9. Liana
LIANA
I start to sniffle as we pull away from Dario’s house, and Beth lets out a long breath, putting a hand on my knee.
“It’s okay,” she says quietly. “I’m here now.”
I look over at her, smiling gratefully. Even though she’s part of the Conte family, she’s always been good to me. She’s always been there for me, even when we were kids.
When I met Dario, she warned me. She told me he was a cheater, that he was a playboy. But I didn’t listen. And look how that turned out.
“Jesus, Liana,” she hisses when I turn to her. “What happened to your face?”
I touch the fading bruise on my cheek.
Her face goes blank. “Did Dario—”
“No! God, no.” I tell her everything, except for the part where we got married. I know she’ll freak out, and I’d like to be at home before I tell her.
“I knew you should have moved in with me,” Beth says, huffing out a breath.
“I’m s-sorry," I stutter out between sobs. “I just had such a good night and I thought... thought I could move on.”
Beth frowns. “You should have told me you were going on a date. I would have stopped Dario from interfering.”
I snort, wiping at my face. “You can’t stop him. Dario’s going to do what Dario wants to do, every time.”
“Exactly. And that’s why he cheated on you, Li. You have to stay firm.”
I bite my lip. “There’s a lot I need to tell you.”
“Did Felicia call you and harass you? Because I have a few choice words for that bitch, too.”
I laugh through my tears. “No. No, nothing like that.”
Beth pulls up into her garage, a nice house in the suburbs, not a mansion. The only reason I didn’t move in with her after Felicia kicked me out is because she’s Dario’s cousin.
I didn’t want him sniffing around Sonny, possibly finding out that he belongs to him. But now all of that is shot to hell, anyway.
If Dario hasn’t noticed how much Sonny looks like him, he probably never will. Thank God.
Beth frowns deeper. “Let’s get Sonny into bed and then we’ll have wine and talk.”
I let out a sigh of relief. “Yes. Thank you.”
I grunt as I pull Sonny out of the car. He’s all arms and legs like his father, and sometimes it’s hard to transport him, especially since he sleeps so deeply.
I manage to get him inside and into the guest bed. He snorts out a snore but doesn’t wake.
I brush his hair back from his face. All of this has been hard on him. He ended up in my bed more nights than not at Dario’s.
I lean down to kiss his forehead and then follow Beth into the living room after shutting the door.
“Bless you,” I groan when I see Beth has poured me a large glass of blush wine, my favorite. I take a few sips and let the warmth of it burn down my throat.
“Drink up, and then tell me what you’re afraid to tell me,” she says flatly.
I look up at her over the glass rim. “You always know when I do something stupid.”
“I’ve been your best friend since seventh grade, Liana. Of course I know. So what did you do?”
I grimace. “I um... I married Dario.”
“You what?” she screeches at a decibel that maybe only dogs can hear. I clap a hand over one of my ears.
“Shh, you’ll wake Sonny.”
“Now I need a drink,” she mutters, pouring herself a big glass and gulping it down before pouring herself another. “What do you mean, you married him?”
“Just what I said. He helped me. He’s let me and Sonny stay at his house for a while.”
Beth groans. “That doesn’t explain why you married him, Liana.”
I rub a hand over my face, sipping more wine before speaking.
“I know it’s crazy, Beth, trust me. But he asked me to, and I was so grateful for him helping me and Sonny... he says it’s for taxes. Like a win win. Once I have more money saved up—”
“So what, you’re some kind of kept woman now?”
“Don’t say it like that.”
But I guess she’s right. Dario has been wiring me money every week for incidentals, more than I need.
“Well, what is it, Liana? Are you sleeping with him?”
“No!” I say vehemently, as if I hadn’t considered it just earlier today. I can’t tell her that I suspect Dario might have killed my father, I wouldn’t want it to get back to him.
I need more information, and living in Dario’s house, I might find it.
“Then what is this? What are you doing?”
“Surviving,” I say finally, looking up at her with a frown.
“You could always move in here, Liana. You didn’t have to go to him.”
“Yeah, well, I did. And now we’re married.”
“Marriages can be annulled.”
I swallow down more wine, my head feeling deliciously light for once.
“Yeah, that’s the plan. I just need a few more weeks. Maybe two months.”
