Truth

by Penelope Sky

  “Yeah?” I whispered. “Are you alright?”

  He turned back to the game when my father moved a piece. “Better than ever.” He grabbed his pawn and moved it.

  “Well, should we go?” I asked. “You must be tired.”

  Heath kept looking at the board, as if he actually liked the game. “After this match, baby.”

  “That was sweet of him to teach you,” I said as we entered the house. “But he hates to lose.”

  “Yeah,” he said with a chuckle. “I noticed.”

  The second I was in the house, the energy felt different, like last night never happened. The bullet holes had been repaired, the signs of violence removed, even the door replaced. “How did you do all of this so quickly?”

  “I had a whole crew out here.” He set my bag on the couch. “And if you don’t want to stay here, we can move.”

  This house had a horrific memory, but it also had so many good ones. I wasn’t sure if I could ever leave this place. “What about your home in Tuscany? What’s that like?”

  He stood in front of me, his hands in his pockets. “It’s a two-story house on twenty acres of land. I’ll take you tomorrow.”

  “Is that where you grow the sunflowers?”

  He nodded.

  “Yes, I’d love to see it.”

  “Alright.” He gave me a soft smile as he looked at me, taking in my features as if he was trying to make up for the night we’d lost.

  “It makes me happy to see you spend time with my father.”

  “He’s a pretty cool guy.”

  “Yeah…he’s sweet. Just hates to lose.”

  “I’d throw the game, but he’s not that kind of man.”

  My eyes narrowed at his astute observation. “What do you mean…?”

  “He doesn’t take his defeats personally, just seriously. He wants to earn his victories.”

  “I used to let him win until he yelled at me. Told me never to throw a game to make a man feel better.”

  There was a slight smile in the corner of his mouth. “Damn right.” His hand slid into my hair, and he cupped my cheek, holding me close, his lips near enough to kiss me if he wanted to. “Now that I’m retired, what should we do?”

  “I guess I’ll have to bring home the bacon now.”

  He chuckled, knowing I was making a joke. “You want to get married?”

  “Well…I’ve always wanted a summer wedding.”

  He sighed quietly. “I don’t think I can wait six months to marry you, baby.”

  “I know.”

  He kissed me on the mouth before he pulled away.

  “So…your ring is gone?”

  He nodded.

  I looked at his hand, the thick tan line obvious. It would be there for a while.

  “Balto kept his. Why didn’t you keep yours?”

  “He brought the Skull Rings to the Underground. One of them was given as a gift to the organization—so it had to stay behind.”

  “I’m sorry…”

  “It’s alright. I have a new ring to wear.” He faced me, looking down at me with affection in his gaze.

  “Are you sure you’re okay with everything? I know it was your life…”

  He stared at me for a long time before he shook his head. “That was my life before you. This is my life with you.”

  “It might get boring.”

  “No,” he answered immediately. “It definitely won’t.” His hand moved to my arm, his fingertips dragging to my elbow. “How are you? I’m sorry I had to leave. I just had to take care of all those things.”

  “No, I understand. And I’m fine.”

  He stared at me blankly.

  “I am fine. I just…needed a few hours to process everything.”

  “That’ll never happen again. No one is coming after me. They have no reason to.”

  “I know.”

  “No reason to be scared.”

  “I know.”

  He cupped my face before he looked me in the eye. “I’m really proud of how you handled that. You didn’t need me.”

  I shook my head. “No, I did need you.”

  He smiled slightly. “I loved the way you quoted Beyoncé again.”

  “I guess that’s just what I do when I get really mad.”

  He chuckled. “Then I’ll know when you’re really mad at me.” He pulled me close and kissed my forehead. “I’m going to shower and get some sleep.”

  “I’m tired too.”

  “Then let’s make love and then go to sleep.” He grabbed my bag off the couch and made his way to the bedroom.

  I watched him go, watched his strong frame shift and move as he carried my bag down the hallway. I knew this was the beginning of the blissful life I’d always wanted, to have a husband my family considered their own, and someone I was passionately in love with. I didn’t think I’d get it all…but I did.

  He pulled up the private driveway and approached the cobblestone house in the Tuscan countryside. It was a beautiful two-story home with a gorgeous double front door. He parked and killed the engine. “Holy shit, this place is yours?”

  “Ours.”

  I hopped out of the truck and ran to the entryway. “Oh my god, it’s so fucking cute.” I tugged on the door handle, anxious to get inside.

  He chuckled as he came up behind me, pulling out the keys. “Baby, it’s locked.”

  I stomped my foot like a child.

  He got the key in the door and opened it so I could go first.

  “This doesn’t even look like a house you’d buy.”

  “I didn’t.”

  I looked at him over my shoulder.

  “Won it.”

  “Won it, how?”

  “Poker match.”

  I didn’t ask any details before I walked across the hardwood floors, saw the old staircase that hadn’t been touched since it was built, the Italian wallpaper with splashes of blue and white. “It’s so beautiful.” I moved farther into the house, looked at the enormous kitchen that was made for dinner parties. There was a nice dining room and a gorgeous view of the backside of the property, a pool with a cobblestone back patio, along with grass, trees, ivy on the walls, flower beds everywhere. I practically pressed my nose to the glass.

