Well, at least if I’m going to be at the most awkward meeting in history with the siblings of my fake husband I’m doing it at a really good seafood restaurant. The siblings took me to Narea off of Central Park. I’ve been here countless times with my family when my mom was alive. It was her favorite restaurant. We haven’t been here for a while, but the familiarity of the building, the restaurant, and the aromas coming from the kitchen bring back a ton of good memories. Bianca rambled the entire trip to Narea and it nearly killed me. At least not much was required of me with conversation. I honestly think that I could have been a mannequin and the conversation would have gone on as if I was there. What I did find interesting was the subject of her rambling. She was detailing everything that had gone after I left last night. “You have no idea how pissed Mamma was when Dante and I came back in the room without you and Mario had to explain that you had left. She yelled at eve

It’s Thursday. I have yet to go home. I’ve stayed here every night, working. Anything that I needed, I either had Grayson or Emily get for me. I’ve been able to use the company gym and my office is plenty big and fully stocked, as is the staff kitchen. Honestly, there’s really no reason for me to leave the office. Other than, you know, having a life. But here, inside this building, I don’t have to worry about Dante getting to me. I don’t have to talk to him. He’s still calling constantly, at least once per hour. Texting the same amount. I don’t respond to anything. Grayson had been refusing to take messages from Dante and even cussed him out a few times at the beginning of the week. Now, he just picks up the phone, says “She’ll call you when she wants to,” and hangs up. Dante has sent flowers by the bucketful. Lily of the Valley. Pink baby roses. Blue hyacinths. White orchids. Pink carnations. White and pink tulips. They seem like an odd mix of flowers and I’m not sure

How in the hell did this get here? The building is closed, the only one being here is the security guard at the front desk. And Gerald would have told me if he had anything for me. Plus, he wouldn’t have brought it up to my desk, but kept it downstairs until he saw me. So what the hell is this? Walking closer, I reach my hand out to the bouquet, arranged into a square orange vase. It’s gorgeous. A sunflower and orange rose arrangement with rust and gold chrysanthemums and fall leaves. Whoever sent this, knows me well. Sunflowers and orange roses are my favorite. I absolutely adore them. I bend down to sniff the flowers, taking in their soft, sweet scent. It’s one of the reasons that these flowers are my favorite. They aren’t overpowering, but they’re still beautiful. They remind me of my mother taking Rocco and me to the sunflower fields in the summers or going to the rose gardens at the beginning of fall. My mother loved flowers and was an avid gardener herself. She

I awake back in Dante’s bedroom, cradled in his arms with my head against his chest. I lay there for a moment, everything that had happened over the last few hours coming back to me. The dinner at the Lucianos. Seeing Gabbi outside of work. The Flowers. The box and its contents. Gerald’s death. Dante must sense the change in my breathing because he puts aside his laptop and his hand comes to cup my face. “Topina? Are you awake?” “What happened?” I ask, groggily. “You passed out in your office,” Dante says, brushing the hair from my face. “How much do you remember?” “Josiah came in and said that Gerald…” I swallow thickly. I can’t say any more. Dante bends down and kisses my forehead. “After that, I brought you here. The boys were still in your office when we left, looking for evidence of who did this.” “How long have I been out?” I ask. “Only an hour. I’ve stayed with you the whole time,” he says, his hand going to my back. “Why am I here?” I ask, movi

In the morning, I wake to find myself wrapped around Dante, his body curled towards mine, his nose pressed in my hair. The evening’s activities come back to me in a wave that has heat gathering in my cheeks and between my legs. Dante brought me to orgasm again and again. With his fingers, his mouth, and a few toys that he had in his room. I literally begged him to fuck me at one point, wanting him to fill me up like he had before. “No, cara mia. This is about you. About me atoning.” Sucking my nipple into his mouth and pushing a large purple vibrator into my pussy, he watched the look of shocked pleasure flow over my face. “We’ll have a lifetime for me to fuck you. Tonight, I just want to give you the pleasure that you deserve.” And holy shit did he. I literally passed out from the longest, biggest orgasm in my life. Fuck, this man is going to be the death of me. I move to get up, but Dante’s arms tighten around me. I glance up to see him smiling down at me. “Buong