Page 22 of Dante
“Sounds good,” Leo told her after a few seconds before taking it. As he did so, both of them had a silent understanding that he was taking the helping hand not only literally but figuratively as well.
The walk back to the cabins below was spent silently between the two as they were careful to not wake anyone else on the boat. Whispering good night to the boy, she then opened the door to her room when she heard him speak.
“Nadia?”
Nadia turned her head to look at Leo, who stood down the hall just a bit outside of his door.
“Thank you.” He said the words so gratefully that it almost broke her.
She swallowed, hoping her voice didn’t come out hoarse from too much emotion. “You’re welcome.”
Watching him slip into his room, she slipped into her own and wiped away the tears that were able to fall upon both her cheeks. There was always that fear she had when she dealt with teens who had extreme cases …
Nadia just hoped she wasn’t too late.
EIGHT
THINKING OF YOU ????
Nadia felt groggy the next morning after going to sleep with tears in her eyes. She couldn’t help but be affected by the teen. She hoped that at least while they were on the boat, she would be able to shoulder his pain for a few days.
Getting dressed for the day, she focused on de-puffing her eyes and followed up with the tinted SPF again. Quickly brushing through her short hair, she left the bathroom with a silent prayer that she would magically find something appropriate to wear.
Of course, she had no such luck.
Scavenging through the bathing suits, she didn’t pay any attention to looks or color; all she focused on was which one had the most coverage. Finally, she came across a neon orange bathing suit that at least wasn’t a string bikini. She had to admit, it did do a lot of favors for her, especially the bright color against her tanned skin.
She then found a pair of cutoff blue jean shorts that didn’t cover much more than her bikini already did, but when she finished it off with the button-up shirt that Dante had let her borrow, she didn’t feel so self-conscious. She looked perfectlyappropriate to be dressed this way on a yacht and finally felt comfortable enough to leave her room.
You’re going to enjoy yourself. It’s not like you’ll ever get to be on a freaking yacht again.
Mentally preparing herself for the day was important as she went up the steps. It didn’t take her long to notice the glass doors were already opened once she had reached the landing. Following the sound of commotion, she saw Dante already at the breakfast table, drinking a coffee.
“Good morning.”
“Morning.” Dante had simply raised his eyes above his mug for only a second before instinctively looking back down then straight back up for a double-take to make sure he had seen what he had seen.
Thankfully for him, Nadia had been walking to her seat and didn’t catch his action. He was simply noticing her slow change in appearance from her usual uptight self. He could still see that part of her, but now he could at least picture her having fun outside of an office.
Hell, after last night’s dress and the orange bathing suit he could see peeking through under his shirt, he was starting to wish she had her clothes from home, too. It certainly didn’t help that the shirt was his. It had been a long time since his shirt had been around a woman, and it was putting thoughts he definitely shouldn’t be having about Nadia in his mind.
He needed to be careful about letting his gaze linger on her. He didn’t want her to notice because, if she did, she might make a move, and he wasn’t sure he was strong enough to turn her down right now.
Man, how he wished he had taken that blonde up before he’d left …
It was everything Nadia could do to keep her eyes to herself as she took her seat across from him. He was wearing a casual outfit again with the top of his chest peeking through, and she just wished he didn’t affect her, like she was clearly not affecting him. The mob boss hadn’t so much as glanced at her since he had come into her room yesterday, and, honestly, now that she thought about it, she didn’t know what she expected, as he had literally given the shirt off his back to cover her up.
If a man was giving you clothes to hide your body, it probably meant he didn’t find you attractive.
Suddenly, she felt stupid for even caring about what she wore when she had come out of her room. She could be fucking naked, and she doubted the man would even notice.
“Would you like some coffee, Ms. Brooks?” Lila asked, holding a coffee pot.
“Yes, please,” Nadia answered quickly, needing the pick-me-up ASAP after the events of yesterday, and last night on top of that.
“Didn’t sleep well?” Dante asked, finally taking a proper look at her.
“You could say that,” she told him, not wanting to reveal the reason for her lack of sleep.
