Page 79 of The Mountain Man's Mail-Order Mafia Princess
“You’re choosing him.”
“I’m choosing the life I want. Jonah is part of it.”
Domenico released her and faced me. “What exactly have you promised her?”
“Nothing.”
Talia turned toward me, and I wished I could take the word back.
“You’re staying for a man who has promised you nothing,” Domenico said.
“I didn’t say I was staying for nothing.”
“What do you want from her?”
“The truth.”
“And now she trusts you because you make her defend herself.”
“No,” Talia said. “I trust him because he lets me.”
Talia stepped beside me, not behind me.
“Jonah was furious with me yesterday,” she said. “He still fed me, gave me a bed, and brought me here safely. He didn’t freeze my money or decide I wasn’t allowed to leave.”
“That is a low standard for devotion.”
“It’s respect.”
Domenico faced me again. “You’re comfortable letting her throw away her life because you get to keep her.”
“She hasn’t applied to school, opened independent accounts, or found work yet.”
“Then we agree.”
“No. You think those questions give you the right to answer for her.”
“What happens when she makes the wrong choice?”
“She deals with it. I’ll help if she asks, but I won’t erase the choice before she gets to make it.”
Talia’s fingers brushed mine.
I turned my palm and held her hand.
Domenico watched us. “You’ve known him six days.”
“Not quite seven,” Talia replied.
“That isn’t the correction you think it is.”
“I know it’s fast.”
“It’s reckless.”
“It might be. It’s still mine.”
His free hand rose, then fell. “Come home. Keep the apartment. Return to the office. We’ll put the money in a separate account.”
