Chapter 6: Nine Calls

It rained all Thursday.

I closed the shop at six, mopped the floor myself, and turned the sign.

When I looked up, Dominic was standing on the opposite sidewalk without an umbrella.

His men were parked at the corner, as I had told them.

He stood on the far side of the street, and he didn't cross it.

He wasn't following me. He was only there.

I let him stand for twenty minutes.

Then I unlocked the door and stood in the frame with my arms folded.

"You've been out there for an hour," I said.

"It's your street. I didn't set foot on your side of it."

"Come in before you get sick."

"I'd rather stay out here, if you'll let me."

"Why?"

"Because you said I couldn't follow you, and I don't know where the line is."

It was the stupidest thing I had ever heard him say.

It also made my throat tighten, which I hated.

I stepped out under the awning, and he crossed the street.

The rain ran down his collar, and he let it.

"You want to know what I think about when I see you?" I said.

"Yes."

"Not Gia. I would have gotten over Gia in a year."

He stood still.

"I was fourteen weeks along. You remember that? I had a sonogram on the refrigerator. You put your finger on it every morning."

Keep reading free with an account. Start After My Heart Died, The Don Begged Crying at My Feet from Chapter 1, then sign up free to read the rest of this chapter.