Page 51 of His to Break

“I don’t need anything fancy.” My brow furrows when I see the skeptical look on Leo’s face. “Did you not witness me eating a cheeseburger a couple of nights ago?”

“Yes, a sixty-dollar cheeseburger,” Leo replies. “And you used cutlery.”

Okay, that doesn’t help my case. “It’ll be fine. Just feed me before I get cranky.”

Leo gives me a mock salute. “Yes, ma’am.”

He takes my hand and leads me back toward the restaurant we passed on our way to see the giraffes. We head into a cafeteria and Leo steers me over to the seat by the window.

“I’ll grab some food. Any requests?”

“Anything with chips will do.”

Leo’s eyebrow quirks upward. “Chips?”

“Ah, wait, I mean fries.”

Leo nods and heads to the counter to order our food. I swear if he comes back with what we call crisps in England rather than hot, greasy fries, I’ll strangle him. There’s something about enjoying a day out in hot weather that makes me crave fries. They’re one of the few fast foods I ate growing up. My guardian, Marcella, had a thing for British fish and chips. She treated herself to a takeout every Friday and when she was feeling generous, she let me have some too.

While I’m waiting for him, I look out into the crowds and wonder if it’s always this busy midweek or if we’ve visited at the same time as a load of school groups. There seem to be hundreds of kids around. I’m not complaining. I like the buzz and it’s nice that we could leave Dino and Marc in the parking lot.

Personally, I’d have preferred to leave them back at the apartment building, but that wasn’t to be. Antonio insists that all his family take security with them wherever they go and Leo agrees it’s sensible to be cautious with our safety. The chances of someone trying to assassinate us at the zoo are low, but never zero, apparently.

When Leo returns to the table, he’s carrying two large sodas. A young woman with red hair swept up under a baseball cap comes along behind him with a tray of food. There are two hotdogs with fries, some chicken tenders, also with fries, nachos covered in an orange gunk that I suppose is melted cheese, and just for good measure, more fries. As the girl lays everything out on the table, I realize there’s also a small pizza, which must have been concealed under other food.

Leo digs his wallet out of his pocket and passes a couple of bills to the girl. Judging by her effusive thanks, he was obviously generous. American money is another thing I’ll have to get used to.

“I need to transfer my bank account from England.” I grab a hotdog smothered in mustard and take a huge bite.

“I already opened one for you,” Leo says. “You can speak to the bank about moving your money over whenever you want.”

While a part of me is grateful he took care of that for me, I’m worried he plans to break his word and interfere with how I spend the money.

“Is it my account, or do you have access?”

“It’s yours, but obviously if you want to make a major purchase or invest in a business, I’d appreciate you letting me know in advance.” Leo grabs a couple of fries and pops them into his mouth. “I’ve got a credit card for you back at the apartment. Use it for household and personal expenses. I’ll pay off the balance each month. There’s also a new cellphone for you. It’s more secure than the one you had.”

I take that to mean that it’s set up so he can keep tabs on me more easily.

“Should we maybe have a joint account for household things? I’d like to pay my share.”

Leo shakes his head. “You’re my wife, Vinnie. It’s my responsibility to provide you with a home.”

I pick up one of the chicken tenders and dip it in the pot of ketchup. “It doesn’t seem fair, though. I have all that money coming from my grandmother’s estate. I should use that for clothes and stuff.”

“Use it to start a charity or a business, or put it in a trust for our kids.”

Is it wrong that I get a warm, fuzzy feeling deep inside when he mentions kids? I’ve known this man for too short a time to be thinking about having his babies.

“Perhaps.”

Leo sips his soda. “Why did she leave everything to you, anyway? Why not your brother?”

“I’m not really sure. I barely knew the woman.”

“You didn’t have a relationship with her?”

“No.” I bite into the strip of fried chicken I’m holding, enjoying the crunch of the coating. “Daniele’s the only proper family I ever had.”

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