“You’re going to live with Dario Rossi for two months? That’s crazy talk, Li. You know who Dario is. What he did to you. I had to pick up the pieces, remember?”
“Of course I remember. And I’m grateful, Beth, but you can’t always fix my mistakes.”
“You getting kicked out wasn’t a mistake. It was your bitch of a stepmother.”
“Don’t remind me.” I finish my glass and sit it down on the table, banging my head softly on its surface. ”I don’t know what I’m doing.”
“So what happened tonight?”
“I went on a date.”
Something flickers across Beth’s face, too quick for me to recognize it.
“Well, good,” she says finally, looking away. “It's about time you moved on."
“That’s what I thought,” I say, exasperated. “But Dario found me somehow, showed up and beat the hell out of my date when he tried to kiss me.”
“Of course he did,” Beth scoffs. “Dario wants all the toys to belong to him. He always has.”
“You think that’s it?” I ask uncertainly. “He said he didn’t want his wife being with someone else in public.”
“You think it would have been any different if you’d been in private? Dario wants to control everyone, including you, Li. And it’s only a matter of time before he finds out—” She darts her gaze to the guest bedroom where my son is sleeping.
I swallow hard. Beth is the only person on God’s green earth that knows that Sonny is Dario’s, and she’s kept her mouth shut all these years.
“I know it’s dangerous, but I just... he saved me, Beth, from these guys who were trying to rob me. I was grateful and stuck and I just... I gave in.”
“We can get you out of this,” she says firmly.
I go silent. I don’t know if I want to get out of it. I can snoop around Dario’s place while he’s at work, try to see if I can prove that he killed my father.
And if he did... If I’m right...
I’ll kill him myself.
“He’s helped me a lot,” I say finally. “I want to stick this out until tax season, at least.”
“That’s months away!”
“I know. I know, Beth.”
She’s frowning at me, her eye twitching like it always does when she’s mad.
“Why are you doing this? You’re not... are you still in love with him?”
“Of course not.”
The words come out of my throat quickly. Because I’m not. That ended the day that Dario cheated on me. Am I still attracted to him? Absolutely. But love? Love isn’t real. It’s just a dream they sell you when you’re little.
“Then why are you doing this? We can get our own place, together.”
“I can’t ask you to do that, Beth. You have your own life. Besides, no offense, but if I’m trying to get away from Dario, living with his cousin isn’t the way to do it.”
She huffs out a breath, clearly offended, but she knows I’m right.
“I can’t help what family I was born into.”
I reach across the kitchen island to put a hand on her arm. “I know, Beth. And you’re my best friend and I appreciate you but... I have to do this on my own.”
And if he killed my father, I’m going to kill him on my own, too.
No matter how attracted to him I am.
I drink another glass of wine before heading to bed with Sonny, wrapping him up in my arms. He doesn’t snore, my hard sleeper.
I fall asleep easily, the room spinning slightly from the wine before I close my eyes.
“Who the hell do you think you are, showing up here drunk at three in the morning?” Beth’s screech wakes me up and I bolt upright in bed.
Sonny keeps snoring and I listen, shoulders stiff.
“I’m not drunk, I just—”
“Save it. I’m not going to forgive you for what you did to her.”
“And what did I do, Beth? Huh? Tell me, because she fucking won’t.”
I’d know Dario’s voice anywhere, and he is drunk, or at least tipsy, his words slurring around the edges.
He’s here? Really?
My heart skips a couple of beats and I hate myself. Why do I care that he’s here? Why does it make me happy?
I get out of bed and head toward the door.
“You’re an asshole,” Beth spits out at him.
“Yeah, I am,” Dario agrees as I walk up behind her, his eyes moving to me and his expression softening. “Li. Li, just let me explain, okay?”
I walk out even though Beth tries to block me, crossing my arms over my chest.
His tie is loose around his neck, his dark eyes searching my face as he takes a step forward.
I don’t move back but I don’t lean into him, either.
“So do it. Explain.”
He sighs and runs a hand through his hair. “I’m an idiot.”
“Yeah you fucking are!” Beth nearly yells. I take her hand and push her inside, shutting the door.
“She’s right,” he says quietly. “I shouldn’t have... I shouldn’t have done any of what I did tonight.”
“Yeah? You just now figuring that out?”
