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It wasn’t s up to hih tide And da and surrender
"Sleep well?" he asked
"Yes" She always did when she curled up beside him "You?"
Jason smiled faintly "A few hours You know me"
She did Mentally restless, he alorked on ways to e Gia knew dahts were hardly limited to commerce and interest rates Every day he found soe her until she felt like the hts around When Jason focused on sole- the center of his attention
If she could experience that every single day, it would be a drea for the fairy-tale ending and ignoring reality landed her in this aze "I canWhat would you like?"
"No worries I had a few things delivered I’ve got fabulous breakfast burritos in the ware Give me a minute, and I’ll have a surprise, too"
He never let her lift a finger The pa had been nice at first Now, she felt without direction Even if she wasn’t staying forever, she had to contribute "You know, I’m not useless"
He frowned "Of course not You’re very capable"
"But you see to everything around here Why won’t you let me pitch in? I cook, Jason I clean I do laundry I can even garden"
"But you don’t have to I employ people Let them do their jobs You’re here to focus on us"
"I have But what’s the point ofto do? If it’s to take a vacation, believe me, I haven’t slept this much in a year I haven’t eaten this ain You’re still conducting business Since you don’t wanton my brother’s case, at least let rin with a flash of white teeth "If you think you’re not playing a vital role, letavailable for sex?"
The s "By being my wife"
Suddenly, his ployto show me how you envision every day of our married lives"
On the one hand, she was more than a little touched On the other, she couldn’t live this way Did Jason think that the "job" he paid her for in luxuries and physical pleasure was to be at his carnal beck and call?
He stiffened "Would that be so terrible?"
"So if we stayedaround and be available whenever you wantedvital, like work?"
"I would take care of you in every way Keep you safe, adored, and--"
"Bored out of aped at him "I need purpose"
He stalked closer, eyes narrowed "You came here exhausted and half starved If that’s what ‘purpose’ does to you, I won’t tolerate it I’ I understand you’re a deteroals I know your subiven a lot to your family That’s admirable But you can’t do it all at your own expense, Gia Let ive up food and sleep when I can provide the else important?"
A half dozen relevant responses raced through her head Her family wasn’t his responsibility But they’d already had that argu, but did the length of time matter? Spouses were supposed to be partners in life If her mother ever needed help and didn’t tell her father, he’d be very hurt Fine Message received
Naturally, Jason didn’t want her i Tony’s killer to justice Hunting Ricky Way her ierous almost to the point of suicidal And in the back of her head, Gia worried that even if she could rand jury indicted hiht served Her brother’s former partner, Patrick, had quickly recanted his statement that pinned the blame for Tony’s murder on Wayman, so she couldn’t rely on the lone eyewitness account to convict him But last week she’d learned froht a fancy new boat this past spring She could guess where that money had come from, and it left a bitter taste in her mouth She’d called Internal Affairs to report the incident, but hadn’t yet heard a thing Frustration was setting in
If Jason didn’t see her filling Tony’s shoes again to care for Mila and the kids, and if she accepted that trying to bring Way--not to mention risky--where did her husband think that left her? Just a guess, but she figured he would be un every day and patrol the streets of South Dallas Gia had s about that
"I appreciate what you’re saying," she began "I just don’t knohere that leaves me"
Jason didn’t answer i drawer under the oven with a couple of breakfast burritos inside "Bacon or sausage?"