Page 36 of Claimed By the Possessive Mafia Prince
He chuckles. “Is that how you see me, Siena?”
“No comment.”
“That’s a no.”
“No–it’s a no… comment.”
He smirks. “You know my mother hasn’t got a spa appointment. She just wanted to leave us alone together.”
“Your dad mentioned she was playing matchmaker at lunch, but she’d be singing a different tune if she showed up to the renewal and everything wasn’t perfect. If I made a mistake because I was distracted…”
“Maybe we could work out a deal. Ten minutes of steam for one wedding task. I can be your assistant… there’s that smile again.”
“Nope.”
He’s right, though. He won’t quit, and I’m starting to like it.
“Does she really believe all that stuff?” I say, changing the subject.
“About true love and soulmates?” When I nod, he goes on, “Yes, she does. She’s gotten it into her head that that’s what we are.”
“You don’t think so?”
“I think we could have something, Siena. Hell, I think wedohave something. Ever since I climbed into your boat, I’ve felt like a different man, as if there’s a weight off my shoulders, like I can just… be. It’s special. It’s intoxicating. It’s something I haven’t felt before.”
Under the table, I dig my hand into my leg. His words surge through me like wildfire.
He catches himself, tries to laugh it off, like he thinks he’s overshared.
“But true love? Destiny? Fate? No, I can’t say I believe in any of that.”
“Me neither,” I murmur, playing his words in my mind.
We could have something. He feels like a different man…
When I’m around him, I feel like a different woman, a spark of adventure I’d follow in different circumstances.
We finish our breakfast, then I stand. “I need to go back to my room and collect some things.”
He nods and stands. “I’ll walk you.”
“That sounds like I don’t have much choice.”
He playfully nudges me, tantalizing physical contact. “If I gave you a choice, you might say no. I’m not crazy, Siena. I’m not taking that risk.”
“I disagree about the crazy part, but okay…”
“So, you think I’m nuts?” he teases as we leave the restaurant and walk across the warm, golden sand of the beach.
“The definition of madness is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result, right?”
“You think my pursuing you makes me insane. From where I’m standing,notpursuing you would make me nuts.”
“You’re so infuriatingly persistent.”
“I’m just addicted to your guilty smiles.”
I look out at the stunning horizon so that he can’t see another of my smiles, which he loves so much.
