“I didn’t take it off.”
Before she could respond, my phone buzzed, twice.
Rome.
I clenched my jaw and answered.
“What?”
“Shit’s on fire. We’ve got a security breach on the west floor of the casino. I think someone tried to skim the drop. Syndicate panic. I need you down here.”
I exhaled sharply. “Coming.” I ended the call and looked back at her. I rubbed a hand down my face. “I’m sorry. I have to go. There’s a situation at the casino.”
Madeline nodded, pulling her hand away from mine like it had burned her.
“It’s fine.”
“It’s not fine,” The guilt was already eating at me. One night. Just one fucking night to myself that was all I wanted.
“I’m twenty, Vince. Not two. I understand business.”
I paused. Stared at her.
“You’re twenty?”
She arched a brow. “Yeah. Why?”
“Shit,” I said under my breath, more to myself than her. “You’re young.”
Too fucking young for me. Twenty.Fucking twenty.How did I not know this.
Her eyes narrowed. “Is that a problem?”
I didn’t answer right away.
“I’m thirty,fuck, thirty one. I didn’t realize?—”
She crossed her arms. “Didn’t realize what?”
“That you’re clearly too young to know what you’re doing.”
She stared at me like I’d slapped her.
I exhaled, already regretting it. “I didn’t mean it like?—”
“How old did you think I was?”
“Twenty-four. Maybe twenty-five. Not twenty.”
Yeah. Maybe I had been lying to myself.
“So now it’s a problem. Good to know.”
I ran my hand over my jaw, tried to reel in my anger. “You’re at merging age. I thought you’d passed that.”
Something in her expression cracked. “Wow.”
“That’s not—look, I didn’t mean that badly.”
