I found myself laughing because the nose scrunch was definitely hereditary. Alesso used to do the same thing when he didn’t like something I was doing.
She pointed again and mimicked typing and I handed the computer over to her, watching as she opened a document and began typing before she turned the screen to show me.
CINI: Do you always work on vacation?
I stared at the words for a moment. It wasn’t lost on me that she had chosen to communicate like this rather than signing because I struggled the most with it.
Growing up, it had taken me longer to do most things and I had the hardest time with languages. It was like my brain couldn’t keep up with catching the words and translating them in my head at the same time and signing was even harder for me.
Only one teacher had ever dared to utter the word learning disability to my parents and I had been promptly switched out of her class.
My parents didn’t believe in that sort of thing and they just thought I needed to work harder.
So, they piled on the at-home tutors and made sure that anything other than excellence wouldn’t be tolerated.
I started to excel at everything because of how much time and effort I put into it… but languages still got me every time and I had just barely scraped by with my grades in high school.
Cini knew I struggled and either signed much more slowly for me or finger-spelled most things, so for her to talk to me like this meant she had something to say.
I typed back quickly.
RANIERI: Work doesn’t stop just because you’re on the beach.
Cini’s lips pulled up into a wry smile.
CINI:You should enjoy it. Come out and play in the water with me tomorrow.
The invitation caught me off guard. She hadn’t made any moves to spend time with me since we’d arrived at the beach house and I had been almost relieved by the fact.
The less chances I had to inhale her sweet scent, the more control I had over myself.
RANIERI:I can’t, I have a day full of video calls.
It was an excuse. There were no video calls.
Cini’s lips thinned into a frown as she rolled her eyes and pulled the computer away from me.
CINI:I don’t have any patience for alphas that avoid me anymore. So tell me what you’re really thinking and feeling and don’t lie to me.
Her fingers paused on the keyboard as she nibbled on her lip with indecision before slowly typing something else.
CINI:Is this because of you and Alesso?
My insides froze as I stared at her with wide eyes. How did she know about any of that?
Cini’s eyes took in my expression before she sighed.
CINI:I’ve always known about you and Alesso. He told me about you from the very first time he kissed you when you guys were teenagers.
‘Why?’I signed, albeit a bit clumsily.
She rolled her eyes at me.
CINI:Alesso never kept anything from me when it came to you guys. Sometimes I think he knew something was going to happen to him one day and that you guys would have to protect me.
I gestured for her to give me the laptop.
RANIERI:Doesn’t it bother you? Me being with him like that and me being your husband now?
