I had no doubt that my face had the same question written all over it. I almost fell out of my chair. His misplaced confidence was making me sweat and I didn't like where this was going at all. "What? I read too. Mostly books with pictures in them, but I do read," Scott said, looking at me. I wanted to strangle him where he sat. "I'm no expert, of course, but then I don't need to be because the silent auction happening up front tells the story. You're businessmen at the end of the day. Who in their right minds from amongst all your rich clients would buy from you again if you sold them a forgery? The art in this room must be worth hundreds of millions of dollars," said Scott. "Don Cattaneo, excuse my friend. He majored in art," I said with a hiss, but the don was already out of his chair."Who is this kid, a narc? Get him out of my hotel," Don Marcus thundered. Luca, ever the cool customer, motioned for his men to back off, then for his father to sit down. "Imagine if, hypothetic
The adrenaline was fading fast and I was exhausted. Thoughts of how very wrong this afternoon could have gone flooded my head. Lucky for me, however, I wasn't left alone with my thoughts for too long after being escorted to a precinct along with everyone else caught in the raid. "Care to explain what you were doing in an underground casino, hanging around known members of the mafia, with over 800 million dollars' worth of stolen art in it?" the fed asked. "Look, agent whoever you are, no I don't have mafia ties. I'm not your big whale. I did not engage in any illegal activities. I'm a wedding photographer, that's how basic I am. Also, you're welcome. If it weren't for me tipping my dad off, your bust would have been a bust. How long have you people been planning this raid? Based on how long you dragged your feet before you actually showed up, they still somehow almost one upped you, didn't they? Badge number J638493. If you want me to say another word, that's who I'll talk to," I sai
And it was the worst thing I could have done. The worst part? I was such a fucked up mess that if I went home tonight and she was there waiting for me, I would likely do more. "So I did. Strictly platonic, don't marry some other guy/I might die kisses. Do those really even count?" I said, my pulse climbing as I waited to hear her answer. Why the fuck did I say some other guy, like I wanted her to marry me instead? "Well they did to me. Everything that's happened over the last two days… I don't do stuff like that. You're not just anyone," she said and I could have cried, because it was everything I wanted to hear and everything I didn't. "You know what? I met my dad at the precinct and he wants to have dinner. I might just crash at his place," I said, hating every word. I could feel her hopes dash despite her not saying a word, but I couldn't be around her right now. "Okay. I guess I'll see you tomorrow then?" "Sure. Tomorrow." With that, I ended the call and changed my destinat
"To Scott working for Vogue, bitches," I said with a proud beam, as we held our coffee cups in the air. I was so excited for him when I first heard the news that I threw my arms around his neck and kissed his cheek. I had done the same thing thousands of other times when he made progress in his career as a photographer. This was the first time I needed space to recover and get my pulse under control. Things were definitely different now. I found myself wondering if I should be here, waiting for him like this. It's not like I really had a choice, what with me not having a place to stay anymore, but it was more than that. I stayed because I wanted to know that he was okay after seeing his father. "I still don't know if I'm going to do it," he said, deep in thought about the call he got on his way home this morning. "It's nice to be considered, but a fashion magazine is not really my thing.""It's Vogue. The Vogue. All I heard was that my roommate has a stable job. To no more paying th
"Luca sent me. This is for you. Well, all of it is," said Jenny, handing me an envelope, before spreading her arm out towards the room filled with roses. "He can't take a hint," said Scott. I heard him take a deep breath. If Scott wasn't seeing red before, he certainly was now. He snatched the envelope out of my hands. I snatched it back. "Don't be a jerk," I said, not wanting him to get even more ticked off by whatever was in the envelope. "Well? Aren't you going to open it?" Jenny asked, slicing the tension between Scott and I with her voice. "Yes Stace, open it," Scott insisted. "Maybe later. We should get to packing," I said, not wanting to add fuel to the fire. "It's the deed to the apartment," said an excited Jenny, clapping her hands together. "And an invitation to Don Cattaneo's wake."My fingers fumbled over each other as I opened the envelope, needing to see it to believe it. Sure enough, inside I found the deed to my apartment and an invitation to the wake. Buying me
