“Mia,” he said my name quietly as if he hadn’t expected me to show up at breakfast this morning. When I looked up at him again, I could see the stress written across his features. His eyes flitted to Dante and the stress morphed into anger.
“You didn’t tell me you hired someone new,” Amber said, looking at Lucas.
“I… she’s not working here,” he said, still looking at me.
“Oh? But then why is she here?”
“It’s business,” he snapped, finally looking at her. “Amber, go get dressed.”
She pouted as she drained the mug before leaving the three of us alone.
I wasn’t sure why but the coldness and finality in Lucas’s tone when he said I was business hurt. What we'd been on the edge of last night hadn’t felt like business, but that was my own fault for letting my guard down. I knew what he was capable of and I almost had sex with him. And if I had done that with him thinking I’m nothing more than a business arrangement, would I have been prostituting myself? I wasn’t stupid enough to think it would be anything more than a night but the lack of respect when he had demanded it for himself...
“Get ready to leave,” he told Dante before leaving the room.
“Have I missed something?” Dante asked, looking down at me. I wished he wasn’t as observant as he was.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about?”
Dante narrowed his eyes and hugged me to his side. The musky scent of his cologne was a comfort. I was grateful to have his support right now because the combination of anger and hurt made me light headed.
“Mia,” Dante said. “You look like you just got sucker punched.”
“I’m just trying to figure out how this place runs,” I explained. “Who’s who? You know.”
He gave me an unconvinced look.
“I’m going to be late for my run with Dom,” I told him, no longer wanting to have this conversation. Shrugging his arm from around me, I left the kitchen and walked down the hall, trying to regulate my breathing.
“Mia,” Dante followed after me, his footsteps on the hardwood flooring echoed in the space. “Amber is…”
I stopped in the entrance hall and turned to face him. “More Luc’s type?” I asked, remembering what Dante had said when he’d first seen me sitting in the kitchen. I was not Lucas’s usual type. His type, apparently, was tall and blonde and looked like she had stepped out of a glossy magazine spread, even first thing in the morning. “Dante, honestly it’s none of my business. I’m here until Dad finishes paying back his debt. What Lucas does in his personal life; I couldn’t care less.”
He looked at me and shook his head with a sigh. “Luc isn’t a bad guy.”
I had no idea why he would lead with that. I was sick of people defending him and trying to make out that Lucas was a decent human being. Lucas was a law unto himself. He did as he pleased without a care about others and I had almost stupidly become a casualty of his reckless behavior. I counted my blessings that last night stopped when it had. “I really need to get going, Dante.”
“Give me some love before you leave.” He held out his arms and I sighed before stepping up and hugging him. Wrapping his arms around me, he lifted me off the ground, making me laugh.
“Alright, alright, put me down!” I told him. My feet touched the ground again as he obliged.
“Better get going then, sweetheart. Sounds like you’re already running late.”
As I turned to leave, I felt the sting of a slap and the crack echoed in the hall as Dante’s palm landed flat against my ass. I whirled back around to see him laughing, holding his hands up in defense.
“Sorry! I couldn’t help myself.”
I prodded my finger into his chest. This man was a pain in the neck, but I couldn’t help but like him. His attitude was infectious, and I was already in a better mood compared to when I had walked into the kitchen. “Keep your hands to yourself, Atwood. See you later, D.”
With my warning delivered, regardless of how effective it might have been, I finally left the house.
Chapter Nine
Lucas
Iwatched them from the top of the stairs. Mia’s laughter was what alerted me to something happening. There’s nothing dainty about Mia’s laugh. It was in complete contrast to how she looked, instead wild and loud. I had told Dante not to touch her. I told him I didn’t want to repeat myself. Why did people struggle to follow simple instructions?
As the front door closed, I moved down the stairs with purpose to find Dante standing there grinning to himself like the idiot he was.