He lets out a sound that’s half a groan, half a growl. “Li, you don’t understand. You don’t get how hard it is, seeing you with someone else.”
“Don’t I?” I say coolly, and he frowns.
“You used to be mine. I guess my brain just doesn’t compute that you’re not anymore.”
“I was never yours,” I say, even though it’s a lie. I was his the moment our eyes first met, but I’ve moved on.
He looks hurt, his brow furrowing, his mouth turning down at the corners.
I feel myself softening.
Don’t, Liana. Get it together.
“What about your date?” I ask, keeping my arms folded as I look up at him.
He smiles sheepishly, rubbing a hand across the back of his neck.
“Ditched her,” he admits. “Couldn’t think about anyone else. I don’t want to see anyone else.”
My heart starts to race.
“Why not?”
He shrugs, as if that statement isn’t huge coming from him. “Just not interested. Listen, I’m serious about helping you and Sonny. You’d be helping me too.”
“We can be married and not live together.”
He snorts. “Not with the IRS sniffing around. They’ve audited me three years running.”
I frown. Am I really considering this? Going back to his house? Uprooting Sonny all over again?
“Yeah, well, if we go back I’m driving.”
“Probably for the best,” he says, something like hope flashing across his features before he shutters his expression again.
“Wait here. I’ll get Sonny.”
I walk back outside and Beth glares at me.
“I know, I know,” I say with a sigh. “Just... let me handle this, okay? It’s going to be fine.”
“You know he’s going to hurt you again.”
“He can’t hurt me again. I’m over him.”
I am.
I’m over Dario Conte.
Aren’t I?
I scoop up Sonny and the duffel bag I brought, full of our clothes and toiletries.
Beth sighs and takes the bag from me.
I smile. “Thanks, Beth. I know you don’t agree with this but...”
“I’m always here for you, Liana. No matter what,” she says firmly. So firmly that I raise an eyebrow. I might have commented but she walks past me, putting the bag in Dario’s backseat.
Dario ruffles her hair. “Thanks for keeping them safe.”
Beth wrenches away from him. “I didn’t do it for you.”
Dario gets into the passenger side and I get in the driver’s side, pulling the seat way up so I can reach the pedals.
“I really am sorry,” Dario says as I drive toward his place.
“Yeah, yeah,” I mumble, and he’s blissfully quiet the rest of the trip home.
When we arrive, I put Sonny down in his bed, turning off the light. When I step out into the hallway, I’m surprised to see Dario leaning against the wall, arms crossed.
“I’m tired,” I say flatly.
“Me too,” he murmurs, standing up straight and taking a few steps toward me. I don’t back away even though I should.
He caresses my cheek with one large hand, thumbing across my bottom lip.
“What are you doing?” I ask, almost breathless, my body wanting to melt against him. I keep control of myself, though.
He hums, not giving me an answer, and sticks his thumb between my lips. Arousal rushes through me, settling in my lower belly, and instinctively I suck on his thumb.
He groans, stepping ever closer to me and putting an arm around my waist, pulling me flush against his chest.
I should say something. I should stop him. But my body is on fire, electricity shooting up my spine as his hand spans across most of my lower back.
He leans down and I know he’s going to kiss me before he does it. I can feel it, feel the tension in the air, so thick you could cut it with a knife.
I know he’s going to do it. This man who broke my heart. The man who might have killed my father.
But I don’t back away.
He kisses me deeply, sliding his tongue across mine, pulling me even closer with his hand on my back. His chest is firm and my arms go around his neck before I can think twice.
He kisses me again, deeper, hungrier, and turns me slightly so that I’m backed up against the wall of the corridor.
His hands skate down my sides, over the outside of my breasts, down to my waist before he cups my sex with one hand, bunching up the material of the sweats I’m wearing.
“D-Dario,” I whisper-stutter, looking up into his dark eyes as he pulls away, breathing hard.
Just as I’m about to open my mouth and beg him to kiss me again, he moves backward, dropping his hand.
“What the hell was that?” I ask, fuming, mad at him, mad at myself for wanting him so badly.
He smirks. “Just wanted to remind you I’m a better kisser than that asshole ever will be.”
I roll my eyes but he seems unfazed, strolling back to his room.
I really do hate him.