Total pages in book: 36
Estimated words: 33396 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 167(@200wpm)___ 134(@250wpm)___ 111(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 33396 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 167(@200wpm)___ 134(@250wpm)___ 111(@300wpm)
“You don’t remember?”
Tillie shook her head.
“One of them was on a documentary or it was a movie or something, I can’t remember. You constantly talked about it for a whole summer, and you wanted to go. I couldn’t ever say no to you, and that’s when it all started.” Bella took a deep breath. “I love beauty and makeup, and clothes, but that was too much for me. I thought you hated me for stopping it.”
“No, I thought I was the one to stop it and that you were angry with me.”
Bella reached across the table and Tillie didn’t even hesitate to put her hand into her mother’s.
“I love you, Tillie. I am so proud of you.”
“I’ve done nothing.”
“I know going to Luca Winters couldn’t have been easy. I know your father feels a lot of guilt about you putting your life on the line for the company.”
“My life? Mom, it wasn’t like that. I’m not dying or anything. It was no great sacrifice.”
Bella squeezed her hand. “That’s the thing, Tillie, it was. We know that all you ever wanted to be was like your grandparents. They found a rare kind of love. Your father and I, we love each other very much, but it isn’t the same. I know that, and as a mother, all I ever want for my children is for their wishes and dreams to come true. Instead, you married a man you don’t know, and I don’t know if he is capable of love. He is the complete opposite of you.”
“Mom, please, you don’t have to worry. Luca is an amazing guy.”
“He is?”
“Yes, I mean, I know he has a reputation for doing what he does to companies, and there is a chance if I hadn’t agreed to marry him, he might have done the same, rather than find out where the problem was, but I like being married to him.”
“You do?” Bella asked.
The waiter came back, this time with their food. Tillie hadn’t even taken a sip of her water. She thanked him for the food and then let go of her mother’s hand to pick up the knife and fork, as did her mother.
“It is new, because obviously we were not a love match, nor did we know each other for years beforehand, but it works for us. I am getting to know him and there is so much more to Luca than being a rich man who tears apart companies.”
Tillie smiled just thinking about him. A few flashing moments of them together, watching a movie, and Luca holding up the pillow on a scary part so she didn’t get scared. Him feeding her some of his own food. Hanging out at the library, reading a book to him as he sat and listened to the words. Even the memory of dancing, and Luca asking her to continue dancing for him. They were few and far between, but they were their moments.
“I know that look,” Bella said.
Pulling out of her thoughts, she looked toward her mother. “What look?”
“The look of a woman falling in love. You have that look, my dear,” Bella said. “Are you falling in love with your husband?”
Tillie thought about Luca and the insane thing was, she couldn’t help but smile. “I think I am.”
Chapter Ten
Three Months Later
Luca stood in his brand-new office and looked over the city. Even though he was over twenty floors high, he could still see the hustle and bustle on the ground below. He’d never been afraid of heights, in fact, being high off the ground had actually been more of a thrill to him than fear.
What amazed him most was the fact his new office was inside the Goodwin company. He’d not changed the name, but he had relocated to this very building. Why? He couldn’t fucking believe it, but in the last three months, it was like his whole life had changed.
First, his marriage to Tillie was fucking incredible. He couldn’t have imagined a better marriage. Waking up was like stepping into a dream. When it came time to leave for work, he felt a mixture of emotions as he hated leaving Tillie, but what he loved was seeing David and Andrew, his father and brother-in laws, which totally blew his mind.
Yes, he liked his father-in-law, and had taken the time to get to know Andrew. At first, it hadn’t been easy. He’d come to learn that Andrew was a very proud man, and when he inherited the company from his father, he’d done so with the responsibility of taking care of it, and the promise of making it thrive. Uncle Ed, Andrew’s brother, had nearly destroyed everything their father and grandfather had worked toward. Andrew had felt personally responsible because he’d been the one to hire his brother in the first place, even though David had warned him not to. Their own father hadn’t fired Ed, and even though there had been multiple warnings going off inside Andrew’s head, he’d listened to his heart and trusted him.