You never told me that before. You liked him.
I blew out a ponderous breath. Rocco grinned at me.
Yes. I had a crush on him.
Because he made you laugh.
It took me a moment to answer. I studied the bright screen, seeking the right words.
I’m sure that was part of it. The rest is hard to describe. I just liked him.
Nick was cute too. I was a young girl. He was my big brother’s older friend. I smiled at the memory of them both. Whatever Stone had told Brando must have been on his mind though.
Stone was like Luca in that they both felt their truth was law, and that Brando should obey. In general, we never discussed any serious matter over the phone. It was always done face to face. It was unlike him to bring something like this up.
I typed:Secret or Promise?When he didn’t answer, I urged him topick secret. :)
Secret.
I liked him until I found him in the pantry with Charlotte, feeling her up over a twenty-five-pound bag of sugar on the floor. I was never allowed to eat junk food unless it was a special occasion, but Eunice took pity on me and would hide them in empty flour bags for me to find.I laughed, thinking back.One night I woke up craving chocolate cakes. The ones that are stuffed with marshmallow filling and they come in boxes. Do you know the ones? The box has a little girl’s face on the front?
Yeah.
Not even Eunice’s famous chocolate cake would do. I wanted trash, probably because I was never allowed to have it like everyone else. So, I got up, snuck around the house like a fiend, and that’s when I found them. I think Charlotte knew he liked me, or that I liked him. She had seen us laughing earlier that day. He had her breast in his hand, about to put it in his mouth. You should’ve seen their faces when I asked, “Can you hand me a Pop-Tart?”
I thought you wanted chocolate.
I was a bit stunned by the scene, so I asked for the wrong thing. That’s your only response? After all of that?
Yeah. It angers me that you didn’t get what you wanted.
Ooh, I did. Just not right away. I got you. <3
Before he could type a response, morbid curiosity called from the gallows. Were you ever interested in Charlotte? Or did she ever try anything on you?
I knew the answer to the latter question. She had tried to rub it in my face before, but she blamed Elliott for stopping them. I wanted to hear the truth from Brando.
I never thought about her like that. Out of respect for Elliott. He gave me his blessing if I wanted to take her out. He knew she liked me. But I didn’t want to mess with what Elliott and I had. Things would have gone south. I turned her down both times.
The second time?I typed back furiously. I knew he wouldn’t say when, so I’d have to get it right.Let me guess…the night of my parents’ Christmas party? The one we attended together, before I left for Paris?
The night we first made love, I thought to myself. I remembered how she clung to him, whispering things in his ear, pulling him in the opposite direction. She probably had her internal arrow pointed toward the pantry for another midnight tryst over the sugar.
Yeah.
I knew he’d say no more. If it were anyone else, he would. Since she was family, she got a pass.Pass my ass.
Rocco smirked. “Is there a problem,Bella?”
He shimmied, the limo hitting a rough patch of street, and his sea green eyes glistened in the romantic light. I had called Charlotte a wicked bitch, and not under my breath. Maggie Beautiful patted my shoulder.
Waving a hand, I said, “My sister.”
The Fausti Three sat forward, all of their attention on me.
“You have a sister.”
The statement came out twice in Italian and once in English.
