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“Mommy! Mommy! An adventure.”

An adventure. That was something else I no longer liked. “Yes, my baby man. A great big adventure.” I sighed under my breath and Alejandro chuckled.

“What’s wrong with adventures?”

“Adventures are when you go hiking and find the perfect picnic spot or a little known lake nestled next to the mountains. It’s finding the best food in the world in a hole in the wall restaurant or locating a rare bottle of wine. Not being in the car with a stranger to an unknown destination.”

“We’re hardly strangers, Carmella.” His voice was huskier than before, the tone dipping low.

“Maybe not in some ways, but in the most important ones we are.” I’d seen him tossing bags into the trunk and had no idea what he had in mind. I thought we were going to look at a few houses to appease me, not taking a trip somewhere.

I noticed a sign and frowned. “Great Neck?”

“A lovely little village.”

“Yeah, one of the most exclusive little villages and also very expensive.”

“That so?”

“Yeah.” He was toying with me and I didn’t like it. Although I also didn’t hate it. I’d caught sight of him with his men and overheard his tone. He was all business with them, very much acting the part of a big, bad powerful mafia Underboss. I liked him this way, more casual in both demeanor and attire.

But I refused to say I liked him. I’d been truthful. I didn’t know the man. Passion was nothing but an explosion of energy and longing. That didn’t mean I had a clue about his favorite foods or his shoe size for that matter.

“Plus, it’s forty-five minutes from the Big Apple. Isn’t that too far?”

“Not from your father’s estate and his corporate headquarters. Only about thirty minutes. Not bad.”

The man had an answer for everything. “What about my house? My clinic?”

“We’ll have to wait and see.”

“Right. No real answer.”

“I haven’t figured it all out, Carmella. Neither have you. That will take time. Why don’t we call a truce for tonight. Can we do that?” he asked, more than a hint of sincerity in his voice.

“Fine. We can. But I didn’t know we were fighting.”

Every time he chuckled, a heat flash rolled through me. I rubbed my neck, constantly looking in the side mirror at the SUV trailing closely behind. “Do you ever get tired of men following you?”

“It’s just a precaution.”

“That’s not what I asked.”

He twisted his hand on the steering wheel. “Sometimes, but you need to remember for the most part, I was doing the following until about six months ago.”

“A good little employee.” I sensed I’d almost hurt his feelings. “I’m sorry, Alejandro. I don’t mean to take any of this out on you. You didn’t ask to be placed in this position any more than I did. I’m just… angry. Very angry.”

“Mommy. Why are you angry?” Gabriel reached for me, doing everything he could to crawl out of his car seat. I’d been shocked seeing a new one in the back of Alejandro’s car, a very good brand that had high marks for keeping children safe. Score one point for him.

“I’m sorry, baby. Mommy is just… I think she’s just tired.”

“I’m hungwy.”

Shit. I didn’t even think about that. I was a grade-A terrible mother. I groaned and Alejandro caught it.

“Don’t worry, Carmella. I put some snacks in a bag on the floor behind my seat.”

I stared at Alejandro this time. It was like he had an innate sense of what children needed.

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