"Are you going to shut that down?" Kenny asked, his gaze going to the bar where Scott and Jenny were getting the second round. Her hand was on his arm and she was batting her eyelashes and laughing her ass off. His back was to me, so I couldn't see what he was doing and they were too far away to hear. Just the same, it was pissing me off. The conclusions my mind was drawing was so out there that he might as well have been making out with her. "Shut what down?" I said, pretending not to see as rage brought with it shallow breaths. "He wouldn't do anything. Not with your sister," Kenny tried to reassure me. Him putting it out there nearly made me throw the glass in my hand across the room. "I don't fucking care. They're adults. Adults can fuck whoever they want," I yelled, raising the glass to my lips, then slamming it back down on the table when I found it empty. "Dammit, how hard is it to buy a couple of drinks?" I looked back to the bar to see what the hold up was. Jenny had sp
I made it just in time to hear Scott slap Kenny's back and say, "Kenny's an idiot. He accidentally deleted your number and now he's agonizing over it.""I wouldn't say agonizing," said Kenny. "He would, he's in agony, because he really likes you. Despite his clumsy fingers, Kenny really is the best. If you're into it, would you mind giving him your number again? I'll save it myself this time," Scott finished. We all held our breaths for the five seconds it took Marlene to say, "Sure.""Yes," Kenny yelled, pumping his fists into the air. "I mean that's cool," he said, turning into a plank. "Please don't change your mind."Coming in with the save once again, Scott said, "He's not cool, but he's cute" and then held out Kenny's phone to Marlene, who took it with a smile. Kenny saying I was in love with Scott went round and round in my head as I watched this play out, all my anger instantly evaporating. This was the Scott women fell for. Confident, a little goofy, crazy hot and so down t
Five days, six hours and fifty three minutes. That's how long it had been since I last saw either Scott or Jenny. But this wasn't the time to think about that. I was about to surround myself with my old life and then some. Don Angelo would no doubt be coming out for this thing too. I remembered the day my mom and Jenny left home like it was just yesterday. My mother, Collette, was from a wealthy family. She ran away at a young age to be Don Angelo's wife. An event she would regret very early into her marriage. Unlike me, my mother was indifferent to what Don Angelo did for a living. If anything, she probably even liked it. The danger, the risk, the money. All of it appealed to her. Ultimately what broke my parent's marriage was the mistresses Don Angelo had. By the time the affairs started, my mother's whole life was Don Angelo. She fell into a deep depression, slitting her wrists when I was ten. "If you want to die so badly, it can be arranged," Don Angelo thundered, pulling a gun
That last part was such a her thing to say. Was that really what she thought? It would explain how I apparently caught her off guard. "Please, for the love of God, let me sleep and shower first. There are dark circles under my eyes. And my make up—" What the fuck was she talking about? She was fucking flawless. Perfect in all her imperfections. "Shut up. I won the bet about Kenny and Marlene," I said, laying the phone down on the ground and starting the five minute timer. "So now Scott says shut up. You've said more than enough in the last few hours. Now just listen." She clasped her hands behind her back, swaying back and forth nervously, her eyes dropping to the timer. Words failed me. I had a whole speech and everything. Even if I didn't, I was me. I always knew what to say, except right that second I was tongue tied. "That photo's taunting me," I said, spitting out the thought in my he
By this point, she had me watching her from behind a lens. Flashes of the thousands of times she had me taking her photo went through my mind. Watching her was my favorite thing to do until she started letting me touch her. I loved every last one of them. Studied the thousands of photos frequently, especially this past week, like some junkie trying to get a fix. The sweet ones where she looked like an angel. The dirty ones where she looked like the perfect whore. The goofy ones that I made sure I was a part of. The everyday ones where she had a pencil in her hair while she read or picked something out at the grocery store. Every last photo I took of her and every memory attached to it flooded my brain. "Fucking stunning every time," I said, trying to calm my raging heart as the sun began to rise, the silhouette of her before it. Slightly trembling fingers took several photos, as the excitement of holding a camera surg
"Can't we do this another time? Surises come along every day and it's been such a long night," Stacy moped. Not this sunrise. Not this moment I wanted to give her. It was all she could do to hold onto the tripod towards the end, so I let her get on my back and gave her a piggyback ride the rest of the way up my mountain. "You knew this was coming. I warned you I'd be making you miserable by bringing you out here before the crack of dawn while we were in Fiji. Sacrifices have to be made to please your future husband, Stace," I said, enjoying the feel of her body pressed up against my back. The morning was chilly, contrasting with her body heat. Or was I sweating? Maybe she was right and this just wasn't our moment. It would come once though. The sunrise of our one year anniversary. I had this picture of how it was going to go down in my head and I just wasn't ready to give it up. "On our anniversary? We just spent two ho
