Bound by Duty (Born in Blood Mafia Chronicles, #2)

by Cora Reilly

My eyes immediately darted to the spot on the desk where the photo of his first wife had been, but he’d removed it. I didn’t think he’d thrown it out. It was probably hidden away in one of the drawers in his desk, and I didn’t expect him to forget her, to throw away every piece that reminded him of her, to banish her memory from his heart; I only wished he’d leave a little room in his heart for me.

“Maybe you should write a book about what men want, since you seem to know all about it.” I opened my eyes wide to lessen the impact of my snippy words. Mamma shook her head before taking a pastry for herself. “Your father is right. We should have been stricter with you.”

“Isn’t it a bit early to start with the alcohol?” Raffaele emptied his glass. “We’re the mob, not a convent.”

“Do you want to hit me? Go ahead. It can’t possibly be worse than the knife you thrust into my back by accusing me of carrying another man’s child.”

I walked past him and he didn’t try to stop me. He didn’t move at all. “I’ll move into the guest bedroom. There isn’t enough room in our bedroom for me and the memories of your past. If you ever decide you want to give this marriage a chance, then you can come to me and apologize for what you said. Until then, I’m done with us.”

Dante cradled me in his arms as his fingers raked through my hair. “Thank you for never giving up on me, Val.” “I knew my stubbornness would come in handy one day,” I said with a small laugh.