Total pages in book: 73
Estimated words: 69746 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 349(@200wpm)___ 279(@250wpm)___ 232(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69746 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 349(@200wpm)___ 279(@250wpm)___ 232(@300wpm)
Bosco put my hair back in place. “Beautiful.” He left the bathroom, his dress shoes clapping against the tile. “Ready to go?”
“Yeah. Just let me grab my clutch.” I picked up the matching clutch Bosco had given to me, and we left together. We sat in the back seat of the car, and we headed down the road, approaching the opera house where we’d watch our show.
Bosco held my hand in the back seat. The back of his head didn’t seem to bother him anymore, and the swelling had gone down. He was as good as new, and as obsessed with me as ever.
“I’ve never been to the opera before.”
“Never?” he asked, his blue eyes shifting to my face. He looked handsome in his tux, his masculine physique filling out the material perfectly, from his broad shoulders to his chiseled jaw and his long legs.
“Never.”
“I think you’ll enjoy it. If you don’t, we can always do something else.” The corner of his mouth rose in a smile like he was making a joke.
But I knew it wasn’t a joke.
We entered the lobby where other couples were dressed in their finest. Bosco was immediately greeted by a crew that made him feel welcome, treating him like royalty. A few of the other guests looked at him, some with fear and others with respect.
My arm rested in the crook of his, and he guided me up the red-carpeted stairs to a private balcony. The entire box was reserved just for us, so we took the seats in the first row and waited for it to begin.
“You reserved the whole area?” I whispered.
He nodded. “I don’t share space with the public.”
“I’m surprised you didn’t rent out the whole theater, then.”
He shrugged. “I know you hate that, so I skipped it.”
Both of my eyebrows rose. “You’ve done that in the past…?”
“Like I said, I don’t share my space with the public. Their jealous and envious expressions get old. People ask for my advice or try to pick my brain about the casino. Women offer to suck my dick because they want to be covered in jewels and gowns. It gets tedious, to say the least.”
I crossed my legs and rested my arm through his. The lights dimmed, and the curtains opened. The show started, the sound of loud music filling the auditorium. It was a play about falling in love and finding the will to go on when that love was lost forever.
My hand stayed on his, and halfway through the show, I rested my head on his shoulder. When it was just the two of us tucked inside the box, no one else could see us except the actors onstage. That allowed me to be as affectionate as I liked, just as if we were home alone.
His hand lay on my thigh as he watched the play, his warm fingers lightly touching my bare skin. His cologne was powerful, along with his body soap and natural scent. With every breath he took, I could see his muscles flex slightly, making his body rise like a filled balloon.
The show was long, a few hours at least, but sitting with him made me envision our lives together if I stayed. We would do normal things together like this, get dressed up and go to the opera while someone watched the kids. We would still be in love decades later, just the way my parents were. We would be happy, affectionate, and loving.
The thoughts made me weak in the knees and a little afraid. I’d never been able to picture a future with any of the men in my life. I could see the ending right at the beginning. But now I was getting so attached to this man, it was impossible to picture my life without him. We only had a week left together, and on that day, I would leave without looking back.
But now that seemed impossible.
When the lights came up and the curtains closed, applause filled the auditorium.
I sat up straight and clapped, but I was only partially paying attention. All I could focus on was the thoughts that had played through my head during the performance. I couldn’t really enjoy it because I kept thinking about the man beside me, the man I leaned on for comfort, the man who decorated me with the most expensive jewels.
“Did you like it?” Bosco turned to me, the look in his eyes painfully handsome.
“Yes…it was beautiful.”
“My mom always loved the opera. Ronan and I used to take her.”
“You should have brought him along tonight.”
He rose to his feet and took me by the hand. “Maybe next time.”
When we returned to the penthouse, I slipped off my heels and left them in the corner of the bedroom, treating his bedroom like it was my own and somewhere I could make a mess. I was tired from the long show and sitting in traffic on the way back.