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“It was a beautiful ceremony. How are things there?”

“They’re fine. Dr. Winger is very nice. A little stuffy, but we’ll break that habit.”

At least she made me laugh. “I am certain you will. No issues?”

“Other than Mrs. Martin’s granddaughter made a fuss about seeing a new doctor so you know how Mrs. Martin acted. Geez.”

“A true meltdown.” The poor girl was chronically sick with colds and bronchitis. “Just remember to give her a lollypop when she comes in. She sucks on it and is happy for at least twenty minutes.”

“Little Ashley?” She sounded surprised.

I laughed. “No, Mrs. Martin. The Tootsie Roll Pops in cherry are her favorite. Calms her right down.”

“Oh,” Zoe chuckled. “I forgot all about that. See? That’s why we need you back here pronto. When are you coming back?”

I almost used the same lie of ‘soon,’ but it was getting old even to me. “I just don’t know how it’s all going to work out.”

“That sucks. But remember what I told you. Be you. Don’t let them win.”

Sadly, they already had. “I won’t. Call me if anything comes up.”

“Will do. Try and enjoy that sexy new husband of yours.”

“I will.” I resisted another shiver just thinking about Alejandro. There was no denying my body had responded to him with fire churning inside, but after all the pomp and circumstance, reality had dragged me back to Earth. I held the phone to my head, closing my eyes and envisioning my house.

After that, I heard an email popping in. Maybe it was Derek since I’d finally become so angry I’d sent him a nasty email. It was childish, but I’d had a lot of time to think while pacing the condo. And a lot of time to hate.

When I pulled up the message, I was confused.

Don’t worry, Carmella. I will leave you alone. You can call off your goons.

What the hell?

A cold chill swept over me. Alejandro had threatened him.

“You should be careful making contact to the outside world.”

Hearing Alejandro’s voice made me angry, but there were also tingling sensations. I hated myself for it. “You threatened Derek. Didn’t you?” I turned around to face him, but remained right where I was.

He wasn’t expecting me to challenge him. I could tell by the look in his eyes. “I’ve already told you, no one is allowed to mistreat you. I simply had a nice chat with him. When did he tell you?”

I don’t know why, but I held out my phone. “Since I’m perfectly capable of handling my life all by myself, I sent the jerk a nasty email. He finally sent one in return telling me I could call off my goons. You.”

Alejandro was amused, but more than that, I noticed his expression was full-blown possessive.

“You fucking asshole. Did you beat the man to a pulp?”

He chuckled and I was even more furious with him. “No, I did not, Carmella. He is the biological father of your handsome boy. I had a talk with him. Nothing more.”

I sighed and shook my head. Maybe a small part of me was happy with what he’d done. Maybe. “By the way, you didn’tforbidme to reach out to the people working for me. I do have a business to run.” Yes, there was a heavy bite to my tone. He’d mentioned rules more than once, but I’d yet to hear them.

I shoved my phone back into my jeans pocket. If he believed he was going to cut off all contact to the outside world, the man needed a lobotomy and I’d be happy to give it to him.

He flanked my side without looking at me. His hands were shoved into his pockets and he was staring out the window. “I remember the first time I came to New York. I was a kid, maybe nine or ten. I thought the place was incredible and vibrant. It was winter, not too long before Christmas and my parents took me to Rockefeller Center to go ice skating. I think I was happier than I’d ever been in my life.”

It was obvious the memory was a decent one. I wanted to ask questions and in a typical relationship, this would be the perfect point I could ask him more about his past. But this was anything but typical.

“And now? What are your thoughts?” I asked. Why did I care?