Page 81 of Matteo

Matteo did. He’s surprisingly observant for a man. He pays attention to me, and he cares enough to remember.

Aware I’m being watched, I slip my hand into the bag and pull out a bunch of magazines. There’s a glossy celebrity magazine, a geeky coding magazine and one about home baking.

Even as I’m in awe of all the gifts he touchingly brought for me, I also can’t stop thinking that he even bought a gift bag.

My fingers trace over it and I'm touched because it means so much, that he thought about me enough to buy this for me.

Who would have thought Matteo Knight would do such a thing?

I almost don't recognize the brooding guy I met in the elevator. The man I've now come to know is so kind and thoughtful.

I stare up at him, feeling so utterly blessed and insanely happy that I want to lunge forward and throw my arms around him in gratitude, but I manage to restrain myself. “Aw … Matteo … that’s … that’s so sweet of you. You shouldn’t have, but thank you,” is what I manage to say.

He shrugs, still standing. Hands in the back pockets of his jeans. “I don’t know enough about you, yet, so I didn’t know what kind of stuff you read. Also, let’s just get one thing clear, I’m not stalking.”

I laugh. A real heartfelt laugh. “I don’t mind you stalking me.”

He lifts an eyebrow. “That’s probably not a sentence you should be saying to a cybersecurity professional.”

I laugh even more, but I know that I will hold onto this moment forever. Matteo runs an entire division. His calendar is packed full, and he’s dealing with so many issues, yet he somehow found the time to come here.

To check on me and to make sure that I was okay. My heart does that fluttery thing again.

“Also,” he says, offering a sexy grin. “I don’t need to stalk you. You keep showing up in my office.”

I laugh loudly at that. “Is this an admission, that you could stalk if you wanted to? Was Joel right?”

I shouldn’t have mentioned Joel’s name, because Matteo’s smile disappears. “I wouldn’t do shit like that. Don’t know why Joel made such a stupid comment. Asshole.” He swipes a hand over his face. “There was an old guy across from you. He gave me the evil eye as I stood here knocking on your door.”

“White hair? Spectacles, and smartly dressed?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s Arthur.” I can imagine Arthur staring Matteo down, not quite trusting him, or knowing what to make of him. “He must have thought you were some rough drug dealing dude coming to see me.”

Matteo folds his arms and examines me carefully. “You buy drugs from dealers?”

“Don’t know where else to get them from.”

His eyes open, ever so slightly. “I can hook you up with my supplier, if you want.”

My breath hitches. I don’t know if he’s being serious or not. “If I go with your supplier, mine might shoot me.”

“I can provide you with protection, so you can get your drugs from someone who can get them for less.”

We stare each other down.

I’ve never done drugs before. I’ve not even been tempted. I’ve slept in abandoned buildings where used needles littered the floor. I’ve sat on stained mattresses while people got high around me. I’ve watched kids no older than fifteen disappear into addictions that sucked the life out of them.

But I’ve never had any interest in taking drugs myself, even when friends said it would take the edge off things. That it would help me forget. That it would make the world seem nicer, better, and that it was easier to be high and see the world through a different lens. But I always knew that wasn’t the answer to my problems.

I learned a long time ago that escaping your problems isn’t the same as solving them.

Matteo lifts a hand, and my gaze catches on the leather bracelets wrapped around his wrist before he rubs the back of his neck. “Sorry to burst that tattooed-janitor-villain persona you have me pegged for,” he says, “but I've never touched drugs. Never have, never want to.” His expression turns serious. “I always want to be in control of my mind and my feelings.”

Something inside me stills, because I understand exactly what he means. “Same,” I say.

“People look at me sometimes, like they expect me to, but I’ve never been tempted,” he adds.