“Because I’m not Italian American?” He drops one of my hands, and we start walking again, picking up our pace so we don’t lose our friends.
“For starters,” I murmur, wondering how much he knows about our world. I should probably give it to him straight, but I like him, and I selfishly want to keep him for as long as possible.
“I can be your dirty little secret,” he teases, sliding his arm around my shoulders.
“You deserve to be much more than that,” I truthfully reply, tucking some wayward strands of hair behind my ear.
“How about your secret boyfriend?” His grin is mischievous.
“Let’s not run before we have walked,” I say, because I can’t get too carried away.
“I have waited to date you a long time. I can be whatever you want me to be, and I can be patient, but I’m going nowhere.”
* * *
“Can I kiss you?”Vaughan whispers, wrapping his arm more snugly around my shoulders as we lean into one another in the back row of the theater. Beside me, Archer and Frankie are noisily making out, much to the disgust of the patrons in the row in front of us.
My heart knocks against my rib cage as I lean into my date. I am supposed to reserve my first kiss—my first everything—for my husband, but this is something I can take for me, and Carlo will never know. “Okay,” I whisper back, hoping he can’t hear the tremble in my voice or see how fast my chest is heaving.
Gently cupping my face, he draws me in closer, and I shut my eyes as he brushes his lips against mine ever so softly. “You are so beautiful, Natalia. The most beautiful girl I have ever seen. I am crazy for you.” His lips press against mine more urgently this time, and I angle my head, kissing him back. A pleasant buzz thrums in my veins, but it’s hardly fireworks. As first kisses go, it’s nice, and I feel comfortable with Vaughan.
We kiss for ages while the movie plays in the background. Vaughan holds my face and the nape of my neck, but he doesn’t attempt to touch me anywhere else, and it only makes me like him even more. I circle my arms around his neck, and my fingers toy with the downy hairs I find there. He moans into my mouth before slipping his tongue inside.
And then he’s gone. Lips ripped from mine unexpectedly, and I blink my eyes open in confusion. Horror suffuses me as I watch my brother grab my date in a headlock and drag him out of the theater. Worst of all is the shocked expression on Leo’s face as he stares at me from the end of the row. Some indecipherable emotion ghosts over his face before he scowls, gesturing for me to get up.
“Nat.” Frankie grabs my elbow. “What’s going on?”
“Mateo is about to rip Vaughan to pieces. Stay here,” I caution when Archer makes a move to get up. “Let me handle this.”
I stand and walk to where Leo is waiting for me, just inside the doors. “What the hell were you thinking?” Leo hisses when we exit the theater, walking along the corridor that leads to the stairs.
“This is none of your business,” I snap, embarrassed and overheating because Leo’s hand on my lower back is burning me through my clothes. I felt nothing but light warmth when Vaughan did the same thing earlier. Now, it feels like Leo is branding his mark on me as he holds me close while escorting me from the building.
His gaze roams my body, lingering briefly on my chest. My nipples instantly harden, pushing against the silky fabric of my dress. He can probably see the effect he’s having on me, but I don’t care. I want him to know I would much prefer to have been caught making out with him.
“The hell it isn’t,” he says, pulling me out of my head. “You’re as much my sister as Matt’s,” he says, driving a dagger straight through my heart. Pain settles on my chest, making it difficult to breathe. “I care about you, and I don’t want to see you getting hurt.”
We step onto the escalator, and he turns to look at me. He is so close I can see the smattering of tiny freckles across the bridge of his strong nose. Heat rolls off his body in waves, washing over me, almost knocking me off my feet. I sway a little, and he takes hold of my arm while maintaining eye contact. His gray-blue eyes peer deep into mine, and it feels like I’m drowning. My heart accelerates, and butterflies swoop into my stomach as he stares at me. Warmth from his hand seeps into the exposed skin on my arm, and I’m tingly all over. My gaze drops to his plump lips, and a pulsing ache throbs down below.
I didn’t feel this aroused making out with Vaughan.
One intense look from Leo, and I’m virtually melting into a puddle of frustrated hormones.
Leo’s tongue darts out, wetting his lips, and his eyes lower to my mouth for a fleeting second before he looks away, clawing a hand through his brown hair. Air whooshes out of my mouth as we step off the escalator. Leo pulls me off to the side, removing his light black jacket. “Put this on,” he says, in a clipped tone, thrusting the jacket at me while averting his eyes. “Mateo will lose his shit if he sees you in that dress.”
“Screw my brother,” I bark, throwing the jacket back at him. “I don’t care what he thinks. I’m sick of his double standards.” Wrenching my arm from Leo’s, I stomp toward the entrance doors, desperate to find Vaughan before Mateo inflicts any damage.
“Nat!” Leo snaps, grabbing my elbow and yanking me back. “If you want to save that boy, put the damn jacket on now. Or have you forgotten how reckless your brother is and how protective he is of you?”
I hate that he’s right. I snatch the jacket from him, angrily putting it on, before I race outside with Leo hot on my heels.
“This way.” Leo takes my hand, pulling me in the opposite direction. His callused palm is warm against my skin, and it sinks bone-deep, spreading contentment up and down my arm. Man, I have it so bad, and I can’t get distracted. I need to stop Mateo before he murders my date.
Leo pulls me around the corner of the building and down a narrow dimly lit alley.
“Fuck you, asshole,” Vaughan shouts before grunting.
I run in my heels, slamming to a halt at the back of a dumpster, gasping at the sight that awaits me. Mateo has Vaughan pinned against the wall, and he’s glaring at him with his raised fists, ready to inflict permanent damage. Blood coats Vaughan’s nose and drips down his lips and over his chin.
