AmayaI didn’t like talking about Jolene. He must have sensed that because he let it go soon enough. The hurt in my voice must have been clear to even someone as unemotional as him, and he didn’t seem to know how to handle it beyond throwing money at the problem. And hey, if that worked for him, then I certainly wasn’t going to complain.I could feel it nagging at me in the back of my mind. I still felt so guilty so much of the time for not being with Jolene. Here I was, spending all this cash and traipsing around these fancy shops across the state line just because he could and he wanted to take me. It didn’t feel right, knowing she was all the way back in the home and waiting for me. She would have told me to stop being such a worrywart and to enjoy myself while I could, but I was her big sister, and it was my business to worry about her. Going over everything that had happened to us just stirred up those feelings all over again, the ones I had done such a damn good job ignoring ove

KristoWhen my eyes opened the next morning, I could hear music playing somewhere, a voice singing along to it, soft and breathy like it was coming from the dream I’d woken from. I yawned, ran my fingers through my hair, and got to my feet to find the source of it.When I stepped out of the bedroom, I laid eyes at once on where it was coming from. Amaya was in the kitchen cooking up something that smelled good and swinging her hips back and forth to some song on the radio. She wasn’t dressed for work yet, wearing a silk nightgown we’d picked up the day before, one that showed off her generous thighs and her shapely waist. She glanced over her shoulder at me and flashed me a smile.“Good morning,” she greeted me, and I made my way tentatively over to join her.“What’s going on?” I asked. I felt as though I might still be dreaming or woken up in some alternate reality because there was no way I had come to and found this woman, scantily clad, dancing and cooking breakfast for me in my k

AmayaMy eyes fluttered open, and I found myself buried in a wall of chest, pressed so close to my husband that I wasn’t sure if the two of us would ever unwind from each other.I inhaled deeply, filling myself with his scent, and tried to remember falling asleep in the first place. I recalled slipping into bed next to him, curling up close to him, and then dozing off, his arms wrapped tight around me. I glanced at the clock. It was just before six, and I didn’t have to get up for a couple of hours yet. I had to get Jolene soon for the day ahead with his nonna, but that wasn’t for a while.I squirmed against him, listening to the steady rise and fall of his breath, letting it calm me. I propped myself up on his chest and looked at him, eyeing him. He looked so peaceful when he was sleeping, like all the stresses that weight down on him during the day had all but slipped away. But I didn’t want him sleeping. No, I wanted something else entirely.Maybe it was just waking up right next t

KristoAs soon as Amaya was out the door, I rolled out of bed and started taking care of everything that needed to be done for the day ahead. I had so much to get ready and what seemed like such little time to do it in. No matter how much work I put in, this place was never going to be up to standard for my nonna, and even if I scrubbed this place down on my hands and knees for the rest of the day, she would still sweep in and find something wrong with it in the first five minutes.That reminded me, I had to call her. I had told her that Jolene was going to be here today, but I had a feeling it might have slipped her mind, and I didn’t want her to turn up to that kind of a surprise.“Nonna?” I greeted her as soon as she picked up the phone. At once, she started rambling away to me.“Are you going to cancel on me?” she demanded. “I thought you would. When you told me to come to your place, I was sure you were—”“I’m not canceling on you,” I cut her off calmly. I had somewhat expected t

Amaya“So, you’re happy to go for us again?” Indina, my manager, looked over her glasses at me. I nodded.“More than happy,” I assured her. “I really enjoyed the gala. I’m sure that this will be fun too.”“Good.” She nodded and then leaned in close as though sharing a secret with me. “I hate these kinds of things. Reason I got into library work was so I didn’t have to worry about fancy parties all the time, but it seems like it comes as part of the territory.I laughed and leaned back, touching the necklace around my throat. Kristo had given it to me a couple of days ago, a thank-you for Sunday. It was pale, delicate silver with a single pearl pressed into a small claw at the center, and I thought it was about the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.“Well, I’ve got you covered,” I promised her. “Don’t you worry. I’ll be there.”“Wonderful.” She nodded. “That’s all I needed you for. Thanks.”I headed back to work and bit my lip as I imagined going to another one of those big, fancy p