More tears come. How does he know I needed to hear that so badly? How does he know exactly what to say?
“I still think I should have—”
“No,” says Leo. “You were perfect. I might not have been able to save both of you. Getting yourself out of the mess was the best thing you could have done to save Roman.”
“I love you,” I say quietly into the phone.
I notice Callie nudging Damian from the corner of my eye. I blush, seeing Vince and Aubriella grinning at each other, too. “Can I get some privacy?” I snap.
They shuffle from the room, smirking.
“I love you too,” says Leo.
Vince insisted that we all stay with him for Thanksgiving. Considering Roman and I were kidnapped two days ago, I’d say we’re recovering nicely. Callie’s daughter Victoria is only a year older than Roman, and the two of them seem to be getting along well. Aubriella’s daughter is six and her son is seven, but the two of them are doing a good job of interacting with the little ones. They’re building a fort out of couch cushions in Vince’s living room while my mom helps Aubriella with the cooking. Seeing her face when we brought her here yesterday was great. She didn’t seem interested at all in the decorations or the mansion-like house Vince lives in. Instead, she was speechless as she watched the three Citrione men and made sure she milked every bit of help they were willing to give her, even though she has been doing really well with her chemo treatments lately and recovered a lot of her strength. I couldn’t help smiling. For their part, the Citrione men have been so gracious and kind to my mother than I’ve already started to feel like Vince and Damian are part of our extended family.
I grin a little when I realize if I ever marry Leo, they will be my extended family.
I move past Callie, who’s leaning on Damian’s shoulder while they watch Aubriella and my mom debate the best way to cook a turkey. Leo moves toward me, wrapping me in his long, powerful arms and bathing me in his scent. I breathe him in closing my eyes and sighing. Every time I’m in his arms and I feel his touch, I keep thinking it can’t get any better, that I can’t grow to care about this man any more than I already do, but I’m surprised every time.
Do I want to marry him? I haven’t had much time to think that one over, but it doesn’t take me long to decide. Yes. I want him in my life and I want him in Roman’s life, for better or worse. I hope he’ll change for us and find a way to leave the violence behind, but I can’t help remembering what my mom said about compromise. I care enough about him to compromise. I don’t know how I’ll do it or how I would live with the idea of him still living the life he lives, but if I have to, I’ll find a way. I get the sense that Leo is a man like my father though, and he will do everything he can to push the compromise as far toward my end of desires as he can.
“Upside down is really the only way,” says my mom. “It lets all the juices cook into the breast.”
Aubriella sighs. “But then the top of the turkey won’t get as golden.”
My mom shakes her head. “Just flip it and toss it under the broiler for a few minutes when it’s almost done.”
I tune them out, smiling a little. After so long on my own with just Roman and my mom to take care of, it feels wonderful to be surrounded by everyone here. It feels like I have a real family again.
The food is delicious. My mom has always been a good cook, and the addition of Aubriella’s touches to the meal make it even better.
“So,” asks Vince as he jabs a piece of turkey with his fork. “You going to come back to the Citriones now, Leo?”
Leo finishes chewing and purses his lips, shaking his head. “I don’t think so. I’m going to make my own way.”
“Fair enough. Couldn’t get Damian to work for me either, but I guess stubbornness runs in the bloodline.”
“Muscles, too,” murmurs my mom.
I smirk, but no one else seems to hear her.
“I think you might have the lion’s share of that stubbornness, honey,” says Aubriella to Vince.
Callie grins. “I might disagree there,” she says, nudging Damian.
I laugh, looking at Leo. “I find that hard to believe, too.”
The kids eat at a smaller table beside ours. Roman brings his plate to me a few times to get me to help him cut his food up, but he’s otherwise doing great with the Citrione kids. I’m thrilled to see it, because his only real interaction with another kid was always just with Amelia, and the two of them never seemed to hit it off.
Aubriella taps the top of the golden brown turkey breast with her fork and nods grudgingly. “I’ll give it to you, Mrs. Connors. The broiler was a nice touch.”
My mom smiles. “And I’ll give it to you, this is definitely the juiciest turkey I’ve ever had.”
Leo squeezes my leg beneath the table and gives me a mischievous quirk of his eyebrow. “Well, I’m stuffed. I was going to go grab some wood from out back to get the fire going.”
I wipe my mouth and set my napkin on the table. “I’ll go,” I say.
I blush when Callie smirks at Aubriella, but try to ignore them. Maybe the wood is really heavy. He might need my help.
Leo stands, looking absolutely amazing in the dress shirt he wears. His sleeves are rolled halfway up his forearms and I can’t stop watching the way the muscles flex when he uses his hands, making his tattoos dance. Leo decided that he and I were sharing a bedroom, which gave me a thrill of excitement at first. When I tried to protest, he said I was his girl, and he almost lost me once and wouldn’t risk it again. How was I supposed to say no to that? When night drew nearer though, all I wanted to do was sleep and cuddle Roman, who snuck into our bed because he was scared. He didn’t seem confused at all to see Leo sleeping beside me, and I have to say I might have enjoyed cuddling with my two men more than I would have enjoyed a night of sex.
But…
I’ve had plenty of time to fantasize about having his hands on me again, and I’ve spent a lot of time remembering how he felt inside me, and I’m tired of waiting. I need some kind of sign that this is real. Permanent.
We excuse ourselves and step outside, heading behind the house to find a pile of dry wood that Vince must have split. There’s an axe jammed in a stump of wood and a few unsplit logs beside it. Leo moves to grab some of the split wood and I clear my throat.
“What?” he asks.
“Maybe you should split some of that wood, too. I don’t know if there’s enough to keep the fire going all day yet.”
He looks at the massive pile of wood and frowns. “We could keep the fire going all winter with this.”
I shrug. “You should split some wood.” I feel a tingle of excitement rush through me. I want to see him doing something physical, something powerful. The idea of him bringing the axe down with his strong body has me practically thrumming with anticipation.
Leo finally figures out what’s going on and gives me a cocky smirk. He moves to the axe, ripping it free, the muscles in his forearms standing out as he does. He hefts the axe in both hands and turns to give me one last knowing look before throwing his body into the task, bringing the axe down on a chunk of wood like it owes him money. I’m surprised by how much it turns me on to see him exerting himself. He sets up the logs and splits them in one single blow every time, bringing the axe down so hard that the logs jump from the tree stump, adding to the small pile forming.