Page 31 of Diary of a Mafia Princess

Lynx appeared out of nowhere, striding toward us. “Dax! Good to see you, man!”

Lynx put himself between me and Dax, forcing me back a step toward Luca.

Lynx tapped his fingers on top of the cake tin, drawing everyone’s attention to that instead of the way he was discreetly breaking up the tension between the three of us. “Aw. Dax has brought us baked goods. Isn’t that nice?”

Luca didn’t seem to think it was nice. “Does someone want to explain why the fuck the owner of the Saint View tattoo shop is here talking to my father’s fiancée while she’s in her underwear?”

There was something about his tone that instantly had my hackles up. Or it might have been the fact he’d called me his father’s fiancée rather than my goddamn name. “Oh, shut up, Luca. I have more clothes on than you do, if you hadn’t noticed.” It wasn’t a lie. Sure, my nightie had spaghetti straps, and my cleavage was on display thanks to the two silky triangles that barely held my boobs in, but the skirt part of it fell to my ankles.

He glared at me, eyes narrowing in suspicion. “I’m going to ask again, princess. Why the fuck are you entertaining a man who isn’t your fiancée?”

I knew I had to come up with something. But all I could do was deflect. “Maybe Dax and Lynx are friends? Did you ever think of that? Probably not, since I’m sure you don’t have any, what with your charming personality.”

Luca flinched ever so slightly at my words. Or at least I thought he did. A moment later, I was second-guessing because of the complete venom in his glare. He walked down a few steps, all menace and anger.

Everything in me screamed to run away from this man. Screamed to back up until I was surrounded by Dax and Lynx.

But something fiery inside me refused to.

Luca towered over me when we were both on even ground, but when he was on the stair above me, the height difference was only exaggerated. “I know Dax and Lynx aren’t friends, because Lynx told me he barely knew Dax when we were watching him fight the other night.”

Shit. The thick carpet beneath my feet suddenly felt like quicksand.

And I was sinking.

Luca grasped my chin and tilted it up, so I had no choice but to look into his eyes.

I hated that something low in my belly responded with need. A sexual desire to submit to anything he wanted.

An entirely unhelpful bodily response right now.

I couldn’t even blame it on ovulating since I wasn’t doing that anymore.

Dax cleared his throat. “Listen, I don’t know what’s going on here, and I really don’t care. I need to get to my shop. I just wanted to know where to put this cake my mom sent over.” He held up the cake tin.

It was enough to break whatever spell Luca had put on me with his stupidly brown eyes. He snapped his gaze to Dax’s, his eyes going squinty with confusion. “Why the fuck would your mother bake us a cake?”

I was wondering the same thing. Clearly Dax’s brain didn’t work under pressure any better than mine did.

But Dax confidently said, “Because she works here. She’s running late today but she said she didn’t want Mr. Guerra’s new fiancée to miss out on having cake with her midmorning coffee.”

Luca blinked. “Wait. You’re Virginia’s son?”

“Yes.”

Luca was clearly still suspicious. “Virginia doesn’t have a son named Dax.”

Dax raised an eyebrow in challenge. “Doesn’t she? What are her kids’ names then?”

Luca stalled on the question.

“Maddax, Roarke, and King,” Dax filled in for him, disbelief thick in his tone. “But it’s hardly surprising you didn’t know that. The woman’s only worked here your entire life, but why would you know her children’s names? It’s not like you ever ask the hired help about their lives, do you? Because anyone not worth a million dollars isn’t really that important to you, are they, Luca?” He shook his head, disgust rolling off him. He set the cake tin down on a perfectly polished side table. “Enjoy the cake my mother spent hours making for you last night. I’ve got things to do.” He took the final word and walked out the door.

Pink embarrassment flushed Luca’s cheeks. His jaw clenched, and his gaze flickered to me for a second before he turned around and disappeared back up the stairs. A moment later, his bedroom door slammed.

I flinched at the noise, barely able to breathe and wondering how the hell we’d managed to get out of that. That little old lady who’d waved to me yesterday from the corner of the living room was Dax’s mom? We’d been together such a short amount of time; I hadn’t met his parents and he hadn’t met mine.

Through the big windows at the front of the house, I watched his car drive away.