She doesn’t argue.
We climb the stairs to her apartment, the silence between us is heavy with unspoken things. She unlocks her door and steps inside, and I follow, checking the windows, the locks, making sure everything is secure.
“Alessandro.” She’s standing in the middle of her living room, still in that beautiful black dress, her arms wrapped around herself. “I need you to tell me the truth. All of it. Because I’m starting to really care about you, and I can’t do that if I don’t know who you really are.”
I look at her, this beautiful, kind, honest woman who makes flower arrangements and believes in happy endings, and I know that what I’m about to tell her will change everything.
“I’m not just an importer,” I say. “I’m the head of the De Luca family. We control most of the organized crime in Seattle. Drugs, gambling, protection. All of it runs through me.”
She doesn’t say anything, only stares at me with those honey-colored eyes.
“The man at the restaurant works for a rival family. They’re trying to move in on my territory, and they’re using violence todo it. The explosion last night was them. The car chase tonight was them. And being near me puts you in danger.”
“You’re in the mafia,” she says slowly.
“Yes.”
“You’re a criminal.”
“Yes.”
“And those men, they want to hurt you?”
“They want to kill me. And they’ll use anyone close to me to do it.”
She sinks onto the couch, processing this. I should leave. Give her space. Let her decide if she wants anything to do with me now that she knows the truth.
But I can’t move. I need to know her reaction, even if it destroys me.
“Tonight,” she finally says. “The fancy dinner, the driver, all of it was your way of apologizing for putting me in danger?”
“Yes.”
“And the roses?”
“Those too.”
She’s quiet for another moment, then looks up at me. “You’re an idiot.”
Not what I expected.
“Elena—”
“You’re a complete and total idiot, Alessandro De Luca.” She stands up, crossing to where I’m standing. “I don’t care about fancy restaurants or expensive wine or oversized bouquets. I care about this.” She presses her hand to my chest, right over my heart. “I care about the man who loves his mother enough to buy her special flowers. Who asks about my grandmother’s garden. Who gets awkward when I ask about his hobbies. That’s the man I’m falling for.”
Falling for.
“You shouldn’t,” I say roughly. “You should run as far away from me as possible.”
“Probably,” she agrees. “But I’m not going to.”
And then she kisses me.
Chapter Five
Elena
The kiss lasts exactly four seconds before Alessandro pulls away like he’s been burned.
