“Do you know what it’s like in there?” My voice sounded gutted.
Her soft paw draped over my thigh. She gave my leg a squeeze. “Enzo, you were born to rule the night.”
“That’s why I built the chains of businesses,” I insisted. “I still have it all, but I’m free from the hangman’s noose.”
Amanda snorted softly. “Not even close. You do realize that men on Wall Street, suits working as CEOs, and the entrepreneurs behind Fortune 500s are just as susceptible to the threat of the law entrapping them, right?”
I flexed my jaw. “I can’t live under Damocles’ Sword.”
A long whistle sang from her lips. “If that reference doesn’t take me back to Ancient History at Thilton.”
I didn’t laugh.
“Look, here’s the thing.” Amanda tapped my thigh, then began to talk animatedly with both hands. “You will always be a mobster, even if you don’t run the streets with a crew. And no matter the mask you wear to dance the piper’s tune, I’ll be there. By your side.”
I pulled the car sharply to the side and rounded on her. “Say that again.”
Amanda’s broad smile was enchanting. “I’m yours. A Made Woman standing beside her Made Man.”
My eyes fluttered closed. Such a sweet confession was more than I could have hoped for.
“Whether you’re a car salesman, a doctor, or work on a ranch, you’ll always have that morally grey compass that chooses the right thing to do, not the legal thing.” She shrugged. “That’s why I’m such a good match. I can help you navigate the loopholes so Johnny Law doesn’t take you away from me.”
Surging forward, I pressed my lips firmly against hers. She tasted like magic and mystery. Her kiss was open, given without restraint. I drank her in, pouring the emotions I couldn’t express in words into the kiss.
When I pulled back, the sight of her hooded gaze, her flushed red lips, and the secret smile that played on them nearly drove me to my knees. If I hadn’t been behind the wheel, I would have fallen before her.
But the door in the two-story house opened, and a regal figure stepped onto his front porch.
“Come on,” I sighed, cutting the engine. “Let’s go take care of this, so I can take you to bed.”
Amanda laughed softly. Dio mio, it was good to hear her make those kinds of noises. Even if there was worry etched around her eyes, she wasn’t panicking. She was here, at my side. Right where she belonged.
The don took one look at me and shook his head. “You’d better come inside, ragazzo.”
We did.
“When I said bring your bride over for Sunday dinner, this wasn’t what I meant,” Don Morelli clipped as he led us into the kitchen. Quickly and efficiently, he cleared the cutting board, cast iron skillet, and ingredients off the kitchen counter.
I smirked, hopping onto the counter and lying down. “It’s not Sunday.”
The blood loss was a bitch. The moment I closed my eyes, the room spun. Keeping them open made me want to hurl.
Clenching my jaw, I focused on the bright spot in the room. The woman with golden hair, standing nervously near the breakfast table.
“Hello, all!” Joey called from the front hall, stomping his boots on the rug.
“We’re in here,” the don grunted. “How you boys took down a caravan of gangsters, and this is the only injury….”
He stopped talking and just shook his head.
“Oh, you know how V is.” Joey laughed as he entered. “Always eager to meet his maker.”
A soft gasp had me tensing. I didn’t feel the injury, but Amanda’s distress was a knife to the chest.
“Here, drink this.” Don Morelli handed her a rocks glass full of clear liquid. “I wish it was under better circumstances, but welcome to my home, Amanda. It’s good to see you.”
Those words brought some much-needed color to her cheeks. She saluted the don and drained her glass.
