He Said Never (The Lost Corisis) by Ruth Cardello

Author:Ruth Cardello [Cardello, Ruth]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Montlake
Published: 2021-10-11T18:30:00+00:00

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

RILEY

I woke the next morning to the buzzing of my phone. It had to be my mother. No one else would call me so early. I rolled over without opening my eyes and said, “Morning, Mom.”

“It’s Teagan.”

My eyes flew open, and a huge smile spread across my face. “Are you back?”

“No, but we’re in the air now. Best trip of my life. I have so much to tell you.”

I adjusted my position so I could sit partially up while resting against the back of the bed. “I have time now. I want to hear everything.”

“That’s right, your boss is out of town. That is, if you still work for me.”

“I might be able to squeeze time with you into my busy schedule. I’m not even working with a bride right now. It’s weird. I’ve worked two or three jobs for so long that I’m not sure what to do with sudden time off. Usually a new bride would have called me already.”

She laughed. “Perfect! I can hire you to be in my wedding.”

I rolled my eyes. “Jerk. I’m serious. I went from being in demand to not. Isn’t that weird? Word of mouth used to be enough to keep them coming to me. I guess I’ll have to get proactive.”

“You will always have a job at the printshop for as long as you need one, but I have a feeling a world of opportunity is opening up to you now. What happened to your plan to return to school?”

I ran a hand through my bed hair. “I don’t know. I was undeclared the first time. I don’t want to do that again. And then there’s the money.”

“That’s not a problem anymore, is it? If you feel strange about taking money from Dominic, the Romanos would help you out as well. Sebastian was talking about that the other day. You’re not just a Corisi, you know. As his sister, you’re a Romano as well.”

In the background, Gian said, “You sure are. The Romano/Corisi/Ragsdale family tree is a complicated one, but I consider you my sister, even though we don’t share a biological parent, Riley. If there is one thing all of this has taught me, it’s that family is about so much more than sharing the same genes. We’re here for you—whatever you need. We’ve got you.”

I swallowed a lump in my throat. Knowing his own journey, I knew he understood how confusing these family revelations could be and how they could shake someone’s sense of identity. He’d also been up front with me regarding how his relationship with Dominic had been strained until he started standing up to him.

I couldn’t imagine telling Dominic off, but I could see a potentially awkward conversation between us happening one day. We needed to find a happy balance of him feeling that he could show me he cared and me retaining pride in who I was and my ability to do things for myself.

“I agree, Gian, and I know you understand when I say all of these new relationships are a work in progress.

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