Page 36 of The Mobster’s Nurse

"Okay," she says. "Come back in one piece."

10

ELLIE

When Luca is gone, I explore his apartment. It feels hollow, too modern, and sleek. Not enough photos. I roam around. It’s small, so there’s not far to roam. And bare, a bit soulless. There's a single houseplant on the windowsill. A single, barely alive succulent, clearly forgotten. The sight of it makes me feel sad. And I’m not sure why.

I find an album in the drawer of the TV stand, under a magazine, as though he hasn’t looked at it in a long time. Sitting on the couch, I spend some time going through it and smiling.

It’s Luca, aging in front of my eyes, from a happy, grinning boy in his mother’s arms to the man he is today. As I flip through the years, I find myself thinking about having a child with him. About marrying him one day.

It’s been two days, Ellie. A little perspective, please.

But that knowledge doesn’t do anything to stop the aching in my belly, the longing in my heart. I should know better. I saw him kill a man.

But—

I leap to my feet when the apartment door opens. Spin with my hands raised. The Irish somehow knew I was here alone, and now they’re going to … Oh, shit…

It’s Luca, with a confused look on his face. It swiftly turns to pity and regret when he sees how panicked I am. He rushes over to me, pulling me into his arms. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“I didn’t realize how much time had passed.”

He kisses me on the forehead, leaving a warm imprint. “Why were you looking at those?”

“It’s interesting,” I tell him. “All the different versions of you. Leading up to the man you are today.”

“Wanted to find some humanity in the mobster?” he teases lightly.

“I know you’ve got humanity in you,” I say, not finding it funny.

He frowns at me. Kisses me softly on the cheeks, then leans back so he can look at me. “It’s happening tonight.”

“Does that mean I can go back to work soon? I want to make sure the horses are okay.”

A smile. “Yes, Ellie. Tomorrow morning, if you want. I love that you think of the animals first… even now.”

“Always,” I tell him.

He brushes hair from my cheek. “Dad said something to me before I left. A warning.”

“About the Irish?”

He shakes his head. “About you.”

I gasp.

“He said relationships can make a leader weak. He said I should be careful throwing myself into this so fast, so fully. He warned that it might cloud my judgment when I needed it most. That’s why those photos are at the bottom of a drawer. I used to believe him when he says stuff like that.”

“But you don’t anymore?” I ask.

“I told him he was dead wrong, that he’d been lying to me all my life.”

He swallows and juts his chin forward. That Luca-fueled warmth dances over my body.

“Because now, Ellie, when I’m fighting, I’ve got somebody to come back to. I’ve got a reason. And maybe this isn’t simple. But hell, that means something. Doesn’t it?”

My heart skips as the little hitch in his voice seeks something from me.