Page 52 of A Dangerous Kind of Love

“You can’t say please and look at me like that and expect me to say no,” he murmurs, his voice dropping as his fingers slide through mine. Our hands fit together.

I tip my head back and give him a mischievous smile. “Remember,” I say, tapping our joined hands against his chest, “I do outrank you.”

His mouth curves. He steps forward, closing the small space between us until my back bumps the wall. One arm slips around my waist, pulling me flush against him.

“You love that, don’t you?” he says, his voice warm with amusement.

I don’t even try to hide it. I nod, grinning up at him. “You have no idea.”

Chapter 19

Michael

Istep out onto Katie’s porch and Luca comes out behind me letting the screen door fall shut. In the driveway, Sarah is already sliding into the driver’s seat of her car. I rest my forearms on the porch railing for a moment, looking out at the street.

“Head home,” I tell him. “Then fill Marco in on where I am.”

Luca nods.

“Tell him I’ll be back in the morning,” I continue. “And if anything changes with Donnelly tonight, he calls me immediately.”

He nods again.

“We’re meeting Romano tomorrow morning,” I add. “Eight o’clock. Dock warehouse.”

“Shipment inspection?” Luca asks.

“Romano’s been asking questions about numbers that don’t concern him,” I reply calmly. “So tomorrow we’re going to remind him which parts of the operation belong to him and which parts don’t.”

Understanding flickers across his face.

“And after that I’ve got a lunch meeting at twelve,” I continue. “An investment group from San Diego.”

Luca’s mouth twitches faintly.

“Legitimate business,” he says dryly.

“Try not to sound so surprised.”

A horn honks from the driveway.

“You coming or what?” Sarah calls out of her window.

“You’re good here?” he asks.

My eyes drift toward the living room window. Through the thin curtains I see Katie moving around the kitchen, stacking the empty pizza boxes on the counter and wiping a hand across her hair as she works. I nod, so he heads down the porch steps toward Sarah’s car.

“And cousin,” I say.

Luca turns back to me.

“Don’t go running your mouth to the pretty girl in that car.”

“You don’t have to worry about me, Boss.”

A moment later the headlights sweep across the front yard as they pull away from the curb. I stay where I am until the car disappears down the street. The front door opens behind me, and Katie wraps her arms around my waist, pressing her face between my shoulder blades.

“You need different clothes.”