Page 77 of Bartered Innocence

“Tell them how you feel, Isabelle. I think they care more than you’re assuming.”

I nod, and he lets us sit in silence until we park at his Jersey City penthouse.

He comes around to the passenger side, opening the door with a smirk and heat in his eyes. “Remember the last time you were here,” Rian whispers into my temple and I blush, clenching my thighs from the memories filtering in my mind of that night.

I swat at his chest. “Behave. You’re inappropriate at the worst times.”

“I can’t get enough of you.” He kisses the words into my lips before finally pulling away. We hold hands in the silent elevator, nerves making me shift on my feet. I’ve been anxious to spend time with my family, when at this point, I feel closer to the brotherhood than them.

As soon as Rian unlocks the door and opens it, I step through with steel shoulders and I’m immediately ambushed before I can process what is happening.

“Isabelle,cara mia.” My mother continues to ramble other endearments in Italian, peppering my face with kisses before wrapping me tightly in her arms. A sob works its way up my throat as I squeeze her back.

“Mama, I’ve missed you so much,” I cry into her hair.

She shushes me gently, stroking my hair before letting go, and I’m being pulled into a thicker set of arms. The sharp cologne is a shot to my heart as my father holds me like he’s afraid I’ll disappear. “Tesora mia, Isabelle mia.”

I pull away, wiping the tears streaming down my face. My mother clicks her tongue, moving to hug me again but I wave my hand and step back closer to Rian. My brother gives me a soft smile behind our parents and I nod at him.

Rian rests his hand on my hip, his thumb rubbing a path on my lower back. “Aodhan says you haven’t requested much. We want you to be comfortable.”

My father’s face pinches for a second and my mother sighs, moving to sit on the couch.

Ricky shakes his head. “We’re okay. I grabbed them some clothes and groceries. They haven’t accepted that we can't go back to the house and grab their things.”

“We’re not children. Don’t speak about us like we’re not here,” my father scolds him.

Ricky rolls his eyes and rubs his hand down his face as he moves to give me a hug.

“How are you doing, Belle?”

I shrug, and lean into my husband. “Good, actually.”

Rian clears his throat. “Do you want me to stay while you chat with them? Or you want some alone time?”

My heart bursts at his trust. He assured me previously that there are no cameras or listening devices in his penthouse, so we would truly have some privacy if we want it. I smile, running my fingers along his jaw, ignoring our audience.

“Stay.”

With only a chair left, Rian sits and pulls me onto his lap. I flush, slightly embarrassed at the very public display of affection in front of my parents. But my mother beams at me, and my less enthusiastic father nods with a faint smile.

“I’m glad the marriage worked out for the better.”

My mood plummets and I fiddle with my fingers, my thumb running over the tattoo. My eyebrows furrow. “Why didn’t you guys call?”

Ricky flinches. “That’s my fault. Luca advised we give you space for the sake of keeping the peace,” he looks over at Rian and frowns, “Luca said you probably wouldn’t appreciate us reaching out while Isabelle got settled.”

“I wouldn’t have cared as long as you weren’t breaking in to steal her from me,” Rian says with a shrug.

I shake my head, kissing his cheek. “No, I managed that all by myself.”

He squeezes my thigh. “Believe me, we will be putting in more precautions now.”

My mother sniffles. “I wanted to call you everyday. I even wrote down every question that popped up so I wouldn’t forget when we eventually talked.”

“She’s not kidding. The giant notepad by the phone is scribbled with questions and gossip she couldn’t wait to share,” my father chuckles.

I almost laugh, knowing my mother probably did have weeks worth of gossip stored up, but tears well up in my eyes again, and I glance over at my family. “I thought you abandoned me. That you married me off and didn’t care about me anymore because now you had the highest honor of the Famiglia or something.”

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