Page 29 of Mafia Doctor's Secret Baby

She goes to finish tending to our daughter, and I shoot a couple of looks over at her as she does so—Polly is giggling at something, that lovely noise filling the whole apartment. Katie scoops her up into her arms after a few moments, and comes over to check out the food I’ve brought for us.

“Woah, all of this looks amazing,” she sighs. “I can’t remember the last time I had pizza…”

“Weren’t you a student?” I remind her. “You guys are meant to live on takeout, aren’t you?”

“Ugh, I wish,” she groans, as she grabs a slice and takes a huge bite. “I didn’t have the money. I would have loved to be eating this every night…”

She tucks in to the pizza and I join her, leaning against the kitchen counter as she balances Polly in her arms so she can eat as she rocks her. She looks so comfortable like that, as though it’s where she belongs—hard to believe she was interning for a councilor recently, and only just finished her college degree.

“I lived on this stuff when I was studying in this city,” I remark, as I take another bite. “I think I ordered from here at least once a week while I was studying for my finals.”

“Once a week?” she shoots back, laughing. “You’ve got more restraint than me. If I had the money to eat here, it would be breakfast, lunch, and dinner every single day.”

I chuckle. She’s got this warm wit about her, when she’s relaxed like this. I haven’t exactly seen her in a state of calm in the few times that we’ve been together—at the party, at the hospital, or when she called me for help in the middle of the night. But here, now, she seems completely at peace, and it feels good to soak in that sensation.

“Yeah, well, I was a medical student,” I remind her. “I had to at least pretend to keep up a healthy lifestyle, you know?”

“Oh, of course,” she agrees. “I bet you were hitting the gym every other day.”

“What makes you say that?”

“Oh,” she replies with a grin, her eyes flicking over my arms. “Just a guess.”

I can feel a slight warmth building between us—this easy banter, the way it feels like we both belong in the midst of it. By the time we finish our pizza, Polly is fussing to go to bed, and Katie puts her down before she returns to find me waiting in the kitchen for her.

“Thanks for the pizza,” she remarks, tipping her head to the side as she gazes up at me. “It was really good. I don’t think I’m ever going to order from anywhere else now I know about that place.”

“That was my intention,” I reply. “I wanted to get you addicted. Knew you couldn’t resist.”

I notice a slight flush come to her cheeks as she turns her attention to the dishes beside her, beginning to wash. I start to dry them, moving in next to her, our bodies so close to one another that I can almost feel the heat emanating from her.

“So,” I murmur, shifting the conversation to something that might actually explain my presence here. “Has anything else happened since the last time I saw you…?”

She shakes her head. “Nothing that I’m aware of,” she replies, with a sigh. “But that doesn’t mean I haven’t been looking over my shoulder every three seconds. I feel as though I’m going insane. I can’t stop convincing myself that something awful is going to happen…”

I slip my hand to her waist, holding her there for a moment.

“Hey,” I remind her softly. “You know I’m not going to let anything happen.”

“I know, but?—”

“No, listen to me—” I don’t know what this emotion rising up inside of me is—anger, almost, but not quite as overwhelming as that. This feeling like I knew I have to do anything in my power to keep her safe. Not just to keep her safe, but to prove to her that there is nothing in the world for her to fear as long as she has me on her side.

“You are safe with me, and you always will be,” I growl, and she drops the plate, letting it land in the sink with a crash. She glances down at it, but I catch her face, guiding it back up toward me. “You understand?”

The way she’s looking at me right now, I know she understands what I’m getting at. She knows what I’m trying to tell her.

And she finally believes me.

Before I can stop myself, I lean down and plant my lips against hers.

13

KATIE

As soon ashis mouth meets mine, it’s as though the fervency that sprang from his lips when he was speaking to me has been transferred into my body.

The heat that rises in me is impossible to contain, and I know I need him right now. Luca turning up like this…yes, it was a surprise, but the kind of surprise that I’ve been waiting for, whether or not I want to admit it. I can’t help but feel as though something has changed between us, with him coming here on his own terms like this. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.

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