Page 17 of A Sixpence For Your Shoe (Revenge Brides #6)

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Misha

V incent had to go into the office today to help his son sort something out. He has handed over his empire to his oldest son, Masaccio, but he still helps him from time to time.

And because he is away today, he gave me permission to spend the morning with my mother in her new apartment. I’m so excited.

I have my beautiful car back, you can’t even tell it was in a little accident. I’ve just left the mall where I stopped to get mom a few things for the apartment, a gorgeous bunch of flowers and to stock up on snacks and things for brunch.

Vincent insisted that I turn on my location tracking on my phone and I was more than happy to do that for him.

I would do anything for him.

Each moment that passes makes it harder to deny the fact that I am completely and utterly falling for him.

I want to tell him, but I have no idea how to do that without freaking him out.

How do you tell a man like him you love him?

A big part of me is terrified that this is all a game to him - but then the other part of me is convinced that everything he does for me - he wouldn’t do that if he didn’t care.

But caring for someone is different to falling in love with them.

And for all I know it might not be the same care that I think it is. I could care for a pet kitten. I could care for a puppy. A pet. And that is all it might be. A little pet. A source of amusement.

Sighing loudly, I wring my hands around the steering wheel.

Maybe I need to take a chance. Take the risk and just tell him how I feel.

What’s the worst that could go wrong?

He might tell me to leave.

No.

I think he would more likely be flattered and enjoy the adoration I have towards him. He would revel in it. He might not feel the same way towards me - but that is where the genuine risk comes in. It would break my heart to find out that none of this is real.

That it’s all just a rich person’s game.

OK, but today is about catching up with my mom.

So, I push all the worries my heart is carrying aside and by the time I climb out of my car outside her apartment building I’m focused solely on my day ahead with her.

The groceries are heavy to carry by myself, but I got them all into the elevator and punch in her floor number. Then when it opens, I keep my foot in the way until I’ve unloaded them all into the passage. Then I knock on her door and wait.

She opens the door and immediately pulls me into a hug.

“Misha.” She exclaims happily. “What is all this?” She asks, glancing at my feet, at all the shopping bags.

“Lunch, some things for the apartment, help me carry—” I bend down and pick up a few bags. Mom does the same and we walk into the kitchen where she unpacks them onto the counter.

It’s the first time I’ve visited here since she moved in a week ago.

“How are you mom? Are you happy here?” I ask.

She looks up at me and shakes her head. “Honestly, I still can’t believe it. I can’t believe my own beautiful daughter is doing so well and she—” She stops talking mid-sentence and stares at my face. Her brows knot and a soft smile spreads across her cheeks.

“What?” I ask, confused and knotting my own brows as I pull some fresh veggies from one of the shopping bags.

“You’re in love.” She says out of the blue.

“What?” I stammer, “Don’t be silly. Why in the world would?—”

“You are. I can see it. Don’t even try to deny it.” She laughs. “Who is he? Tell me everything.”

I shake my head, but the smile on my face confirms everything. “And here I thought I could hide it from you.” I laugh.

“Pfft.” She huffs, pulling the fridge door open to pack things away. “You better start talking while I make the lunch.”

And so, I tell my mom that I’m in love with a good man. A generous, kindhearted, gentle man. A man who wants to take care of me and who makes me smile. A man who is one in a million.

I don’t tell her his name or that he is almost double my age. I don’t tell her he is from the mafia and that he is the one who I work for.

“But - I’m scared to tell him I love him.” I shrug, chewing nervously on my lip.

“Misha - you can’t do what I did.” She sighs softly, her eyes lowering and her thoughts churning. I can see the strain in her expression.

“What do you mean, mom?” I ask nervously.

“I mean - you can’t hate all men. I’ve taught you that from such a young age - that all men are monsters.

It’s not true. There are good men out there I just didn’t find them and - you deserve to.

You deserve a good man who loves you and wants to look after you.

Don’t be afraid of it if you’ve truly found him.

Don’t listen to your old mom, sweetheart. Love is real. And good men do exist.”

