Page 65 of Claimed By the Possessive Mafia Prince
“Will I have backup?”
She purses her lips. My tone, no doubt, but I don’t have the capacity to change it this morning.
“I’m still not feeling great.”
“It’s a big event; everyone will be there.”
“I can’t wave a magic wand and make myself better,” she snaps.
“What has the doctor said?”
She makes a face.
“You haven’t been to the doctor?”
“Siena—”
One word, and it’s enough. She’s about to give me a – probably justified – dressing down.
I interrupt, “I’m sorry. I didn’t sleep well last night. If you’re not feeling well, I can handle this alone. Of course. Do you mind if I use your bathroom?”
I don’t even need to go. I just want to splash some cold water on my face to wake myself up.
“I’m not su…”
Before I can pull the door to the en-suite open, a man walks out. He’s got bronze skin, straight white teeth, and a full head of silver hair. “Excuse me,” he says.
It takes me a moment to place him. “Rocco, right? You’re Dario’s godfather.”
“Yes, and you’re our capable event planner.” A pause. “Did you need to use the bathroom or?”
It seems he was hiding in there. Otherwise, why wouldn’t Veronica tell me she had company? But he’s acting like it’s completely normal.
“Uh, sure.”
He steps aside. “Be my guest.”
I walk into the bathroom, shut the door, feeling like a doofus. Are they going to listen to check if I go to the bathroom? Obviously not, and yet I linger longer than I planned. Flush the toilet, run the faucet, splash some water on my face, which brings no rejuvenation.
When I return to the bedroom, they’re waiting for me, sitting on the bed together. Rocco has Veronica’s hand in his.
“We think we owe you an explanation,” Rocco says.
Veronica stares at me as though she’s trying to tell me something. Is she sorry for concealing this relationship? She almost looks scared… scared that I’ll tell people she’s sleeping with a member of our client’s family?
Then she smiles, and the look vanishes.
“I don’t think you do,” I mutter. “I should be going.”
“No, we do,” Rocco replies. “You seem shocked–and you have every right to be. The truth is, Veronica and I have been dating for some time. It’s not what you think, however. We metbeforeshe earned this contract from my friend, Vittorio.”
“I didn’t want you to think I’d gotten any special favors,” Veronica says.
“This is really none of my business,” I tell them, waving my hands at them.
“But there’s something else,” Rocco says, standing. “We would like to keep this relationship a secret. We want to tell people in our own time.”
As Rocco approaches me, Veronica flinches.Civilians, I think. Maybe he’s embarrassed about being with ‘one of us’.
