Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 75616 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 378(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75616 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 378(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
“I… yeah, I can see that,” I agreed, nodding. And those were only a couple examples. I couldn’t imagine what else might have gone on in her family over the years.
“So, then you escaped…” Sofia prompted.
“In a delivery truck,” I agreed.
“Good for you,” she said, nodding. “And you came right here?”
“I couldn’t think of anywhere else to go,” I admitted. “I had no money or IDs. And Judah was crying and hungry.”
“Well, you came to the right house then. My brother is a really good cook,” she said. “And he makes me keep this place stocked for anything.”
“Makes you?” I asked, confused.
“Oh, right. Well, this is my job. I do this for a lot of the single guys in the family. And for non-family members. I kind of… manage the household. Keep an eye on the stocks of everything, so no one runs out of anything. And, of course, grocery shopping. For the ones who actually cook, anyway. A bunch of them mostly just make me pick them up coffee and rely on the moms and aunts to drop off frozen meals for them to heat up when they’re sick of take-out.”
“Aurelio doesn’t have any frozen meals,” I said.
“No,” she agreed. “Believe me, our mom would send them if she could, but Aurelio tells her to give them to Milo instead. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him willingly chop a vegetable or boil a noodle in his life.”
“So, how long have you been here?” she asked as she continued to stock the fridge, freezer, and pantry.
“Almost since the shooting,” I admitted.
“And this hasn’t gotten out yet? I’m shocked,” she said, eyes wide. “Aurelio must be keeping you a secret.”
I knew that was prudent.
But, somehow, it hurt more than I could have anticipated to be referred to as a secret. Like he didn’t want anyone to know I was around.
“It’s probably because they are, you know, planning something,” Sofia was quick to say, sensing my unease at the word. “They keep us out of the loop a lot of times until things are… done. No one wants the women or kids to ever be able to be questioned or anything like that.”
“That makes sense,” I agreed, trying to remind myself that it wasn’t my place to be hurt even if Aurelio was keeping me a secret. The man was giving me and my son a safe place to land and plan for the future. I had no right to be upset about how he handled the situation with his family.
“He must be absolutely loving having you here,” she said as she went back to her bags, starting to fold them all back up, except the two that, I imagined, had household supplies in them.
“Why’s that?” I asked.
“I mean, this is his dream,” she said, shrugging. “A family. He loves kids. And this is like the best age,” she said, smiling at Judah. “Sometimes, the guys can get all squirrelly about the little babies. Like they’re afraid they’re gonna crush or break them or something,” she added. “But at this age, they’re sturdy and you can play with them.”
She said that with a wistfulness that made me think that she herself also had a dream of a family.
I knew from Aurelio’s story that she wasn’t married, but the warm look in her eyes as she looked at Judah let me know that it was definitely on her mind.
“He’s great with Judah. He gets down on the floor to play with him all the time. And sets him up like this when he’s cooking.”
“Uh oh,” Sofia said, shooting me a knowing little smirk.
“What?”
“Oh, I think you might just be dangerously close to falling for my big brother,” she said.
“What? No!” I insisted. Too quick. Too squeaky. There wasn’t a person alive who would believe what I’d just said.
“I mean, I think it would be amazing,” she said, shrugging. “If, you know, you guys are into each other that way.”
My memory flashed with the image of him with his face buried between my thighs, of me running my tongue along his cock.
Oh, we were into each other that way. That was for sure.
“Look,” Sofia said, tone more serious. “I get it,” she said. “You’re a mom. You need to think about your son first. But if you two are into each other in the fun way,” she said, “then I think it would be silly to fight it. I mean, I couldn’t think of a man alive who would be a better father to Judah,” she told me. “Or a better partner to you,” she added.
“He’s my brother and I might want to kick him in the bal—balloons,” she corrected, “for calling me Smush behind my back, but I have to admit that he’s like the best guy ever. Just something to keep in mind,” she said.