Page 43 of Tailored for You

“For work, do you know what I do?” I asked. She gave me a small nod. “What do you think it is?”

Serena bit her bottom lip, a question in her eyes. “You run the construction company? Something in architecture? I’m not sure what it qualifies as.”

“And?” I urged.

She shrugged. “I know there is something you do that, when I think about it, feels like I’m talking about something out of a movie or 80s crime drama. I know it’s real, but saying it out loud is a bit surreal.”

Some of the tension in my shoulders eased. She had an idea of what I did, even if she didn’t want to admit it, and she wasn’t demanding to be taken somewhere else. That was good.

“During the day, I’m the COO of Panorama. At night, I’m the underboss of Cosa Nostra. I run the New York City area and most of the East Coast. Marcello is the don, and Rafael is the underboss out west, where we’re branching out to.” I stopped, thinking about what I said. “I’m always the underboss. Day or night,” I said, amending my previous statement.

Serena stared at my blank face.

Taking her silence as the go-ahead I needed, I continued, providing more details on my role. “I have men under me, running the illegal side of the business. I’ll spare you the details; it’s better if you don’t know. What I do can be dangerous. I carry a gun. I’ve used it many times, and I’ve killed people.” I forced the next sentence out of my mouth. “If that makes you scared or uncomfortable, let me know, and I'll let you leave if that’s what you want.”

Serena sighed, crossing her arms over her chest and jutting her hip out.

“Are you asking me to leave or not?” she said with more attitude than I expected.

“No. I very much want you to stay.” I did my best not to beg her to stay.

“Okay. Will your job put us in danger?”

“Maybe. You could end up being a target, but I will do everything I can to make sure you’re safe.” I was close to getting on my knees. Whatever it took to keep her close.

“Okay,” she said, letting out a big sigh. “Martina gave me a similar speech when she thought Sly and I would get together.” My brain stopped like a record scratching. Her and Sly?

Sylvester ‘Sly’ Vinci was Martina’s son and Adrienne’s brother. I thought of him as a friend. Or at least I used to.

I doubt we’d be friends after I maimed him for looking at Serena.

“That was never going to happen.” She chuckled. “Sly isn’t my type. But I do consider them my family.” She cocked her head to the side and narrowed her eyes at me. I resisted the urge to pose like a peacock for her review.

“Martina always said Flavio leaves business at the door, so that’s all I’ll ask of you while we’re here,” she said with such nonchalance it threw me off. “As long as you tell me what I need to know for our safety and keep the rest as business, I’m okay with it.”

“I was expecting more of a reaction,” I said hesitantly, not trying to jinx myself.

Serena shrugged. “My parents may live in the south now, but I grew up in New Jersey. I learned the phrase ‘snitches get stitches’ in preschool. My town just elected Jimmy ‘Ice Man’ Romanelli to the City Council. The man got out of prison like a year ago for murder and some other stuff.”

Who the hell was Jimmy Romanelli? Why wasn’t she asking more questions? What did growing up in New Jersey have to do with this?

The tension, like a thousand-pound weight on my shoulders, lifted. Her reaction wasn’t anything I had anticipated. I'd run this conversation through multiple different reactions: crying, demanding answers, running, or outright rejection—but none of them was acceptance. I had rebuttals and conversation points to convince her to stay here, but I had never run a scenario where she went along as if it were another summer day.

Acceptance, with reasonable conditions, wasn’t a response I’d considered. Not from someone who understood that my title came with actions that could get me killed or thrown in jail.

“New Jersey?” I started because I didn’t know where else to begin, and it was the only thing my brain could latch on to.

“Do you not know your own history? Lots of the mob are in Jersey. There’s also a joke about them working in waste management because they can get rid of bodies that way or something like that.” She climbed on the bed, crisscrossing her legs.

My brain went blank, losing its battle to stay focused on the conversation and not let my mind wander to deeper, sensual thoughts.

She was in my clothes, in my bed, relaxed and at ease. She’d had what might have been the most stressful few days of her life. All I wanted was to lay her out, ruck up her shirt, and make her moan my name.

Make her come until she is boneless.

I bet she’d be everything I’d dreamed of and more.

“Lorenzo.” Serena was snapping her fingers in my face. “You okay? You zoned out in the middle of me explaining about snitches and stitches.”