Chapter 641

• She didn't deserve them, not after what she must have put them through in the last twenty four hours. She would show them how strong she was. She would take that awful expression of fear from her father's eyes. "I guess I needed a timeout there," she managed with a shaky half-smile.
• "I guess you did," he smiled back stroking a hand tenderly against her tangled curls. His expression turned grave and a dark scowl crossed his face. "Do I need to be having a chat with Pietro?"
• Instant fear suffused her at his words. She could imagine just what kind of chat her father was talking about and that was something she didn't want to see happen. Pietro had his reasons for how he was feeling. He had suffered enough without being punished for being justifiably angry about things. "No, please don't, Dad. This is between us. We need to work things out ourselves."