I reached into the drawer for two pans and set them on the stove, biting the inside of my cheek to keep from screaming. Excruciating pain radiated up my side, spreading down my leg.
I knew he was right.
But did I care?
Not a chance.
I wasn’t in shape to be standing in the kitchen. But my girl needed to eat. It was my responsibility to take care of the family, including Ava.
She was one of us.
“I’m not staying in a disgusting room, sleeping on a flat pillow, or wearing a fucking hospital gown for one more night,” I told Nico. “So get off my ass about leaving the hospital. The doctor will be here tomorrow to check on us.”
“Someone needs to change all your dressings,” he shot back.
“I can do it,” Ava offered. “I know what to do.”
I angled my body to look at her, one eyebrow raised.
“My mom had surgery when I was ten,” she explained. “The nurse showed me how to change her dressings. I remember how to do it.”
“We’re grown men,” I told her.
“That doesn’t mean you can’t take our help.” She shot up from the chair and slowly approached me. “The three of you could have died. And you left the hospital against the doctor’s orders to find me.”
“I would do it again,” I said with my eyes on her. She was so fucking beautiful, even with dirt on her skin, mascara staining her tanned cheeks. “So would my brothers.”
Stefan and Angelo grunted in agreement.
Ava stared at me with those big brown eyes. “I can’t lose you, Dante. Waiting to see if you would wake up was the worst kind of torture. So will you please let Nico cook for us?”
I held her gaze for a long moment. “If it will make you happy.”
She beamed with a smile that lit up her face. “It will make me very happy.” Standing on her tippy toes, she reached up to kiss my lips. I kissed her back, a quick peck that seemed to satisfy her. “Come sit with me at the dining room table.” Ava wiggled her fingers. “Please.”
I took her hand and raised it to my lips, kissing her soft skin. A bright smile touched her pretty eyes that didn’t leave mine, not even for a second.
I never thought I would feel anything for anyone other than my brothers. But this girl was breaking down my walls brick by brick, forcing me to let her into my world. A part of me hated it because that meant being vulnerable. And I didn’t have room in my life for weaknesses.
“I want waffles,” Ava said to Nico before guiding me by the hand over to the dining room table. “And bacon.”
“Me, too,” Stefan chimed.
“I’ll take an omelet,” Angelo added.
“Dante?” Nico said with a question in his tone.
I hooked my arm around her slim waist and pulled her onto the dining chair with me. “Same as Ava.”
She slid her arm across my neck and planted kisses on my cheeks. I didn’t hate her touch anymore. Now, I liked the feel of her skin pressed against mine, the warmth of her breath on my cheek.
I loved everything about her.
It wasn’t her body or that beautiful face that attracted me to her. I liked how her mind worked. She was an intelligent girl, and I respected people with unique gifts. My dad used to say I had an eye for talent, and I was the one who suggested he bring Ava to Atlantic City.
It was an idea I had tossed out over a glass of scotch one night in his parlor. We knew Giancarlo was stealing from us and couldn’t prove it. And after seeing Ava at the mayor’s party with her father, I got the idea to recruit her. It was inevitable with her father laundering our money and her being so skilled with investing.
I let everyone think it was my dad’s idea. After all, he was the boss of the family. But I planted the seed in his mind until, eventually, the plan came to fruition. I’d always been curious about her and wondered if she would be helpful to us.