  He came up behind me. “We’re moving, aren’t we?”

  “Why didn’t you live here in the first place?” I turned around to face him. “If you’d chained me up here, I never would have left.”

  He smiled at the comment. “Doesn’t have the best security.”

  “But we don’t need security anymore, right?”

  He shook his head.

  “Can we live here?” I asked, moving into his chest with my hands pressed together. “Please, please, please…”

  “It’s a bit of a drive to the theatre.”

  “Sooooo worth it.”

  He continued to grin down at me. “As much as I love watching you beg, you don’t need to do that.” He pulled my hands apart. “Whatever you want, baby.”

  “You really wouldn’t mind?”

  He shook his head.

  “Yes!” I turned back to the window. “It’s the perfect place to raise a family, and I love how old it is. Your place in the city is nice, but it’s so sleek and modern, and I just love more traditional things.”

  He pressed his lips to the back of my head. “I have something else to show you.” He opened the back door and led the way.

  I followed behind him, loving the awning and patio, the old fireplace that would be perfect on a cold night like tonight would be.

  He rounded the corner and moved farther away from the house, approaching a small building made entirely of glass.

  “The greenhouse…”

  He unlocked the door and opened it for me.

  Inside were rows and rows of sunflowers, the misters at the top spraying them with water, the lamps giving them heat when those rainy days didn’t supply enough sunlight. “Oh my god…” I moved to the first sunflower, which was at my
eye level, like I was looking into the sun. “This is amazing, Heath.”

  He pulled a pocketknife out of his pocket and sliced one flower off the stalk before he handed it to me. “Sunflower.”

  I took it, brought it to my nose for a sniff, staring at him while I did it. I didn’t know what to say, how to respond to the most romantic gesture of all time. I held the flower against my chest, overwhelmed by the way he loved me. “You’re so sweet to me.”

  He grabbed another flower then came closer to me, dragging the petal down my arm, looking at me with those handsome blue eyes. He nodded to the house. “Want to see the master bedroom?”

  I smiled when I understood what he was really asking. “I’d love to.”

  We lay in bed together in the bedroom where we would soon live. The two flowers were on the sheets beside us because Heath liked to see them on top of me when he made love to me, the yellow petals complementing my olive skin.

  Now he rested beside me, his hand holding mine on his chest.

  “I have an idea…”

  “There’s no food here. Sorry.”

  “No,” I said with a chuckle. “I was thinking…what if we get married here?”

  “It’s pretty cold to get married outside.”

  “We could get married in the greenhouse…”

  He turned his head toward me, regarding me with his unreadable gaze. “It’s pretty small.”

  “We can fit my family and yours in there.”

  “I thought you’d want a big wedding.”

  “Not anymore.” I just wanted to get married. I just wanted to be with this man forever. We could have a bigger ceremony in the summer if we wanted to, but being husband and wife, that couldn’t wait. “What do you think of my idea?”

  “Baby, I’d marry you in the pouring rain.”

  “Yeah?” I scooted closer to him.

  “Yeah.” He pressed a kiss to my forehead. “When do you want to do this?”

  “I don’t know… Saturday?”

  “Really?” he asked in surprise. “Don’t you need to get a dress or something?”

  “I’m gonna wear my mother’s.”

  His eyes softened. “That’s sweet. I’m sure you’ll look beautiful.”

  “I will,” I said with a smile.

  “I’ll spend the week moving.”

  “Moving?” I asked. “Where are you going?”

  “Moving our stuff in here. Getting rid of your apartment. Getting this place cleaned up. Putting groceries in the fridge…”

  “You think you can do it in a week?”

  “If my brother helps. You can stay with Damien while I handle everything.”

  “Wait, what?” I asked. “What do you mean by that?”

  “Stuff is gonna be all over the place.”

  “Where you sleep, I sleep.”

  He smiled. “Thought it could be romantic…if we sleep apart until Saturday.”

  “That’s a long way away…five days.”

  “It’s the only time we’ll ever have to wait. Besides, I want to get this place fixed up for you. So, on Saturday…it’ll be your home.”

  I wrapped my arm around his waist and moved closer into his side, my face pressed into his neck. “I’m so excited. I’ve never been so excited in my entire life.”

  Twenty-Three

  Heath

  Balto taped the box of my clothes shut with duct tape then wrote on the side with permanent marker. Asshole’s clothes.

  I rolled my eyes. “I’ll get you back for that someday.”

  “We aren’t moving.” He picked up the box and set it on the table.

  “Really? Your son is never gonna play outside?” I picked up my box and set it next to his.

  “Let me worry about my family, alright?” He wiped the sweat away from his forehead with the back of his arm. “We’ve got the clothes and essentials. What about the guns?”

  “I’ll leave most of them here.”

  “The furniture?”

  “The place is already furnished.”

  “Alright. So, we just need to do Catalina’s place?”

  “Yeah.”

  “And then make a few repairs?”

