Chapter Fifteen
During the next two weeks, Emmi kept everything her mother had told her in mind as she enjoyed all the attention lavished on her by Digger. They had an amazing time at the show he’d procured choice seats for. One week after he’d cooked dinner for her, she cooked for him at his condo.
They hung out in Sunset Park, enjoying the Manhattan skyline from across the river. Both agreed it looked more beautiful from that vantage point than from the top of any skyscraper in Manhattan. They explored the Cloisters, where Digger told her he first got the idea to collect antique weaponry.
“I discovered the museums when I was about ten years old, and my obsession with old weapons was born.”
They enjoyed the Bushwick street art, and walked through Brooklyn Bridge Park. “I grew up near here,” he told her. “So did Donny.”
“Is your childhood house still standing?”
“Yes. Only it’s not a house. It’s an apartment building.”
“I made an assumption there, didn’t I?”
“No. A house or an apartment is still your home, whether it contains two rooms or two dozen.” He winked.
“You know, my mother said something to me last week about me not really understanding what it’s like to live differently than I do. She’s never said anything like that to me before.”
“And what was your reaction?”
Emmi frowned. “She’s right. I don’t understand. Not really.”
“We can’t help who we’re born to.”
“No, but we can step outside our comfort zone and try to understand the rest of world better.”
“But you did do that. You shared an apartment with Sam, and it wasn’t a massive ten-room palace.”
“That was different.”
“Why?”
She had no answer. Emmi had never considered the place they’d shared as what Digger had just suggested it had been.
“Who paid the rent?” he asked.
“We split it.”
“And the utilities? The groceries? All the other expenses?”
“We both took care of them.”
“Then you do know how others live.”
“Except that he was working and I was living off my inheritance.”
“You’re working now.”
“Only to get practical experience. I don’t need the money.”
“Emmi, being born to a wealthy family doesn’t make you less of a person.”
“She told me I should ask my father what my grandfather’s childhood was like. Then I would understand why he chose to hang out with gangsters. She used that word.”
“So ask him. Or, I could tell you. Donny and I both have similar backgrounds to your father’s.”
“I’ve heard enough stories over the years, but not a lot of detail. It’s not something my father and I talk about. Or my grandfather, for that matter.”
“I’m sure their experiences were close to the same. You grow up in a neighborhood in Brooklyn or Queens, or anyplace where most of the country lives. Your parents work. Maybe one of them even works two jobs to make ends meet. If your mother is home, she’s probably taking in work to help with expenses.”
“Like you said, most of the country lives that way.”
“Yes, and people, especially young ones, are still seduced by street punks who flash money, expensive cars, and bling.”
“So what makes the gangsters any different than the average drug dealer today?”
“Mobsters have a code they live by. A set of rules.”
“My father talks about that all the time.”
“And he’s right. It’s still organized. Not like the punks who kill for sport or go on random killing sprees. In Donny’s case, his mother died young and his father did his best to raise the kids, but there were only so many legitimate jobs to go around. Donny saw a way to bring in real money, and he took it. He was smart and learned fast. He rose quickly in the ranks, and he didn’t make stupid mistakes along the way like so many do.”
She nodded. “And you came along with him.”
“Yeah, I did. My parents died when I was fourteen, and my grandparents had died before then. I had no one left except Donny and his family. Donny’s father took me in. But I was one more mouth to feed that they couldn’t afford, so when the opportunity arose for me to do my part to help, I took it.”
Emmi knew about Digger’s grandparents and then his parents dying when he was still a teen, and that he’d grown up with Donny. But to hear him tell the story was more emotional than she had expected. Tears threatened.
“The killing was part of it. But we never went out and just started shooting people at random. We never did it for sport. It was a job, just like taking imported goods off the docks before they got to the warehouses, or taking our cut of cigarettes off the truck was.”
“And the people you killed … were they always enemies?’
“Not so much enemies as people who cheated a boss or stole from one. After they were given second and sometimes third chances. Surely your father has explained all this to you.”
“Not in so many words. I wasn’t kidding when I said we’ve never discussed it in great detail. But that seems a steep price to pay. Cheat someone out of money and you’re killed for it.”
“It’s serious shit. Serious money. If you don’t pay your mortgage, you lose your home.”
“But not your life.”
“Depends on who you owe the mortgage to.”
For a second, she thought he was serious, but the grin gave it away. She couldn’t help laughing with him. “Digger, I swear. You are completely charming, even when discussing the most morbid subjects.”
“I’d do anything to win your heart.”
She didn’t know what to say because he already had. But before she told him that, she needed to be sure. This was a big step. She’d only been in love once, and now she was no longer sure that had been real. She didn’t want to fuck this up. It was too important. Because that was what she wanted. She wanted to be in love with Digger, and she wanted to be absolutely certain before she told him.
Emmi had always viewed Digger as an older family friend, not a possible lover. But all that had changed now. He was her lover, and the age difference didn’t mean a damn thing. He hadn’t grown up in her world, but he certainly lived in it now. He ran in the same circles her family did. Both sides of her family.
And he adored her. That much was obvious, every day, all day long. Even living with Sam hadn’t been this emotional. This complete. Emmi had never felt so cherished. What she and Sam had together had been comfortable and familiar, but she’d always played second fiddle to his gigs, his compositions, his rehearsals.
“Where did you go just now?” Digger’s expression grew concerned, so she put her arms around him.
“I want to tell you something.” She told him about the Facebook picture, including what she’d felt while looking at it and reading the caption, and the fact that she’d blocked Sam afterward.
“Emmi, I am so proud of you.”
“I’m proud of me, too. It’s a huge step, isn’t it?”
“Yes, it is. Thank you.”
The relief on his face and in his tone almost brought tears to her eyes. They were in his condo and had been planning on grabbing lunch soon, but she was more hungry for him. Emmi kissed him, shoving her tongue into his mouth. She loved the way he groaned and pulled her closer, grinding his bulge against her body.
“You are the sexiest man alive.”
“And you are the most gorgeous woman I’ve ever seen.” He pulled off her top and unhooked her bra, releasing her boobs from it in record time. Emmi would have laughed, but she was too busy moaning as he rolled her nipples between his thumbs and forefingers the way she loved.
“You have such a perfect body. Lush and full.”
“You don’t think I’m too fat?”
“God, Emmi. I think you’re fucking perfect. When will you realize that?”
“I don’t know.”
“Believe it. Please.”
“Digger…” She bit her lip as the words “I think love you” nearly poured out. They had been right there, ready to simply tumble from her lips. When he kissed her again, all rational thought was gone, and she melted into his embrace.
He slid her to the floor and took off her jeans, taking panties, socks, and boots with them. He didn’t even take off his jeans. He merely took out his dick and pushed it inside her, right there on the carpet. Emmi didn’t mind. She wrapped her arms and legs around him and rocked her hips into his, crying out loudly when an orgasm approached.
She came so damn easily with him! It was almost unbelievable at times. Sex had never been this fun, this spontaneous, or this incredible. They clung to each other as he thrust in and out, the veins standing out on his neck and sweat forming on their bodies.
Emmi finally let the truth inside. The truth she’d known for a while now. She had fallen in love with this strong, sexy, charming man. How in the hell could she not?
“Oh, Digger!”
He cupped her face. “Emmi … my Emmi.”
The climax intensified again, and when it peaked, this time he came, too. Holding her close and whispering her name, over and over. Lunch was forgotten as they lay there, holding each other, for long, luscious moments.