Troubled Indeed

PROLOGUE

It has been three months since the scariest night of my life. It has also been three months since Anthony and I said I love you for the first time. It's summertime now, and summer is the best time to be in love. Love is something that keeps me going. My life has changed a lot since that awful night, mostly in a positive way.

Although Anthony had his issues about Benjamin in the very beginning, he's acting more like a father figure now. I never asked him to replace Benjamin's biological father and I never expected him to actually take charge, but I love the fact that there's a reliable man in our lives now. Benjamin and Anthony are almost inseparable when we're all together. But when it's just me and Anthony there's pure passion. I wouldn't know how to put it any other way.

As for me, I'm still working at Lesh. Alexi opened the restaurant again as soon as he recovered enough to run the place. Turns out that even though Lesh was popular before after the shooting our reviews and popularity skyrocketed. Everyone wants to see and dine at the restaurant where the owner risks his life to save his employees.

Alexi is not the master chef anymore, though. Due to his injuries, he can't stay on his feet very long and therefore hired another professional chef. He still runs the kitchen, but he's not actually cooking anymore.

Lesh's rising popularity meant more customers for us, and soon Alexi realized he needed help running the place. I think that the fact that he's engaged to my mother played a major role in his decision. He trusts me more than anyone else in Lesh and I know all about the place, so he gave me a promotion. I'm not a waitress anymore. I'm his assistant. My hours are still very flexible and most of the time I can help him run the business from home. Plus, I make enough money now for me and Benji to live comfortably. Who knew I had that in me?

Meanwhile, my now engaged mother is preoccupied with her wedding planning. They want to do this as soon as possible in the grandest way. My mother and Alexi want their big white wedding to happen this summer and they have a couple of weeks left before the weather changes again. So, this hyper-speed planning is taking up all of my mother's time and some of mine. But I don't mind, because guess what – I'm the bridesmaid! I'm happy that she finally found the right person for herself. She's mourned my father long enough.

Anthony is still doing some "business" as he says, and he doesn't want to talk about it. All he has to say on that matter is that there are some loose ends that he needs to take care of before we can move on and turn a new page in our lives. That's it. I wish he would trust me and tell me what he's doing. He should know by now that I won't leave him for any reason, except infidelity. That's something I can't look past. Call me possessive, but the man I'm with should be mine and mine only.