The Woman from the Past (Grassi Framily)

Every little aspect of my life had been controlled by him.

Not taking even a second to think it through, I grabbed the scissors, then a chunk of my hair, and snipped.

I hadn’t even eased myself into it.

I went for just below my chin.

I should have been freaking out.

But all I felt was a weight off my back, a sense of breaking ties with who I’d been forced to be for so long.

Emboldened, I worked my way around my head, hoping it was at least mostly even, and figuring I could have someone fix it up eventually if I needed to.

In the end, when I looked at myself again, I didn’t see the girl who’d been trapped in a life she didn’t want, frozen in time, controlled by a man she couldn’t stand.

No.

I saw a woman who had her whole life ahead of her, who could do anything she wanted, who could make her own choices and create her own joy.

Out in the suite, I heard more knocking, making me stiffen until all the voices seemed calm and even.

I cleaned up my hair, drained the tub, then did my best to mop up the water we’d gotten everywhere, hanging the soaked towels on the side of the tub, then slipping into the fluffy white robe since I had nothing else.

Taking a deep breath, I went to the door, opened it, and moved out into the suite.

Massimo’s back was to me, but his two brothers looked up, giving me soft smiles in greeting.

Seeing them, Massimo turned, gaze taking in the change.

“Fucking love it, babe,” he said, nodding.

That swelling thing my heart did?

Yeah, I was pretty sure that was the beginning of something I wasn’t sure I’d ever felt for a guy before.

It felt strange even to think the word.

But there was no denying it.

I was falling in love with Massimo Grassi.

As insane as that was.

“Thanks. I needed a change,” I said, resisting the urge to reach up and touch it. “Where’s Nicky?” I asked.

“That brother of yours is a better brother than any of us are,” Nino told me in that deep, rough voice of his. “He insisted on going to that all-night box store to grab you some clothes and shit.”

“He didn’t have to do that. He needs to rest.”

“Think we’re all a little jazzed up,” Nino said, shrugging. “Besides, when someone wants to do something nice, figure best bet is to let them.”

That was fair enough.

As crazy as it was, there was probably a part of Nicky that felt guilty about the whole Lucas thing. Since he spent more time with him. Since he felt like he should have seen the signs or something.

At the end of the day, though, people were really good at pretending, at putting on masks when they needed to.

Hell, our own parents were proof of that. We had child services called on us several times and each time, our screwed up parents managed to lie their way through the investigations and not have us taken away.