Page 59 of Mila: The Godfather

“Likewise, butterfly…” There goes that confusing feeling in my chest again.

How do I tell this man that I can’t offer him anything more than friendship?

Because there’s a ghost in my heart. Someone that took up permanent residence and has never left my mind, even when he was just temporary, but his words and his sweet and kindhearted nature touched me in more ways than I’ll ever admit. I want to tell this to Riagan, but I don’t. It won’t do any good. Besides, the man from the emails has always been my secret. A dream and never a reality. But how do I explain it to this man? But do I even have to? He agreed this is just a mutually beneficial arrangement, and I don’t think he hopes that love will bloom between us. He needs a pretend wife…

That is all.

Keep telling yourself that…

Have you learned nothing from romance novels? These situations always have a different outcome than the one you’re dead set on, girl.

“For you.” I look down at his hand to find a yellow Asiatic Lily. I tentatively reach forward and take the beautiful flower from him. “You asked me which was my favorite plant.” You are in trouble. The little voice inside taunts. Ignoring the, at times, obnoxious voice, I focus on the pretty flower instead.

I can’t help but smile. Yellow flowers never fail to put a smile on my face. There’s something so joyful and cheerful about the color that’s contagious. “Thank you…” I whisper without looking away from the flower. A lily flower. Why is this one his favorite? What does he find fascinating about this one out of all the pretty flowers that surround us? I wonder, lost in my head. A second later, as if the man has read my mind, he answers me.

“Did you know in Greek mythology, the Lily, was the flower of Hera, wife of Zeus. The legends have it that the lily was formed from the milk of her breast. However, in Roman mythology, Venus, the Goddess of beauty, was so jealous of the flower’s white loveliness that she caused the pistil to grow from its center.”

Shocked, I look up at him, and my eyes clash with his lovely blue ones. “What is it?”

“It’s just that you surprised me, that’s all.” I mumble shyly. He more than surprised me. He made my night just by giving me his favorite flower and offering a fun fact, and somehow I have that feeling again. Deja-vu.

“It’s that a good or a bad thing?” I notice he has come closer. So close I can almost feel his breath on my skin.

A good thing. A very good thing.

I want to say, but something holds me back.

Fear, maybe.

Fear of what this all means for me now.

Just a short amount of time with this man has me ignoring all reason and acting on impulse. That is not who I am. Dangerous, I tell you.

He is dangerous for a naive heart.

This is why my heart takes a back seat, and my brain takes over in the next moment.

“We don’t cross lines, okay? Shake on it.” I extend my arm towards him and wait for him to do the same, and once he does, once his big and rough hand closes around mine, I feel a shock of electricity that courses through my body. A reaction only he incites in me. “Deal?” My voice comes out hoarse.

“Okay...” I ignore the mischievous grin that tweaks at the edge of his mouth.

And that’s it.

I’m an engaged woman now.

It also doesn’t escape me that he said okay instead of deal, yet I don’t dwell on that for long because, in the next instant, he is interrupting my thoughts. “You like fictional books, don’t you, sweetheart?”

“I do.” I frown, wondering where he is going with this.

“Think of this as a great adventure for as long as it lasts.”

An adventure? I never had one of those. Lies.

An adventure was what got me into this situation.

“Let’s go back inside, butterfly.” Riagan says. Turning with my flower in hand, I can’t shake the feeling that there is no going back. My fate was set in stone the moment we crossed paths. I also swear I hear him whisper something at my back.

Something that sounds a whole lot like, “You fascinate me, too, butterfly.”

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