  We’d been working nonstop every day, getting the new place ready. I continued to sleep here—alone. It sucked, but it would be worth it on Saturday. “If you’ve got things to do, I can ask someone else.”

  “No. Just wanted to get our ducks in a row.” He picked up another box and set it on top. “So, you’re getting married on Saturday. Getting cold feet?”

  I looked him in the eye after I straightened. “No.”

  “Everything’s changing. You’re moving, saying goodbye to this place, agreeing to have a woman at your side day in and day out…”

  “Yes. I understood all of that when I asked her to marry me.”

  “It’s a big commitment.” He seemed to be testing me. “And we need to have a bachelor party.”

  “My whole life has been a fucking bachelor party.”

  He chuckled.

  “So, did I pass?”

  He grabbed his beer and took a drink, sweat stains on his t-shirt. “Yeah…looks like you did.”

  “I thought Damien was supposed to grill me?”

  “It’s my job too. Catalina is my little sister now.” He leaned against the table, holding the bottle by the neck. “And I want to make sure you aren’t making a mistake. You haven’t known her long.”

  “Doesn’t matter. I’m ready.”

  He gave me a grin. “Good. That’s all I wanted to know.”

  Balto was on his hands and knees, ripping up loose pieces of the floorboards to repair them in the entryway.

  I removed the ancient paintings and hung the ones I’d asked Cassini to pick out, images of sunflowers on a beautiful landscape.

  Cassini made us sandwiches and set them on the table. “She’s going to love it when she sees it.”

  “I know.” I was proud of the work I’d done all week, working around the clock to make this house suitable for her. When she saw it, her eyes lit up like Christmas morning. It made me proud, proud that I could give this to her after all the shitty things I’d done.

  Cassini kneeled and placed his plate beside him. “Anything I can do to help?”

  “No,” he barked. “Just sit.”

  “I’m pregnant, not disabled,” she argued.

  “Sit,” I said in agreement.

  She rolled her eyes and took a seat at the dining table, eating the sandwich she’d made.

  Balto took a bite but kept working.

  Cassini stared at him. “I mean…it’s pretty hot just watching you work.”

  He straightened to his knees and pulled his shirt over his head. Then he tossed it at her and kept working.

  “Ooh…much better.”

  I tried to ignore their foreplay.

  A knock sounded on the door.

  “Expecting anyone?” Balto asked. “Catalina better not be peeking. We’ve still got shit to do.”

  I opened the door and came face-to-face with Damien. “Hey, what brings you here?” I hadn’t spoken to him all week, not since the battle at my place. Things were better with him since Christmas, but after all that shit happened at my house, he might have had a change of heart. He’d been on the fence already.

  He stepped inside the house, revealing his father behind him. “Wanted to see the place.”

  “Hello, sir.” I extended my hand to shake his. “Come in.”

  He shook my hand but brushed off that comment. “Call me Richard.”

  “Alright.” I dropped my hand and opened the door wider so they could come inside. “How is she?”

  “Excited,” Damien answered. “She’s wearing my mother’s dress, just made a few changes. She and Anna are having a good time together.” He spoke normally, looking me in the eye without an underlying tone.

  “I’m sure she’ll be beautiful.”

  Richard walked inside and took a look around. “I see my daughter writ
ten all over these walls.” He stopped at the picture on the wall, an image of sunflowers. He nodded in approval before he kept going.

  Balto got to his feet and quickly pulled on his shirt. “Richard, I’m Balto.” He shook his hand, being on his best behavior for her father.

  Damien stood with his hands in his pockets, taking a look around, admiring the wooden staircase. “It’s nice.”

  “Thanks. You want a tour?”

  “Sure.” I took him through the house, ending at the backyard where the greenhouse was.

  He looked through the window then turned back to me. “She told me about this.”

  “It’s a little small, but she—”

  “It’s perfect.” He was in jeans and a jacket, his hands still in his pockets as he surveyed the yard. “She told me about the flowers…”

  I didn’t say anything.

  “That’s some pretty romantic shit.”

  I shrugged.

  He went quiet, like he had nothing else to say.

  Catalina would marry me in a few days, so I didn’t feel obligated to kiss his ass or prove anything to him. He could take me as I was—or not. “Come here for that brother talk? You know, where you threaten to kill me if I ever do anything to hurt her?”

  “No.”

  I raised an eyebrow.

  “I’ve never seen Catalina so happy.” He looked away for a while before he turned his gaze on me. “We’ve got a rough past, but…it’s in the past. A motherfucker who grow flowers in a greenhouse just for her…can’t be that bad.”

  My chest tightened, like that meant the world to me.

  “And my father is really fond of you. Not exactly sure why. He’s a hard man to impress.”

  He would never know the truth. “Because I kicked his ass at my first chess match.”

  He smiled slightly as he ran his fingers along his jawline. “Yeah, maybe that’s it.”

  I crossed my arms over my chest.

  “I think my mother would have liked you.” The words came out of nowhere, and they carried so much weight, the weight of her spirit.

  “Yeah?”

  He nodded.

  “And I think I like you too.”

  I dropped my gaze.

  “I know you don’t need my approval, but you have it…if you want it.”