Page 41 of Mafia Boss' Surprise Baby

“I need a minute,” he says. I nod to Carlos and he excuses himself.

Rory’s jaw is tight and he’s bouncing on the balls of his feet like he used to when he was spoiling for a fight in high school. I lean against my desk and wait for him to come out with it.

“What the are you doing with my baby sister?” He says in a low, dangerous voice. “You promised you’d keep her out of the business, everything on the up-and-up, right? I guess that didn’t include keeping the business outta her.”

I roll my neck like I’m loosening up for this. Any second he’s gonna throw a punch. Rory’s less of a hothead than he used to be but this is family and everyone’s a little nuts when it comes to that.

“You wanna explain to me why you’re actin’ like she’s not a grown adult? She makes her own decisions. She chose to be with me and she’s the one that broke it off. I didn’t do anythingtoher and I’m sure as fuck not goin’ to tell you about what I didwithher. Now if you wanna go out in the street I can kick your ass like old times. Otherwise, you need to grow up and stay in your fuckin’ lane.”

Rory rocks back on his heels. “Jesus Christ. You love her, too, don’t you?” He asks.

“What did you say?”

“You’re in love with her.”

“It doesn’t matter,” I tell him. “She doesn’t want to be with me.”

“Yeah, sure. That’s why she’s moping on the couch like a brokenhearted teenager.”

I don’t know what to do with the knot in my stomach that tightens when he says Katie’s brokenhearted and crying on the couch. I want to charge right out of here and go to her as fast as possible.

“Look, it freaked her out when Oscar pulled a gun on us. She got scared and told me it was over. It’s been weeks. I figured she was over it by now,” I say. I hate how my voice sounds at the end like I’m excited or emotional or something. I can’t conceal it.

The charge of urgency signs through me. I have to get to her. If she’s at home, I’ll go there now.

“Where is she?”

“The house. Why?” he says.

“Fuck off, Rory,” I say and move past him without a second glance.

The driver gets me there in record time. I take the porch steps two at a time and beat on the door. “It’s me, Katie,” I call to her, out of breath. My heart threatens to beat out of my chest in anticipation. I could’ve called or messaged but I want to do this in person, want to see her face. I’ll know, is what I’m thinking. If I look her in the eyes I’ll know if she’s still in love with me or not.

I hear footsteps approach and my heart lodges in my throat. Katie swings the door open, standing there in her pajamas looking miserable. Her face is blotchy and her eyes are puffy. It wrenches my heart a little seeing her vulnerable, in her pajamas and barefaced with evidence of her sorrow plain on her face.

I can’t resist reaching for her and cup her face in my hand. The softness of her cheek, the silken hair that tickles the tips of my fingers rushes at me, the visceral zap of recognition is like a sense memory. I almost shut my eyes to let it sink in that I’m touching her after all these nights alone.

“What are you doing here?”

“We need to talk. Can I come in?”

“It’s not a good idea,” she falters, but she nuzzles her cheek in my palm, shuts her own eyes for a second and I see her brow furrow, the way she bites her bottom lip for an instant. She feels it still.

“Then come with me,” I demand.

“I’m in my pajamas,” she says as if that’s an excuse.

“If that’s your only objection, you can change if you want, but don’t do it on my account,” I tell her. “I don’t want you out of my sight that long.”

Katie blushes. I see the becoming color flood her cheeks and I feel the knot in my chest loosen again. She no longer looks miserably pale and hollow-eyed. She has a bit of her sparkle back.

“I’ll just be a second,” she says. She disappears into her room and a couple of minutes later emerges in jeans and sweatshirt with a bag over her shoulder. “I’m ready.”

I want to wait until we have absolute privacy to talk with her, but that doesn’t mean I’m wasting any time. In the back of the car, I lay my arm across the back of the seat and she scoots right up to my side.

“I’ve missed you so much.”

“I don’t think I’ve really been warm enough since we broke up,” she says softly. “It’s not even winter and I’ve been freezing.”

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