“You have a deal,” he says, flashing me a charming smile. I wait for my stomach to flutter or my heart to race. Anything to prove that I can be moved by a handsome face and that how I react to Luca is normal.
But…nothing happens.
Not a single flutter in my chest. Not even a weak one.
Is Luca really that special? Why else do I act like a schoolgirl experiencing her first crush?
I shake my head as thoughts of the man slip in. I force them away and focus on baking a fresh batch of cookies, which I thankfully don't burn. The smell has Lorenzo, who'd started working, slip in to snag the warm cookies. I pour him some coffee to chase them down, and I soon realize that he’s a bit of a gossip, too. He tells me nearly everything about Matteo, and the more I learn, I realize that Sofia is well-loved and taken care of.
“What about Luca?” I ask when the conversation shifts to him. “How come he’s guarding me when my sister and cousins were assigned bodyguards from O’Shea Protection Services?”
“You were assigned a guard from the firm, too,” he says, biting into his cookie, completely missing the way my body stiffens at his words. “When Matteo contracted the firm for bodyguards, all of you were meant to have the best female guards the company had. Most of these women were in the special forces, you know.”
I clear my throat, playing it casual as I toss in the next question. “So, what happened to my guard?”
He snorts. “What do you think happened? Luca found out about the guards and demanded to be yours. It was the first time Luca had ever demanded something from Matteo, and we were all equally shocked and amused.” He reaches for another cookie but stops, eyes narrowing on mine. “Though I suppose that makes sense, given how I’ve seen how he looks at you.”
Heat floods my cheeks. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,”
“Uh-huh.” He gives me a look that says he doesn’t believe me for a second, but mercifully, he lets it drop. Anyway, this mousse—can I try it?”
Grateful for the subject change, I hold up a spoonful of the chocolate mousse. “Tell me what you think.”
Lorenzo beams and leans forward for the bite—and that’s the exact moment Luca walks in.
We all freeze: my hand holding the spoon toward Lorenzo, who is leaning close to me, his mouth open. For a full five seconds, no one speaks. I jump when Lorenzo closes his mouth over the spoon and pulls back, taking it with him.
My eyes are on Luca, and I see the moment his face turns stormy. Those gorgeous green eyes darken with intensity, and I feel a shiver roll down my spine.
No one speaks. Not for a minute, at least. Lorenzo must feel the weight of the sudden mood shift because he backs up, snagging another cookie and announcing that he's done with the apartment and will move his work to the bakery. Normally, I would laugh at Lorenzo's clear fear of Luca’s mood, consideringLorenzo is actually Luca’s superior, but there is something about Luca’s intense gaze that wipes the humor out.
“I’ll see myself out,” Lorenzo calls out, but no one responds. I barely notice as he makes his way out, closing the front door behind him. Locking me in alone with one of the most dangerous men in New York City.
Chapter Four
Luca
Murder isn’t a strange concept to a man like me.
One does not become thecaporegimeto one of the most powerful crime families in New York City without getting one's hands dirty. I’ve never taken a life that didn’t deserve it, and I am loyal to the Rossi family—fiercely so. I grew up alongside Matteo and his brothers, watched them become the men they are today. They’re not just my employers, they’re my family.
And yet Christ, do I want to go after Lorenzo Rossi and kill him with my bare hands.
Isn’t that fucked up?
It’s worse knowing that nothing happened between Lorenzo and Matilde, and even if there had been, I’d have no right to act. No one knows about my deep affection for Matilde. The brothers suspect because again, it’s hard to fool the Rossis—but it still doesn’t mean shit when I haven’t said the words out loud. When I haven’t claimed this woman as mine. As far as everyone is concerned, she’s single and open to being pursued.
But she’s not single. She’s mine!
And seeing her so cozy in the kitchen with Lorenzo, feeding him from a spoon… Fuck, it makes my blood boil. It took everything not to punch my fucking boss in the face and tear himapart in her apartment. Years of working on my control kept me grounded.
With Lorenzo gone, that control is slipping.
Matilde backs up a step when I stalk toward her, gasping when her back connects with the counter. I cage her in, my eyes on her stubborn ones, but I can read the nerves in them.
“Luca,” she whispers when I bring my hand to her cheek, brushing my thumb over the pink tinge covering it. “What are you doing?”
“That’s what I want to know, too,” I rasp, our closeness affecting me more than I want to admit. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about her since I left, and I can’t help the jealousy overwhelming me after what I just walked in on. “What were you doing with Lorenzo?”
