was about to explain something, but when he saw my calm, indifferent face, he only said, "I'll tell her to stop being so careless."
"Yeah," I replied with a quiet tone.