Page 164 of Mafia and Gold Digger

I hesitate for a second, not sure if he’s telling me the truth about any of it—the boutique, the caring about the kids’ play dates, and everything else.

He looms over me. I swallow thickly as I look up at him. “I bought the boutique, Emerald. And as owner, I get to decide whether to drop the charges.”

I blink before searching his eyes for some hint he’s lying. This is some joke. It has to be. Why would he do something like buying the boutique if he could just go in and threaten or kill the owner? Is he lying because he doesn’t want me to think he’s bad for killing someone? But looking into his gaze, I see no hint of lies. And the only thing I see is something that makes my body tingle and throat run dry. I feel my brow tug up as I continue to stare up at him. “You really bought it? A whole dress store…?”

“I really bought it.”

“That’s crazy, Saint. You know that, right?”

He tilts his head to one side and gives me a look. “'No more crazy than you stealing yet another dress to add to the one hundred and thirty-six unworn stolen dresses you already have in your closet.”

“Hold on,you counted them?” I mean, I know I went a bit overboard with my stealing when I was living in that small town, but still, incredulity drips from my voice over the fact that he counted them.

He shrugs. “I was trying to distract myself from worrying about where the hell you were. Em, you don’t need to steal these damn dresses. I’ll buy you any dress you want. Hell, I’ve just bought you another six hundred and eighty-seven dresses that come with the boutique, so you can have all of those too. Justpleasestop stealing before you get yourself into big trouble.”

“I wasn’t actually stealing this time. The owner recognized me from a previous time I stole something. I wasn’t thinking, and it was so stupid of me to return to the same place.”

“Well, the charges are dropped now, Emerald.”

I can’t believe he just bought a whole boutique. My mouth parts slightly, and I try to find words to protest it all. But the emotion I see in his dark eyes dries them up before they can even form.

His hand cups my face, thumb brushing the apple of my cheek. “You, the baby, your siblings. You’re my family. And I’ll do anything to protect that. There isn’t a goddamn thing in this world I wouldn’t do to prove to you that I’m not lying. I’m not the greatest with this shit. But I’m trying here, Em.”

My heart is lodged in my throat.

“Em, say something…please.”

“Why not just post the bail?”

“It can’t go to court if the charges are dropped.”

“Oh.”

“Oh? That’s all you have to say?”

“I’m thinking…processing. Not all of us have your stupidly fast brain.”

He shakes his head before he starts walking again out of the precinct with a curt nod to a few of the officers.

I follow him, and we walk through the parking lot to the car. I curl into my coat a little more, not ready to admit that his scarf does help with the biting cold. “You can’t just buy a boutique and expect it all to be fine, Saint?—”

He steps closer, trapping me between the car door and his body. My heart races in my chest as he looks down at me.

“Em, stop talking and just listen.”

“You don’t get to boss me around.”

“Oh, I sure as hell do.”

I want to protest, but I can’t. Because the man’s just bought a whole goddamn dress boutique so I can avoid criminal charges and court.

My heart does that little flip it always seems to do around Saint.

And I wait for him to continue.

Because I’m too damn curious to stop now...

CHAPTERFORTY-EIGHT

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