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"Have you ever even held a baby?" she challenged

"I could have learned"

True He was brilliant, and helpless was the last word she’d ever use to describe him

"Or I could have hired soht not have any experience with kids, but I’ve got a fortune"

Gia knew that She’d even thought of asking him for monetary help at the time, but… "I didn’t expect you to take on my family crisis It wasn’t your responsibility"

His htened "You are my responsibility As your husband, your proble the yourself Stubborn, independent…" He clenched his jaw "You’remy palm itch"

She hadn’t allowed herself to think about how much she’d missed his discipline, his touch Now, her womb clenched Her clit throbbed Her heart ached

"Who’s been taking care of you?" he deest you never sleep through the night anytells me you’ve dropped fifteen pounds you didn’t have to lose Your hair has grown at least three inches, as if you haven’t had tiernail and a shoe that needs resoling I’uess your pedicure is months old, as is the wax job on your pussy"

Gia gasped Jason had always been observant, but his attention to her every detail left her speechless

He leaned closer, intent "Stop acting as if I don’t know you I see you Just like I see that no one has given a shit about you in the last year as I would have"

She couldn’t refute him God knew she’d been horrifically lonely She’d s had been every bit as wracking as the physical ache of withdrawal

"Aso badly to hear your voice" She’d yearned for his steadiness and calm control to soothe her

"But you didn’t," he bit out

"Betork and caring for the children, I didn’t have anything left to give I knew that wasn’t fair to you I couldn’t take without giving back Besides…" How did she put this into words that he’d understand? "Sohts, I’d rock Bella to sleep, tuck Tony Jr in, then spend half the night trying to reach Mila, but she’d just lie pitifully on a mountain of pillows in her bed and stare out theas if her world had fallen apart, refusing to speak Guilt crushed me Why should I have whatsoto be happy?"

"That’s part of it The other part…" She teared up "What if I hadn’t been in Vegas with you that night? I probably would have heard about the shoot out sooner He called for backup"

"You weren’t on duty that night"

"But otten there--"

"That’s a lot of ‘what ifs’ and ‘ yourself up for failing to prevent what you couldn’t foresee"

"I’ve told et past the feeling that I let Tony, Mila, ether to hold tears at bay After nearly a year, she’d hoped the grief would abate, but she still felt her brother’s absence every single day

On the other hand, she’d be lying if she said thatJason hadn’t compounded her sorrow

Her husband reached across the table and grabbed her hand "You’ve endured a lot this year If you thought you were savingI would have been there for you We would have faced it together"

His tender, e her eyes

All thesehim from her life, but tried to tell herself she’d done it for his own good Now… Had she done him a terrible disservice? After all, he’d always seen to her welfare On their trip to Vegas, he’d treated her like his queen Maybe he would have stood beside her and found some way to deal with the kids and the chaos Maybe

But Jason had betrayed her, too

The waiter came by and took their drink orders For a ry In fact, she hadn’t had an appetite all day Her nerves about thisher up inside Still, she knew fro her In the past, he never let her skip acare

By the tihts, the waiter was setting down their drinks and asking what they’d like to eat Gia ordered a taco salad, then sipped at her iced tea Jason frowned and ordered fajitas After the waiter read back their order, he departed The sounds around the restaurant nipped at their cocoon, but silence hovered between them

Gia broke it "I should have explained everything sooner I was lost and bottled up I’ure out how I could be with you again in so your whole life Then your phone calls to the brass forced me to ride a desk After that, I was just furious"

"You weren’t coot the to let you put yourself in the path of your brother’s killer I understand you were grieving You were angry at the world and wanted revenge You wanted to bring this thug down for your parents and your sense of justice"

Gia sat back Sometimes, she wondered if Jason knew her at all Other times, like now, he understood her so perfectly that he scared her

"As a husband, I orried As your Do you hard boundaries the fastest way I could"

"You jeopardized my ability to support my family," she accused

"I would have taken care of them" He clipped every word insistently

"But they’re ain We’ve covered that ground"

"Fine You blemished my career"

"No" He narrowed his eyes at her "I brought your actions to light Youall on your own"