I stare at my mom for a long time. I’ve never heard her say anything even close to this. She hates men. She’s only had warnings and threats for me when it came to talking about men. I don’t know this side of her.

She notices my strained expression and laughs at me.

“Do you want to know something crazy?” Her eyes are distant and dreamy.

I scrunch my nose. “I don’t know, do I ?” I ask.

She shrugs, not looking at me. “The man I knew before I met your father?—”

“The murderous fucking monster of an asshole?”

She nods.

“I still love him.”

“What the fuck?” I stammer.

She laughs, shaking her head. “I told you it was crazy.”

“Mom, that’s enough for me to think you should be put into a psychiatric ward,” I laugh. “I don’t understand, and you better explain.”

While my mom is making stir-fry, she explains.

“I knew from the start that he wasn’t a good man, but he was good to me.

He made me feel more alive, more wanted, and more adored than I had ever felt in my entire life.

He made me feel like I could own the entire world just because he loved me.

I will never forget that. And in a stupid, dark way - a very dark way - I know why he wanted to kill me.

Because we couldn’t be together, and I never wanted to imagine him with someone else - and I know he felt the same way.

He loved me that he would rather I be dead than with anyone but him.

” She speaks as though she’s lost in a dream, and I listen in horror to her words.

When she falls silent, quietly chopping the veggies into thin slices, I interrupt her thoughts.

“Mom, that’s really fucked up.”

She looks up at me and our eyes lock. Both of our expressions are serious.

For a long time, we are frozen, looking at each other.

Then we burst out laughing.

We laugh so hard we have tears streaming down our cheeks and we can hardly breathe.

I lean against the kitchen counter, reaching out and stealing a slice of carrot off the chopping board. “Well, at least now I know where I get all my crazy from.” I shrug.

“Whatever, you definitely get that from your father. Not me.” She winks at me.

“None of it matters mom.” I smile at her.

“All that matters is that we have each other. You and me. As long as that doesn’t change everything is perfect.

” I walk around the counter to where she’s standing and wrap my arms around her.

We’re the same height. I nuzzle my face into her hair and smell the same faint smell I always do. Perfume and cigarettes.

“I love you, mom. And you better stop smoking.”

She laughs.

“If you haven’t been fired by the end of the year, I will quit smoking.” She agrees.

“A year? That’s a long time.” I say in horror.

“Well, that’s what the deal I’m willing to make.”

“Fine.” I grin.

“Fine.” She grins back at me.

My day was perfect. I love spending time with my mom, and we laughed and relaxed and everything was amazing.

She’s so happy in the new place and so proud of me - I do have some guilt around the fact that I am not being entirely honest with her about Vincent and my work - but it doesn’t matter.

It’s small compared to how happy she is.

And all I really want is to take care of her. And I can now.

Driving home, my heart is singing, and I’m dancing in my seat as I tap my fingers on the steering wheel to the song playing on the radio.

Tonight, I am going to do something special for Vincent.

I think the red lingerie will be a pleasurable surprise for him.

I grin when I picture his face. I love how his eyes devour me.

I love everything about him. From the light to the dark.

From the shadows he hides to the secrets he shares.

My mother is right. Not all men are as bad as the ones she’s met.

At least Vincent is honest with me. He doesn’t hide his true self.

And I don’t want him to. I want to see everything.

Because the more I see of him the more I know he accepts me for who I am.

When I get home Vincent is relaxing on the sofa. His eyes are closed, and his head is tilted back. I tiptoe past him into my bedroom where I quickly change into the red lingerie.

I’ll wake him with a smile.

While I’m getting dressed, I hear music drifting from the living room and the clink of a glass as he pours himself a drink, then he sits back down in the sofa. He doesn’t know I’m home yet. It’s perfect.

When I slink into the living room, moving seductively, I can’t hide the cheeky grin on my face.

His eyes do exactly what I’d hoped for. He devours me with one look.

“Hello, sir,” I bite my lower lip .

“Hello, cheeky little raven.” His deep voice vibrates through me.