“Yeah, why not? If you don’t sink, you don’t swim. Plus, it’s nice outside. I could use some fresh air.”
I study her for a second before nodding. “Okay. If you think you’re ready.”
“Go get ‘em, tiger,” Nick says with an amused smirk.
My mother and Nick bonded almost instantly when shemoved in with us. At first, I worried about him—about the gun he kept beneath his pillow, about the way his body tensed at every unexpected noise. I feared his PTSD would consume him, that my mom living with us would only pull him deeper into the past.
But it didn’t.
If anything, it gave him something new to fight for. A purpose beyond war. Protecting me was already second nature to him, but protecting my mother, too? He took that on without hesitation, as if she were his own flesh and blood. He lived for the adrenaline and sense of duty, and I welcomed it for once. Because he wasn’t just battling ghosts anymore—he was standing guard over the people he loved.
That’s what made him the man he was. A soldier through and through. A hero who would lay down his life for me without a second thought. And knowing that? Seeing the way he cared for my mother simply because she was a part of me?
It made me fall in love with him even more.
It took about a month before she found her own place, but in that time, they grew close. She needed that. Someone in her corner. Because while she was rebuilding, Richard was doing everything in his power to tear her back down—sending hateful texts, threatening that she’d have nothing without him.
But she didn’t break.
Not this time.
Instead, she fired back. Told him if he didn’t sign the divorce papers, she’d leak footage that would destroy his career.
He signed the next day.
According to the tabloids Sophia obsessively follows, he’s already flaunting new women around town, spinning a story that paints him as the victim. He claims he wanted a divorce because my mom was an alcoholic, that he couldn’t stand by and watch her destroy herself. And the final straw? Finding her drunk in bed with another man.
It’s the kind of story that sells. The kind that makes people nod along, thinking they know the truth. But that’s exactly why I’ve spent my life avoiding the tabloids—because unless you’re the onethey’re writing about, you never really know what’s real and what’s just another carefully crafted lie.
So much has changed in just four months. It’s exhilarating. Not just for me, but for my mom. She’s becoming her own person again, free and independent, and I couldn’t be prouder.
This week is another first—our restaurant’s first time being open for lunch. Evenings had gotten so packed that Nick and I decided to expand our hours. For now, we open from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., then close for a break before reopening at 4. Until we hire more staff, this schedule works fine.
“You go take a break and eat something,” my mom orders, crossing her arms. “Nick’s right—I’ve got this.”
I sigh. “I already have one control freak in my life. I don’t need another.” I hold up my wrist. “Besides, my monitor didn’t even go off.”
After a long talk with Dr. Nelson, I finally got a CGM—a continuous glucose monitor—so I don’t have to prick my finger five times a day. He said it would be especially helpful if Nick and I ever decide to have kids. So now, a small device sits on the back of my upper arm, tracking my levels in real-time.
Nick leans in, his breath hot against my ear. “Do as your mother says, Mel,” he murmurs, voice dark with amusement. “Unless you want me to bend you over my desk and let her hear just how rebellious you really are.”
Heat coils between my thighs, my heartbeat spiking.
I lift my chin, schooling my face into a blank mask. “You don’t scare me, Nick Consele.”
He smirks, slipping a hand down to squeeze my ass—hard.
“I’ll keep that in mind when I finally take this ass for the first time,” he murmurs, voice dripping with promise. “Let’s see if you’re still talking tough when you’re begging me to stop.”
A shiver rolls through me.
I’d told him I was saving that for our real honeymoon. He wants to remarry and do it the right way, but I don’t need a big wedding. The day we said our vows was the day I truly fell for him.That’s the day everything changed, and I wouldn’t alter a single thing about how we made this real.
No matter how it started.
It was thirty minutes after two o’clock so I decided to join Gabriela and Nick on the patio for a light lunch. It was beautiful out today.
“Really?” I say, my voice sharp as I step onto the patio, the scent of cigarette smoke hitting me like a slap.
