Page 42 of Jealous Vows

“Home.”

His simple reply both terrifies and excites me.Nothishome.Home.

Does he mean to include me?Just yesterday he intended to ruin me as part of his revenge.Not even part of, I was his entire plan.

Before I can respond, he exits the vehicle and opens my door.I accept his help and appreciate him not calling out my clammy hand.

Not expecting the front door to be right off the street, I blink in confusion when he inputs his code and steps into a receiving room instead of a front office.

“You have the whole building to yourself?”I ask.

“Not quite,” he says.

“Ai ya, who comes into my house now?I said no more today,” a woman says from deeper in the house.Her thick accent and loud voice carry so clearly I expect her to round the corner within seconds, but Romeo guides me onto the bench beside him, and we both remove our shoes before she arrives.

With her back bent from years of hard labor and hair white with age, a lady of Asian descent shuffles into view.

“Gran, I told you to check the monitors instead of walking all the way across the house,” Romeo says.

Shehumphsand swats away his gentle scolding.

“No need.My legs work fine.But you?Your phone don’t work?You forget how to call?”she quips.

I bite back a smile at Romeo’s contrite expression.

“Ai ya, and you bring a girl home?Where are your manners, young man?”

Romeo tucks his feet into house slippers and reaches under the bench before kneeling in front of me.

Gran crosses her arms over her chest but stops her tirade as a way of showing her approval as he fits a pair of slippers onto my feet.

He rises, pulls me to standing, and guides me a few steps closer to the matron of the house.

“Come here and let me look at you,” Gran demands.

My heart threatens to pound out of my chest as Romeo pushes me forward by the small of my back.

She grabs my hand with surprising force, lifts my wrist, and stares into my eyes.The knowledge and strength in her gaze nearly knocks me over.

“Did you do this?”she asks.

I shake my head.

“Didhedo this?”she asks with a glance at Romeo.

I shrug.She scowls.

“I forgive him,” I say.

She narrows her wizened eyes and says, “I do not.”After dropping my wrist, she lifts my arms out to my sides and pokes my stomach.

“Honey, you are too skinny,ai ya.You need to eat more meat.I know good recipe.You come with me.”

She grabs my elbow and hauls me deeper into the house without a backward glance.I look over my shoulder to confirm Romeo hasn’t abandoned me, but although he follows us, his closed-off expression doesn’t build confidence.

Is he mad he got scolded because of me?I couldn’t lie to her.We both know she wouldn’t let me.

The house is huge, with tall ceilings and entire walls made out of windows.A stunning mix of modern and old, the furnishings, décor, and lighting all work together somehow when the individual pieces do not.