Page 42 of A Wife's Duty

Her outfit, without the flowers as coverage, was seen, and she saw the anger in his gaze. Right about now, if Boone wasn’t here, he’d be removing his belt and hitting her.

Boone put his hands on her shoulders, drawing her back, bringing himself into the picture.

“Valdez, it’s good to see you. Long time no see, and it was a nice surprise to get your invite. Wasn’t it, sweetheart?” Boone asked.

“Yes, it was lovely.”

She put on her smile. Boone had advised that she follow his lead, and wherever possible, she looked completely, one hundred percent devoted to him. So far, that wasn’t hard. Boone had given her a freedom no one else had.

Her hair was cut, she wore jeans, she’d been able to wander in the park. She could cook her own food, and she’d even gone and sat in a college campus and listened to multiple lectures. Her life was no prison. Not anymore. Or at least, it didn’t feel like it to her.

She offered her parents a smile, then tilted her head back and looked up at her husband. They hadn’t said they would be rehearsing this, but Boone pressed a firm kiss to her lips. She loved when he kissed her. Not that they had kissed often. It was sporadic. The shower was the last, most intense kiss they shared.

Turning her attention back to her parents, it was hard to be upset, especially as she loved that kiss. Her lips tingled. It was strange, because on her wedding day, the very thought of being kissed by him, or even touched by him, filled her with dread, whereas now, she felt a tinge of excitement at the thought. She had no idea what was happening to her.

Her parents were silent. Boone continued to hold onto her shoulders. Her father, in particular, kept looking at her, his gaze going up and down her body. The disapproval was evident on his face.

In response, one of Boone’s arms wandered around her waist. She appreciated the possessive touch as it seemed to pull her father out of whatever spiral he was on, and they were able to move to the main sitting room, where all three of her brothers were, as well as her sister.

It was strange to be back in a room with them. The moment they saw her, her eldest brother Enzo glared. Bruno spat his drink back into his glass. Leandro laughed. Isabella let out a huff.

“If you’d like to take a seat,” her father said.

Boone took the chair, and then he pulled her down so that she was sitting on his lap. She tried not to feel nervous, but everyone was watching them. It was strange. She’d been wearing her wedding band all this time, and yet today was the first occasion it actually felt heavy. Boone placed a hand on her back, and the room was silent once again.

“I think I better go and check on those drinks,” her mother said. “Lucia, would you like to come and help me?”

“No, she wouldn’t,” Boone said.

She tried not to tense up. Her mother looked aghast, and she quickly glanced toward her father. Lucia saw it.

This was all a setup. Boone hadn’t been wrong. This was a setup to try and use her, or to get Boone alone.

“My wife is a guest in your house. If you need help, ask your other daughter who is not doing anything.”

“Lucia is not doing anything,” Leandro said.

“She is sitting on my lap, entertaining me. She is my wife, and she does exactly what I say, which is why her hair is now cut.” He stroked her hair. “And she is wearing the clothes that make me happy.”

Did they make him happy? She wasn’t going to lie and say she didn’t like wearing pants, because she did. The first time she slid on a pair of jeans, it felt so weird. She wasn’t used to her legs being so covered. Over the course of the day, it did start to feel great. She loved it.

She couldn’t believe she was in her parents’ home and thinking about wearing jeans. It was insane. But it was more comforting than what was happening around her. Her brothers looked ready to kill Boone.

“I would very much like to talk business with you,” her father said. His name was Enzo, just like her eldest brother.

“I don’t talk business at dinner. You want to talk business, then we do so during the week. This is Sunday. I don’t conduct business. Unless you have any leads on exactly who blew my car up.”

Lucia couldn’t help but glance over at Leandro. Her youngest brother got to his feet and moved toward the liquor cabinet. Boone already had him caught on tape, but if he had any doubt about who could have done that, her brother was a dead giveaway.

“I’m afraid we don’t have any leads. You were able to make it through unscathed?”

“That’s why I’m sitting with you,” Boone said, with a smile. “And my wife was with me that day as well.”

She offered a smile. They didn’t care if they killed her or her husband. Her mother had already taken a complaining Isabella to get their drinks. Lucia didn’t know what to do as all the men seemed to glare at one another.

“How about the weather we are having now?” Boone said.

She pressed her lips together, because she happened to find it so incredibly funny that he just randomly blurted out about the weather.

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