by Bethany-Kris
“No fucking condom, Roz,” he muttered.
He felt her small shrug. “It’s okay. I have the shot done.”
“Still.”
Mistakes happened.
He didn’t think a baby would be good for either of them right now, but especially not her. It wasn’t like having a little one would do anything but hold her back when she was trying to rise higher. He never wanted to hold her back. Not in that way, or any other way.
Roz straightened on his lap, and her fingertips ghosted over his face with a soft touch. “Sometimes, I want to stay right here with you.”
Naz smiled. “And sometimes you wanna go, right?”
“Yeah.”
“You’re going to go,” he told her, “and you’re going to be amazing. You’re going to do the thing you want to do more than anything because I don’t ever want you to wonder what might have been if you didn’t take the chance.”
“But what about—”
“We’ll figure it out. Because it’s just a moment in time. That’s all it’s going to be. And then there’ll be another moment. A different one. There’ll be a moment just like this one today, except you’ll be wearing a white dress, and I’ll be at the other end waiting for you. But in between, we’ll just have to figure it out, okay?”
Roz nodded. “Yeah, okay.”
“I love you, Roz.”
“With my whole heart, Naz.”
He was about to drag her in for another kiss, but a knock on the door stopped him. And a voice …
“If you two are just about fucking done in there,” Luca grumbled, “people are waiting.”
Well, shit.
Naz figured … story of his life. He just had a whole new chapter now with Roz. And they were just getting started.
EPILOGUE
Three months later …
“So, Australia is treating you well, then?”
Roz laughed at the way her brother grinned on the other end of the video chat. “You could say that.”
“You have survived this long, I guess.”
“Barely.” Roz shuddered. “A spider got into my apartment last week, and it was the size of a saucer, Luca. When I say the sound that came out of me was not human, I mean it.”
Her brother didn’t even try to hide his laughter. She just rolled her eyes because of course, it was funny to him. He was in New York where for a good portion of the year, the air hurt his face when he went outside. There was no chance of gigantic spiders living there.
The bastard.
“Who killed it for you?”
“Neighbor came in and got it out. Didn’t kill it. Put it outside.”
Luca looked horrified. “But what if it gets back in?”
“That’s what I fucking said!”
And all her neighbor had done was gave her a look that silently said foreigner. Not that she could blame the guy, really.
“Really, I like it here,” Roz said, “and everybody’s nice. I just miss home sometimes, and I really miss home when it’s quiet, I guess.”
Luca nodded. “Yeah, I bet.”
But she was living her dream.
Doing her thing.
Roz couldn’t complain about that. Not at all.
“I hear you’re headlining at the Concert Hall next week,” Luca said. “Every night, too.”
Yeah, she was.
Her name was in fucking lights. The concert piano was shined, and tuned every single day. She had a different gown for every fifteen minutes.
It was amazing.
But all she could think about was the fact Naz was going to be there. It would be the first time she saw him since moving to Australia, and she couldn’t wait. He was coming to see her first headlining act because he didn’t want to just hear about it. No, he wanted to actually see it.
So yeah, her focus wasn’t anywhere near what was coming up. It was firmly stuck on the man that was about to make his way across the world just to be with her for a couple of short days.
“It’s going to be good,” Roz said.
“I need pictures.”
“You’ll all get them.”
“And videos.” Luca grinned. “My baby sister headlining something like that? I need proof, and it gives me bragging rights.”
“You’re such a shit, Luca.”
“I know.” Her brother’s gaze shifted from view when a buzzing sounded on the other end of the video call. She thought it might be his phone. “So, hey … early gift from me to you as a congrats for this whole headlining thing, huh?”
Roz’s brow furrowed. “What?”
“I got you an early gift. Promised to handle a bunch of crap, and make sure nobody would even notice he was gone for a few weeks. You can thank me later. Go open your door, Roz.”
Her brother winked before reaching forward, and closing his laptop, effectively ending their video call. Without even a proper goodbye. Roz might have been confused if she wasn’t so freaking annoyed, but it was the knock that echoed throughout her quiet apartment that took her attention away for the moment.
She didn’t even get the chance to get up from her seat before whoever it was knocked again.
It was way too late at night for one of her new friends to be coming over. And her apartment building was full of decent people who also wouldn’t be banging on her door this late, too.
She didn’t even think to check the peephole. Maybe she should have, though. Maybe it would have prepared her heart for when she found Nazio standing on the other side of the door looking like God’s gift to women in dark wash jeans, a white tee, and his leather jacket.
He had his beanie pulled down over his ears, and his glasses on. He rarely wore those unless he was reading something. She thought he must have taken a red-eye, or had a hell of a long layover if his eyes were so tired that he needed his glasses.
But he looked fucking cute wearing them, too.
He looked up.
She smiled.
“Long flight?” she asked.
Naz chuckled. “But worth it.”
She already had her arms open, and he was there to catch her when she darted forward. Warmth, and strength, and love.
“Told you,” he said, “we’re gonna figure this out, babe.”
Yeah, they would.
That was a promise.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Bethany-Kris is a Canadian author, lover of much, and mother to four young sons, one cat, and three dogs. A small town in Eastern Canada where she was born and raised is where she has always called home. With her boys under her feet, a snuggling cat, barking dogs, and a spouse calling over his shoulder, she is nearly always writing something ... when she can find the time.
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OTHER BOOKS
John + Siena
Loyalty
Disgrace
Cross + Catherine
Always
Revere
Unruly
The Companion
Naz & Roz
Guzzi Duet
Unraveled, Book One
Entangled, Book Two
DeLuca Duet
Waste of Worth: Part One
Worth of Waste: Part Two
Standalone Titles
Effortless
Inflict
Cozen
Captivated
Dishonored
Donati Bloodlines
Thin Lies
Thin Lines
Thin Lives
Behind the Bloodlines
The Complete Trilogy
Filthy Marcellos
Antony
Lucian
Giovanni
Dante
Legacy
A Very Marcello Christmas
The Complete Collection
Seasons of Betrayal
Where the Sun Hides
Where the Snow Falls
Where the Wind Whispers
Seasons: The Complete Seasons of Betrayal Series
Gun Moll Trilogy
Gun Moll
Gangster Moll
Madame Moll
The Chicago War
Deathless & Divided
Reckless & Ruined
Scarless & Sacred
Breathless & Bloodstained
The Complete Series
The Russian Guns
The Arrangement
The Life
The Score
Demyan & Ana
Shattered
The Jersey Vignettes
Find more on Bethany-Kris’s website at www.bethanykris.com.
Copyright © 2018 by Bethany-Kris. All Rights Reserved.
WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted material is illegal and punishable by law. No parts of this work may be reproduced, copied, used, or printed without expressed written consent from the publisher/author. Exceptions are made for brief excerpts used in reviews.
eISBN 13: 978-1-988197-67-8
Editor: Elizabeth Peters
Proofreaders: Tracy A., Mia B., Tori W. and Felicia F.
Cover Design © Bethany-Kris
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, organizations, corporations, locales and so forth are a product of the author’s imagination, or if real, used fictitiously. Any resemblance to a person, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.