She gapes at me. “Well, I never.”
Standing up, I pull Allegra to her feet and out of the office. “Kelley, I’m taking the rest of the day off. You’re in charge.”
Is leaving professional? Nope. Do I care? Again—nope.
“Bon, we can wait until later,” Allegra says, which makes me cackle like a Disney villain.
“Save your breath, Al. You’re coming home with me. I’ve got three weeks of wasted sexy time to catch up on.”
Allegra doesn’t protest again. Kelley whoops and laughs. We walk down the street holding hands. I say “walk”, but it’s more like a quick march. By the time we reach my apartment, I’m out of breath, but a little wheezing won’t stop me.
The door shuts behind us, and Allegra is on me; her body pinning me to the wall. “I’ve missed you.”
Her tongue invades my mouth. She tastes how I remember, which ignites me even more. “Allegra, don’t make me wait.”
“Patience, princess,” she coos.
“I’m not…” My words die on my tongue as she slips her hand up my skirt and shoves my knickers to one side.
“I might be out of the Mob, but I’m still the boss. Do you understand?”
Pretty sure I just came, to be honest.
“Yes, Donna Malgeri,” I whimper. She growls and enters me. The force and speed have me singing to the ceiling in seconds.
I think back to the conversation I had with Kelley about Riley, the main character fromMob’s Seductionfalling in love with Mob Queen Leah, the day I met Allegra. I remember thinking how implausible it sounded. But then I got tossed into my own mafia romance, and here I am absolutely and irrevocably being seduced by a mobster.
I should write a book about it.
Epilogue
“Babe,youneedtostop glaring at people like that!”
“I’m not glaring, Bonnie. I’m keeping an eye on them.”
“You look like you’re one misplaced book away from committing a homicide.”
Allegra throws her hands in the hair. “Would it really be that much of an imposition for people to put the book back where it belongs? It’s just common decency. Those displays take a long time to create.”
If Allegra catches me laughing, she’ll stomp off in a huff, which will only make me laugh harder because she’s adorable. I didn’t realise how seriously she would take building displays. The new Selma Peterson book landed in the shop last week and Allegra asked if she could build the promotional book tower for it, which I had no problem with.
She did a fantastic job, but now she’s guarding it like a case of rare wine. Only Audrey has had the bollocks to go over and peruse the display since opening this morning. Every other customer has seen Allegra standing ten feet away with hands on hips, glaring, and bustled off in another direction.
“It’s the way things are, sweetie. But we need to sell the books, so you have to stop.”
“Fine,” she grumbles, “I’ll go and make some tea.”
When she’s out of sight, I let my laughter go. God, I love that woman. It’s been eighteen months of dates, holidays, and family meals. My dads took the longest time to come around to our relationship. Allegra never complained, though. She understood why they were finding it hard. Even after Allegra explained the Ferrante family was no longer in the Mafia, my fathers were sceptical.
I was at first, to be honest. I couldn’t believe they were free and clear with no backlash. Thankfully, Allegra was patient and took me through every step she and Lorenzo took to reach the goal. They spent three gruelling weeks in meetings with the other Mafiosi families. They signed away client lists and territory rights.
The hardest part was convincing the Mafiosi they wouldn’t turn informant. The only way to appease them was another pact. Allegra and Lorenzo swore they’d never turn state’s evidence in return for a swift and complete breakaway from “The Life”.
Apparently, the extended family gave no opposition as soon as they found out they’d get to keep their lavish lifestyles. It was Lorenzo’s news that took me by surprise the most. He decided to drop the Ferrante name altogether, and with my blessing, adopted my mother’s surname of Poletti. It was a way for him to prove to me he wanted a new beginning for us both. I knew what it meant for him to replace his family name with hers. I let him know what it meant to me, too.
Lorenzo visited a week after Allegra turned up, and like her, he never left. I kept waiting for the dream to end. I mean, who would give up a vineyard in Sicily to live in a cramped flat with a woman who works in a bookshop? Allegra, that’s who. She wined and dined me and made me feel liketheonly girl in the world. Yes, I just sang that. Rihanna is the queen.
Anyway, we dated for a month before we became official girlfriends. Then, Allegra whisked me away for a holiday in Europe. We ended it with a week at the villa. Kelley met us there because, unbeknownst to me, she had never stopped hooking up with Beth. They’re engaged now, and Kelley lives in Italy. It makes our book club a tad harder, but WhatsApp works well enough. Plus, Allegra is such a book nerd now. She squealed when Selma’s new mob book released.
