Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 82893 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 414(@200wpm)___ 332(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82893 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 414(@200wpm)___ 332(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
“You all have the same last name.”
“One of the stipulations of Mom marrying Ricardo was that he take the King surname since my mom didn’t have any brothers to carry on the family name. Not that he minded. His family might’ve had money, but not like Mom’s, and the King last name holds a lot of weight in this city and around the world. My great-great-grandfather started King Real Estate, and each generation has grown and expanded the empire into what it is today.”
“Does your mom love him?” I ask because I can’t imagine it was easy for her to go from planning to run away from her family to be with the man she loved to losing him and being forced to marry someone else.
“I don’t know that she loves him, but they’ve been together for the last thirty years and make it work.”
“Do you know anything about your biological dad?”
“Not much. He grew up in the foster care system, and they didn’t have a lot of information about his life before that. I know he worked nights at a bar my mom liked to go dancing at with her girlfriends because that’s where they met. During the day, he worked construction. Mom gave me a few pictures she had of him several years ago, but she doesn’t like to talk about him, and I don’t push.”
“Can I see the pictures sometime?”
“Sure,” he says softly before leaning in to brush his mouth across mine. “Eat. After we’re done, I’m going to give you a tour, then hop in the shower before I head back over to the hospital. I don’t want Diana alone when she comes out of surgery.”
“Why do you call her Diana?” I ask, picking up my sandwich, and he laughs.
“She’s always said she’s too young to be a grandmother and refused to allow any of us to call her Grandma. Once, Val did, and she made him suck on a bar of soap in front of us. None of us dared to test her again after that,” he explains, and I laugh.
“Where is your grandfather?”
“He passed away from a heart attack when I was sixteen.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be too sorry. Giorgio was an asshole who made Ricardo look like a saint.”
“That bad?”
“Worse,” he mumbles around a bite of his sandwich.
Feeling like I’ve gotten more than enough information out of him, I lean into his side and eat. When we’re done, I don’t make him take me on a tour of his house. Instead, I climb into the shower with him, then let him wrap me in one of his shirts before he kisses me goodbye and takes off, leaving me alone in his penthouse apartment in the sky.
20
ELORA
40.7128° N, 74.0060° W
I’ve never had much idle time—time to just sit around and do nothing. So, you’d think I’d relish in the ability to laze about, read a book, or maybe even just explore Roman’s house and dig through his drawers to see if I can find anything interesting.
But I don’t relish in the time alone to just be.
Instead, I pace the floor in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows in the living room and watch the minutes tick by.
Pausing in front of the glass, I look out over the city with my stomach in knots.
“I should just go,” I whisper to no one but myself.
Regardless of the fact that spending any more time with his family sounds like torture, I should be there to make sure he’s okay. I should be there in case he needs me. Even if I have to sit in the waiting room alone, it’s better than sitting here. Before I’ve made up my mind, my feet are already carrying me past door after door until I reach his bedroom.
Even in here, there is a spectacular view of the city out the windows, and like the rest of the house, every inch is decorated in a way that I know someone was paid to pick each piece. Walking into his closet that is as large as the apartment I used to have back in Wyoming, I go to my bag that is still open on the floor from earlier.
Dropping to my knees, I dig through for something to wear, then strip off his shirt and get dressed right there. When I’m done, I carry his shirt back to the bedroom and leave it on the end of the bed so I can wear it later before I grab my purse and slip my feet into my sandals.
Going to the front door, even though Roman pointed out the private elevator just off the living room, I leave, shutting the door behind me and walking across the carpeted floor to the elevator. After I press the button, it seems to take forever for the doors to open up, and by the time they do, my body is filled with a nervous energy that makes my hands shake.