Dinner tonight. 6 PM. Rooftop. Wear the new dress in your closet.
Elena:
I’m not agreeing to anything unless you say please.
Maximo:
That word isn’t in my vocabulary.
Elena:
Then you’ll be dining alone.
Maximo:
You will be having dinner with me tonight.
Elena:
No.
Maximo:
I think you meant to type Yes. Having issues with autocorrect?
Elena:
Nope. I actually mean No. I will not be having dinner with you.
Maximo:
Be a good girl and do as you’re told.
Blushing, I stare at the message on my screen. He’s so… bossy. Telling me to be a good girl is only going to backfire on him.
Elena:
I never said I was a good girl. I don’t like doing as I’m told.
Maximo:
The choice is yours. Either be a good girl, or else I’ll have to punish you for being a naughty girl.
That gives me pause. My thumb hovers over the mobile keyboard. Why did my entire body just flush? I can’t possiblyenjoy the thought of Maximo punishing me for being bad. I’ve never been a bad girl in my life. I have constantly strived to please the people around me.
Maybe that’s why the idea of being naughty and punished is so appealing?
I don’t know, and I can’t dwell on that thought for too long. Maximo is everything I don’t want in a man. He’s the epitome of what I’m trying to escape. I can’t be tempted by him.
The rest of the ride to his penthouse, I debate with myself. Do I begoodand show up for dinner like he commanded? Or do I take a risk and see if he’ll follow through on his threat? I squeeze my thighs together as heat pulsates in my core. I’m playing with fire here and I know it.
What is up with me? I’m not bold, but… maybe I want to be? Maybe I’m tired of big, tough guys telling me what to do and I want to push back for once in my life. Would that be so bad?
Pushing my pink-framed glasses up my nose, I ponder that thought. I’ve always fallen easily in line, done everything expected of me, and where has it gotten me? I’m the only one of us Pontrelli girls who isn’t settled in life. I’m still running from my past. I don’t have a clue where I fit in the world, I just know it’s not here. Not long-term.
My rebellious, risk-taking sister and cousins have all found the lives they want. Sophia will be graduating college next year with her Art History degree, Ginevra’s living in Paris and going to culinary arts school, and Arianna has a thriving event planning business of her own. Ravenna’s always wanted to be a mother and she’s having twins.
Where is my happily ever after? More importantly, does it really involve me being a reclusive writer in sunny California? That’s so far away from the family I love. But it’s also far, far away from my haunted past. I’m not sure which is moreimportant to me and I hate the fact that I can’t just choose my family and be happy with that choice.
