Page 105 of His Juliet

Romeo swore. “I should be there with you, but I’m upstate right now.”

“You can’t just stay here with me all day, every day. Besides, you’d get bored.”

“Fucking would not. Nothing about you is boring, especially not when I’m buried in that sweet pussy or you’re sleeping all sweet with your head in my lap.”

My cheeks burned, but I couldn’t stop my smile. “I really hope no one is around to hear what you’re saying.”

Romeo scoffed. “All they’d be hearing is how obsessed I am with my girl. Are the stairs better than the elevator?”

“Maybe.” My heart jolted at the thought. “But I’d still have to leave the apartment.”

“I love that you feel safe in your new place. But I don’t want you to be stuck in the apartment.”

My fingers tightened around the phone. “I know.” I wanted to be brave. I hated feeling so trapped in my mind.

“I have an idea,” he said. “Give the phone back to Angelo.”

I handed him the cell. He listened to whatever Romeo was saying and nodded.

“I’ll be right back,” he said to Dante. “You got them?”

He lifted his chin, leaving the three of them in the hallway, staring at me.

“Oh,” I said. “Um, do you want to come in?” I cringed at how rude I’d been just standing in the doorway.

“I was hoping you’d ask,” Sofiya said, a mischievous glint in her eye. “I’ve never been inside Romeo’s apartment, and I’m feeling nosy.”

That made me smile. I stepped aside so she could make her way inside with her wheelchair, Sienna and Dante following her.

“Oh, this is really nice,” Sofiya said, going straight to the kitchen. “Maybe we should go dark.”

“Oh my god, make up your mind.” Sienna’s tone was teasing as she looked at her friend with exasperation.

“We’re going to start renovating my kitchen soon,” Sofiya explained. “To make it wheelchair accessible. I have hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos so I can walk and sometimes use a rollator, but Matteo thinks it’s safer for me to use my chair in the kitchen since I cook and bake so much.”

“Which he’s correct about,” Dante said.

Sofiya rolled her eyes. “Yeah, well, doesn’t make him any less overbearing. Anyway, we have to finalize the kitchen design soon, but I can’t decide on anything. I like everything Sienna shows me.”

“Interior design is my side passion,” Sienna said. “I designed this apartment for Romeo. He was easy to design for, though.” She threw Sofiya a dirty look. “Mainly because he had no opinions. But I’d love to do a refresh to get it more in line with your style.”

I automatically glanced behind me as if Sienna was talking to someone else. “My style?”

“Yeah,” she said, tracing her fingers along the dark black countertops. “There are a lot of easy changes we can make to add more personality—paint, wallpaper, lighting, wall treatments. Although if you want to do a bigger renovation, we totally can.”

My lips parted as I tried to decipher her words, but it was like she was speaking a foreign language. Maybe they’d gotten the wrong information about why I was here? “This isn’t my home.” For some reason, the words felt like ash on my tongue. “I wasn’t safe in my apartment, so Romeo brought me here. It’s just temporary.”

Sienna went to say something, but Sofiya cut her off. “Take it easy, Sienna. Not everyone moves as fast as our guys.” She came to my side and gave my hand a squeeze. “I very much doubt Romeo sees this as temporary. But I know it can take a while to feel settled when your whole life changes. And if you’re not ready to renovate this place yet, you can help me choose my kitchen design. Maybe I should do wood cabinets?”

“The boss would be relieved,” Dante quipped.

I jumped. I’d forgotten he was here.

Sofiya gave him a dirty look. “Matteo said he was fine with pink cabinets.”

Dante smirked, and I had to hide my smile. I didn’t know much about the Mafia, but I imagined it wasn’t normal for the Don to have a pink kitchen.

The apartment door opened and Angelo walked in with Noodle at his side.

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