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T he whole way home, I’m wondering when I should tell her. I keep thinking not yet. Let it last a little longer. She seems happy and relaxed and I don’t want to spoil things.

Sooner or later she’s going to find out the shelter was knocked down when I promised not to do it yet. Sure, it wasn’t my fault, but that won’t matter. She’ll blame me, and this whole wonderful thing might come crashing down around my ears.

She sleeps most of the way, which makes things easier. I’m not surprised she’s tired after a day like this. What does surprise me is how well she’s taking things. I keep waiting for the shock to kick in but it hasn’t happened by the time we land.

I pick up my car from the airport long-term parking and then we head for Gordon’s Cove. “I’ve got something I need to tell you,” I say as the town comes into view. I’ve waited long enough. It’s better this way than she finds out for herself .

“If it’s about you finishing the last of the candy, I understand. A man’s gotta eat.”

“It’s about the shelter,” I reply without smiling.

She sits up straight, her voice turning colder. “What about the shelter?”

“It’s been demolished.”

“What?” She stares ahead of her, all emotion draining from her voice. “Tell me you’re joking.”

“It happened without my approval.”

“And that’s supposed to make everything better, is it?”

“The new one is being built already. It’ll be ready in a couple of weeks.”

“That’s not the point, Dino. The point is that you promised me it wouldn’t be knocked down until I had a chance to look at the plans and contracts. You remember that promise?”

“I remember.”

“And you knocked it down, anyway?”

“Wrong,” I say, unable to keep the anger from bubbling up in my voice. “It was done without my approval. I apologize, Rose, but what’s done is done. The new place will be twice as big and I’m donating to the running costs for as long as you want.”

“One, I don’t care about your money. Amelia has plenty. Two, it’s not about that. It’s about you lying to me. How long have you known? Since before we went to Rome?”

I nod without saying anything. Better for her to get all this out of her system.

“And you didn’t think to tell me sooner?”

I bring the car to a stop where the shelter used to be. There’s just flat ground and the initial foundations of the mansion. Over to the right is the new shelter, coming along fast. I kill the engine as she gets out and walks out to where the shelter used to be. “I can’t believe you lied to me,” she says as I join her.

“I never lied.”

“I told you what this place meant to me and you went ahead and knocked it down, anyway. You were right. You should never get close to anyone. Should never trust anyone. Leave me alone, Dino.”

I walk back to the car. I’m not going anywhere. We’re married. I will give her some time, but not much. I’m leaning on the side of the car, watching her when my cellphone rings. I dig it out of my jacket pocket. “Leo,” I say down the line. “You’re back in town, then.”

“Heard about Rose’s father,” he replies. “Amelia sends her condolences. We’ve arranged the funeral for Saturday.”

“Appreciate it.”

“Least I could do. How was Rome?”

“I’m leaving the famiglia too, Leo.”

“What?”

“You remember how you wanted me to be Don? Said you wanted to focus on Amelia?”

“Yeah, I remember. You took over, and I thought you were happy with that.”

“I’m thinking the same way as you. The more I think about it, the more I think my father brought me back into the famiglia to fuck with me.”

“But who takes over?”

“Corrado can run things from the city. I’m settling here in Gordon’s Cove.”

“What the fuck? Are you serious?”

“I want to bring up a family with Rose. I don’t want to be looking over my shoulder the whole time.”

“You told the Capo dei Capi about your plans? ”

“I reckon he’ll be all right with it. All I want is to bring up some kids in peace. Maybe get a dog. I’d like a dog.”

I hang up and turn around. Rose is standing right there. “You want a dog?” she asks. “I thought you never wanted another dog.”

“When my father killed the last one, he cut the skin off its back, showed me the bug the Beluccis had sewn into the tissue, listening to everything we said. Made me dig the bug out. Told me you can never trust anyone. Told me to never get close to anything. You’d be taken advantage of if you did, but I’m not him, Rose. I want to trust you, and I want you to trust me. Do you think you can do that?”

She looks at me and she goes silent for a moment. Then I see a flicker in her eyes.

“So you want kids then?” she asks.

I nod. “You listened to a private conversation?”

“What about it?”

“That’s a spanking where I come from.”

“And where do you come from, spank town?”

The flicker in her eyes has lit up and is turning into a smile that illuminates her entire face. “You watch your behavior,” I say, wagging a finger at her.

“Or what?”

“That does it.” I grab her and spin her around, landing a couple of quick swats on her ass. “You asked for that.”

“Not in public,” she squeals. “People might see.”

“Let them.” I land another spank, and then I grab her and kiss her. I don’t stop for a long time. “Forgive me?” I ask.

“The new shelter looks like being twice as big,” she replies. “That’s the thing with you men. Always need to be bigger than each other. Not trying to compensate for something, are you? ”

“You should know.” I press my hips against her and she can feel how hard I am. “What do you think?”

“I think you better get that mansion built fast because I want to walk around naked inside.”

“I will hold you to that promise.”

“Who was it on the phone, by the way?”

“Leo.”

“Is he back?”

“Yep. Him and Amelia are coming back for your father’s funeral.”

“But he’s not dead.”

I look at her, and she realizes. “Of course, I forgot. Did you not tell him the truth?”

“He wanted to disappear. Now he can.”

“He’ll still be watching out for his daughter though, so you better be nice.”

“Where’s the fun in that?”

We walk over to the building site and watch the work in progress. “It’ll be a good shelter,” I tell her. “You’ll be able to take on more staff and more animals. There’s even a pool for hydrotherapy.”

“For the animals or for me?”

“The mansion gets a pool too but I have one rule for it that must be obeyed at all times.”

“What’s that?”

“You’re only allowed to swim naked.”

“I reckon that’s one rule I might be able to obey.”

I take her hand in mine and we watch the builders at work. “Happy?” I ask.

“I hated you when I found out about this,” she says a minute later. “Now look at me. Gone and got myself hitched to you and thinking about kids. What went wrong?”

“You fell for a bad guy. ”

“You’re not a bad guy, Dino. You’re in danger of turning into a good guy if you’re not careful. Just promise me no more secrets.”

“No more secrets.”

“I love you, Dino.”

“I love you, too.”

I look down at her and feel more in love than ever. It’s a good feeling and I’ll do everything in my power to be worthy of her faith in me. Maybe she’s right.

Maybe I can be a good guy. Maybe not.

I guess we’ll just have to wait and see what happens in the future.