Page 125 of A Dangerous Kind of Love

She studies me. I wear it everywhere.

“Don’t look at me like that,” I tell her.

“You soften for her,” she says. “It is nice.”

I shake my head, but there’s a small smile I don’t bother hiding.

“I’m going to change,” I say. “We’ll be down for dinner shortly.”

“I’ll make sure it is ready.”

I turn toward the stairs, but she stops me.

“Oh, Mr. Amato.”

I hate when she calls me that. The damn woman raised me, but I look back at her.

“She refused the dining room this morning. Ate in the kitchen while the staff worked around her.”

My jaw tightens, and I exhale through my nose.

“Did you tell her I wanted her in the dining room?”

“Si,” Beatrice says. “She didn’t care. Said she would rather sit on the floor than eat in there alone.”

I pause for a second and smirk. Because that right there—That refusal. That push. That’s exactly why I can’t stay away from her.

When I open the door to my room, Katie’s stretched across my bed on her stomach, a book open in front of her. One leg bends at the knee, her foot shifting in the air. She looks up the second I walk in, and a grin spreads across her face.

“Hi.”

The book gets dropped, and she’s off the bed, coming straight for me.

“Well, hello,” I say, catching her when she reaches me. “Seems like you missed me, Doll.”

She tips her head back, meeting my eyes. “I did.”

No attitude. No deflection. I lift her, and she comes up easily, arms sliding around my neck as she presses into me. Then she kisses me.

“I missed you too.”

I carry her back to the bed and set her down, but my hands stay on her for a second, holding her there before I step back.

“Did you have a good day?” she asks.

I look at her for a moment before answering.

“It’s better now.”

Her cheeks go pink.

“What about you?” I ask. “You pick a dress out?”

She nods, already pushing up. “Yeah. Wanna see it?”

“Sure, Doll. Show me.”

She heads toward the bathroom, and I follow, loosening my tie and opening the buttons of my shirt as I walk. She starts skipping, and I laugh before I can stop it. She glances back at me, winks, and keeps moving. I shake my head, watching her cross the room. I need this. I need her here every day.