Page 93 of Meant for Mayhem

“Lori used to take me for pizza a lot.”

“Beckett’s mom?”

“Yeah.” I sighed, setting my pizza to the side. “After my dad went to prison, my grandma got custody of me. I won’t sugar-coat it—it was terrible, but that’s a story for another day.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

I gave a little half-smile, looking down at the pizza again. “Lori taught English at our school, and she knew I loved to read. I’ve since realized that she did a lot of things for me, knowing I needed help. But at the time, I was a kid in a shitty situation and she offered me a way to earn free pizza by reading books.”

“That was a program, right?”

“Book-It, yeah. But you had to have a Pizza Hut for that to work, and the closest Pizza Hut was over a hundred miles away from Linwood.”

“I see.”

“She made up her own program, gave me rides to and from the library, and even bought the pizza with her own money. All to help me without me realizing that’s what she was doing.”

Mikko leaned back, his hands on the bed. With someone else, the quiet might have been unsettling after such a vulnerable admission, but with Mikko it didn’t feel like that. This felt like he wasn’t rushing me. Like he was giving me the time and space to decide how much I wanted to share. All of it, none of it… whatever I wanted.

“We were so poor, Mikko,” I went on, unable to stop it now that I’d started. “I looked at the menu, and cheese pizza was the cheapest, so I chose it every time. I knew I could have asked for anything and Lori would have given it to me, but even then, I knew the less I asked for, the more people accepted me.”

I dropped my head into my hands, pushing on my eyes, and still Mikko said nothing. But his hand reached out and rested on my leg, telling me he was there.

“It’s been hard to unlearn that.”

“I understand,” Mikko said. “But having you in my life has never been a burden. If anything, I feel like I can never repay you for everything you’ve done for me.”

When I looked up, his eyes were on me. “I don’t need anything in return. I like Leena. I don’t even hate you.”

He grinned, eyes twinkling in the low light. “That almost sounded like a compliment.”

“Don’t get used to it. This pizza is good, okay?”

“Got it. Good food makes you emotional.”

I shoved another slice of pizza in my mouth. “This is better than sex.”

Mikko chuckled. “Sounds to me like you need to experience better sex, then.”

I choked on my bite, face flaming. But unlike before, Mikko didn’t look the least bit bothered by his words. No, he was smirking and confident, the same way he’d been in the kitchen this morning when he said you let your husband take care of you.

“Is that an offer?”

He raised a golden brow. “Do you want it to be?”

My mouth opened and closed, not sure why I’d even said it. “I don’t know.”

Mikko closed the pizza boxes, then carried them over to the mini fridge and put them inside.

I chewed on my lip, holding my knees to my chest as my heart refused to settle.

“Is that what you want?” I asked quietly. “To have sex with me?”

Mikko was still for a moment before leaning back against the dresser.

“I think you’re beautiful,” he said simply. “And yes, I’m attracted to you. I have been since the moment I saw you in February.” His eyes found mine, searching my face before settling on my mouth. “I want you to be as happy as you make me. Whatever that looks like.”

I swallowed, the sincerity in his voice stealing every sarcastic response I’d been about to make.