“No,” she says, cutting me off. “It’s not crazy.” Her words shock me. “I’ve known Daphne my entire life, and I’ve never seen her so tied up in knots over someone.” She leans forward and drops her voice. “She’d kill me for saying this, but I think she loves you too. I’ve never seen her as miserable as I have the last month.”
“Then I have to set shit straight and get my girl,” I tell Michelle.
“Daphne isn’t the obstacle. It’s your father and hers that are the issue. I’ve warned Daphne about you, told her to stay away. But I can’t do it anymore. I’ve never seen her so sad, and I can tell you care for her. I’ll give my blessing and bow out tonight, giving you two time together.”
“You’d do that?” I’m shocked Michelle is so willing to give us tonight.
“Of course.” She smiles and glances in Daphne’s direction. “Just figure out a way to make shit right, or you won’t have to worry about Santino Gallo. I’ll hunt you down myself.”
I laugh. Michelle’s small, but I can see the same fierceness in her eyes I see in Daphne’s. “I’ll figure out a way.”
I’ve made multimillion-dollar business deals before. Our fathers are no different. They’re driven by the dollar and ego. I just have to tap in to how the relationship could benefit them in order for them to call a truce, making an opening for Daphne and me to be together. It sounds simple enough, but I know their egos will be the problem. If Santino is anything like my father, I’m going to have an uphill battle.
“I know what it’s like when you want to be with someone so badly your chest hurts,” she admits. “I’ll never give up hope, and I don’t think Daphne’s ready to walk away from you either. Now, go,” she tells me and shoos me away from the bar. “Make me believe true love is possible against all the odds.”
Concern’s written all over Daphne’s face as I walk toward the table with our drinks in hand, ready to spill my guts. This is new territory for me. I’ve never wanted someone like I want Daphne, and sharing my feelings isn’t something I’m used to either.
“Where’s Michelle going?” she asks as I sit down and place a whiskey neat in front of her.
I glance over my shoulder, seeing Michelle head back into the nightclub. “She’s giving us time alone.”
“Why?” Daphne’s eyes widen. “That’s not like Michelle.”
I don’t want to go into detail, telling Daphne how I basically poured my heart out to Michelle and professed my feelings to her best friend. The first time I say the words, I want them to be special…to mean something. I don’t want to say them in a trendy nightclub where the seriousness of them will have less impact.
I take her hand in mine. “I can be very convincing.” I smirk.
“I’m sure you can,” she whispers when I swipe my thumb across the back of her hand.
The sparks are there. Flying all around us in the thick night air. I feel it. She feels it. There’s no denying the connection we have. No matter what’s between our fathers, it has nothing to do with us—two people with no interest in their businesses—falling for each other.
“I’ve missed you,” I confess, and the words come out easier than I expect.
“I…”
I hang on her words, waiting to hear she feels exactly the same.
She gives me a small smile, blinking slowly across the table from me. “This is crazy, Leo.”
There’s no sanity in what’s happening between us. “Did you miss me?” I ask her point-blank. “Nothing else matters.”
“I did,” she says and sighs. “I shouldn’t have, damn it, but I did, which is insane.”
“Then we’re both crazy.” I laugh and squeeze her hand. “I’ll make things right.”
Her fingers curl around mine. “How?”
That’s the million-dollar question. There’re two stubborn, old-fashioned Italian men standing in my way. I have to convince them that we’re stronger together than apart. There’s nothing easy about it, but I have to face the two men who’re driving an invisible wedge between us.
“Don’t worry about it. Let me handle things. I’d move mountains to be with you, Daphne.”
“Do you understand how irrational this all is? We’ve known each other what…a month? I shouldn’t feel the way I feel about you.”
I can’t hide my smile. “Sometimes the best things in life go against reason.”
“Take me home,” she says, and no other words need to be spoken.
The drive back to my place feels ridiculously long. Daphne hasn’t stopped stroking my arm from the moment we pulled away from the valet. The second I get her alone in the elevator, I’m all over her.