"Is the world's greatest commitment phobe still proposing today after this shit storm?" Kenny asked me as I watched Stacy sit across from Jeff to read through her immunity deal. "You just get the champagne ready. Be on standby, Ken. Call in sick. You'll get the call soon," I said, sharing an excited smile with him before I opened the door to Jeff's office to sit down next to Stacy. "You can have your lawyer look it over before you sign. Take your time," said Jeff, waiting patiently on her. "She's her own lawyer. She's like two classes away from being one?" I boasted as I watched her brilliant mind go to work while she read. "Three," she corrected me, eyes still darting over the words on the page. "Besides, we trust you. Don't we, Scott?" That's what she said, but she carried on combing the document. In about two minutes, she'd have tons of questions for him. "Yes, we do," I said to my fath
"I will never let anyone hurt him, Ken. On my life, I will always keep him safe," she professed one more time. "I know you will, Stace. For the record, you were always my favorite best friend," he said, cautiously wrapping his arms around her as he started sobbing. "Same Ken," she said, returning his embrace readily, rubbing his back. Eyes still on me, she stuck her tongue out at me, making me chuckle as I got up to join them. "Un-fucking-believable. What am I, chopped liver?" I said, watching Kenny pull back as I shot him a nasty look. "You're okay. Tolerable. Second best. I keep you around because of her," he said, wiping away his tears with the back of his sleeves. "I can't believe you fucking told her you were proposing. What the fuck is wrong with you? How will you survive marriage?" His stupid remark had us chuckling between the three of us. We all wrapped an arm around the other an
There was that promise of forever she said I couldn't have until I asked her to marry me. It was as good as a yes to my proposal. My heart was doing flip flops in my chest. I knew it was for their benefit, maybe even just because she was nervous about talking to them instead of me, but her words were aimed directly at me. Sweeping me right off my feet. Claiming every bit of me as hers. Allowing me to let go of the tiny part of me that wondered if she really could have killed me in those woods. It wasn't just luck or the words I said to her that made her want to save me. I was happy if I gave her the strength to do what she needed to do, but I firmly believed she would have gotten there anyway. She had been doing it for eight years. From the moment we met, she had been protecting me. Even when she pushed me away. She chose me for eight years. Came back again and again, no matter how many times Don Angelo called her home, to make me fall dee
He pulled out a chair for himself, then one for me, urging me to sit next to him. With a resigned sigh, I sat down two chairs away from Kenny, as close to Stacy as I could. I gave Willow and my mom a pleading look so they would follow suite across the table. Stacy took her seat and folded her hands in front of her. Folding her hands was her tell for when she was nervous. They all looked away uncomfortably. No anger. No malice. Just sadness and fear. It was all I could do to stay seated. Not grab Stacy's hand and storm out. She asked me to let her do this though. All I could do was sit back and watch helplessly. "Marlene, you're right. We should have reached out and talked to you all about what happened. It sucked that she was the only one of you to come by and ask us what happened though. Instead of going off the news and wherever else you got your information from. Still, I'm sorry we didn't reach out either. We were trying to figure things out betwe
"No, you're not leaving," said Marlene, grabbing Kenny's arms and turning him towards Stacy and I. "Your best friends are getting engaged today. You've been brooding about this whole situation for over a week and I'm sick of it. Deal with your shit, Kenny," said Marlene, her arms folded and chin jutted out. Go Marlene. Marriage looked good on her. She surprised me more and more all the time. "Does everyone know I'm proposing today?" I asked, focusing on the wrong thing entirely. It got my nervous, half asleep girlfriend to smile though. I'd take that. "You weren't exactly trying very hard to hide it," said Stacy, momentarily caught up in my eyes. I wished I could have her look like that for the rest of the day. A light blush tainted her cheeks and her smile was enough to bring armies to their knees. The way she looked at me made me feel like we were the only two people alive. As much as I appreciated wha
"Soooo… Do you think there's more?" he asked in his most innocent voice. "I'll kill you if you try and find out today," I said, equally as breathless and sweaty as him. It took me a moment to realize I just threatened him without flinching or apologizing. I forced myself to let it go and enjoy the afterglow of the best sex of my life. The heat and sweat coming off our bodies should have been enough to get me off him, but it wasn't. Despite my threat to get off him, his arms wrapped around me gently. "No promises. I love you," he said, completely at ease as he started stroking my hair. "I expect to be told about all future… Locations and phrases." "I love you too. That's no fun. I'm not doing that," I said, out right refusing his request. "Is that right? We'll see," he said cheekily, kissing my temple. "Let me take you to lunch. I want you to enjoy your first day of freedom."