Page 130 of Between Desire and Denial

I groaned and sat down next to her. “Don’t remind me.” It had just been a few months now that I’d made the decision to negotiate my father’s future with the Irish mob. The Diamond Syndicate actually orchestrated delivering him to the Irish Mob. It was a bargaining chip of sorts. They wanted him to suffer, we wanted him to pay for the wrongs he’d committed. They’d agreed to let him live as long as he went to jail. His sentence was for much longer than it should have been, and he’d taken the fall for more than a dozen of their crimes along with a few other Groveians who’d been working with him. Paradise Grove now didn’t owe the Irish anything, especially because Jameson and Lucille had done the dirty work of taking care of Earl.

It was a begrudging agreement, one Dimitri and the Armanellis weren’t sure would hold. For now, though, everything was paradise in Paradise Grove.

Dimitri walked over, loosening his tie, to come and kiss my forehead over the back of the couch. “Yeah, don’t remind me about her father. Damn bastard.”

I sighed and moved my hand so Dimitri could rub my belly now. He’d been obsessed with trying to feel the baby kicking. “At least we’re through the woods, Darling D.”

“You shouldn’t have ever been a part of that, Honeybee,” he grumbled, his tone clipped. Dimitri still hated that I was a part of the Diamond Syndicate and that there was a risk to making decisions for the future of the communities. Yet, he’d accepted that it was part of who I was and wanted to be.

Paradise Grove was my home and where I still felt the roots of my mother most days.

“Don’t start complaining about it again. I can’t take it.” Kee sat on the beige love seat and threw her feet up on the coffee table too. “When do you think we need to start getting ready for this party? I want to relax and eat food instead.”

“Preferably ice cream,” I agreed.

“I have cookie dough in the fridge from the last time you asked and—”

“I want a fruity flavor. Like maybe grapefruit,” Kee hummed and closed her eyes.

I swear the baby kicked like she wanted it too and Dimitri smiled down at his hand over my stomach, “Feels like she must be hungry for that flavor, too.”

Pink peered over and then groaned loudly. “Are we talkingforthe baby now, Dimitri?”

“Yeah, I’m talking for my kid. She’s hungry.” He stood and swiped the keys off the counter. “I guess I’m going to find grapefruit flavored ice cream for you two.”

“And maybe some turtle sundae,” Pink blurted out.

Dimitri frowned. “Are you pregnant too?”

He opened the door and Bane was standing there. Bane leaned forward and glanced around the room before he made his assessment. “Pink, you better not be fucking pregnant.”

“So what if I am?” She pulled at a thread on her ripped jeans, not looking at him at all.

He growled and his eyes never left her as he walked in and leaned over to whisper something in her ear.

“Yeah, so what if she is. We’re delightful when pregnant, right, Darling D?” I gave him my best doe-eyed look.

He chuckled and grumbled, “Fuck it.” He glanced at Bane, “Go get the ladies some ice cream. I’m taking my wife to bed.”

“Hey!” I slapped his shoulder as he scooped me up. “I’m not married to you yet.”

“Tell Lucille that again, please. She’ll have our wedding planned in the backyard next month.”

I laughed as he took me down the hall. “You’re right, and I won’t complain either, Dimitri Hardy. I can’t wait to marry you. I won’t deny it.”

“Good. Because you’re going to be a fine-ass Olive Hardy soon, Honeybee. Very, very soon.”

The End