The Promise (The 'Burg #5)(26)

She said nothing to that because she knew it to be true. There was a line every night, no exception, and usually the wait was at least an hour long.

As much as he enjoyed standing there, seeing her in his father’s chair, having a good view of her legs and that hair, it was time to shut it down.

And he spoke the words why.

“You good with sittin’ up, cara?” he asked quietly.

“I have to get used to it,” was her not great answer.

“You don’t have to do it today.”

“I’m okay,” she told him.

“Come to bed,” he replied and watched it move over her face. He couldn’t get a lock on what it was, but since he brought her home the day before, he’d seen a number of expressions move over her face he couldn’t get a lock on.

Some of them he sensed were good, like the one she just gave him.

The others he sensed were not good. So not good they were bad.

“Come on, baby,” he urged when she didn’t move.

She seemed to force herself out of whatever thoughts she was having and swiveled to the computer, saying, “I gotta turn this off.”

At that, Benny walked into the room, bent to the outlet, and yanked the computer plug out.

He straightened, looked at her, and said, “Now it’s off. Let’s go.”

Her mouth moved like she was fighting a smile before she pressed her hands into the arms of the chair and carefully folded out.

Ben didn’t like seeing her move like that. She was always a bundle of energy. Electric. Francesca Concetti saw no reason to walk up stairs when she could jog up them or, more frequently, skip. Frankie Concetti went to the gym. She did spin classes, Pilates, Zumba. Frankie Concetti didn’t cook; she cooked, swaying around the kitchen while she did it. Even sitting down or lazing around, she seemed charged. Mostly because you knew when she got up, it wouldn’t just be getting up. It would be bursting.

Not like she just got out of his father’s chair.

Seeing that energy shut down made him want to relive that day in the woods and do it over. In other words, not aim at Daniel Hart’s middle, where he shot Frankie and where Benny shot him. But instead, aim higher, like Cal did, and take the motherf*cker’s head clean off.

He stopped thinking this when Frankie started moving. He moved after her, following her to his room. She went to his bed and climbed up on the covers.

He headed to the other side and angled in beside her.

She immediately started, “Ben—”

“Quiet,” he ordered, twisting and leaning across her, to which she pressed herself into the pillows to keep well away, a move that made him grin to himself.

He nabbed the remote, laid back, flicked on the TV, then multitasked, maneuvering through the guide as he shoved an arm under her and maneuvered her closer.

“Ben!” she snapped.

“You rest on your back and fall asleep, you’ll snore and I won’t be able to hear the TV. Tucked up to me, you don’t snore,” he told the TV as explanation to the protest he didn’t let her voice.

“Then I’ll rest on my side not tucked up to you and I won’t snore. But if I did, you wouldn’t hear me anyway because you’ll be downstairs watching TV.”

He ignored that, found there was nothing on they both might like, and hit the buttons to get to Netflix.

“Benny,” she prompted, putting minor pressure on his stomach to push away.

He looked down at her. “Quiet and settle.”

She gave him squinty eyes. “I’ll be quiet and settle when you aren’t in bed with me.”

“We gonna have this conversation every time I’m in bed with you? That is, until you come to terms with the fact I’m gonna be in bed with you a lot?”

Her eyes got squintier and she didn’t hesitate with her response. “No, since that day is never gonna happen and this day and the ones close to it, you’re gonna stop climbin’ into bed with me.”

“No, I’m not.”

“Yes, you are.”

“You do know I’m in this for the long haul.” She opened her mouth to speak, but he kept going. “And, just sayin’, I get a kick out of it. It makes my dick twitch in a way I like, squabblin’ with you, that attitude of yours. So, baby, you gotta know, I’m happy with you keepin’ on with that for as long as you like.”

That did it. She clamped her mouth shut.

He looked back at the TV and smiled.

Then he asked, “You seen The Expendables 2?”

She said nothing.

Back to the silent treatment.

He could work with that too, seeing as he hadn’t seen that movie, had been meaning to, and Francesca shutting her trap meant he could see to that. So he hit the button to fire up the movie.

He felt her attitude clog the air in the room as the movie started to roll and he kept feeling it until she fell asleep.

When she did, he curled her closer.

He did this because he liked her closer.

He also did it because, when he did, he could hear those sexy-as-f*ck noises she made when she was sleeping a f**kuva lot better.

They didn’t come often.

But when they did, Benny liked every one.

Chapter Four

Until Monday

The doorbell rang and Benny’s eyes opened.