Page 58 of Attraction (Mobsters + Billionaires 3)
“Actually, I made it with half and half…and what part aboutI’m Italianmakes you think I would ever make hot chocolate with water?”
The way he leans into his New York accent with dramatic eyebrows and hands makes me laugh even harder, and whatever anger and frustration I read on him earlier has completely disappeared.
Another tear tracks down my cheek.
“You don’t have to if you don’t want to, but can you tell me where these tears are coming from?” he asks, handing me a handkerchief.
I set the mug down and accept his offering, blotting at my cheeks. I pause to inhale the scent of the material.
“This smells divine.”
“I might have my housekeeper use a special detergent for those.”
I take another whiff and feel a safe sort of calm spread through my shoulders and arms.
A few more tears fall. “I’m sorry.”
He turns to me on the small couch, his knees touching mine. The frustrated look returns to his face, but it’s softer. “You never have to apologize to me for having a natural reaction. I promise I’ll do whatever it takes to ensure you know you are safe with me.”
Something about the sweetness of his words makes my chest hitch again, and I return to choking back sobs as more tears stream down my face.
He grabs my arm, squeezing it quickly before letting it go. “You don’t have to hold back for me. Cry as much as you need to.”
His permission opens the floodgates, and I well and truly break down. I shove my face into his neck, throwing my arms around him, sobbing. Slowly, carefully his arms come around me, and I go with the movement, allowing him to sweep me onto his lap, my knees on either side of his hips.
As I cry, he kisses my temple and rubs my back in soothing, circular motions. It’s awkward with my long legs, but he makes it work. And then, as quickly as it started, it releases. I sniffle against his neck, still breathing heavily.
“You okay?”
I sit back on his lap and nod. I take the crumpled handkerchief he gave to me and blow my nose, feeling utterly ridiculous.
“Thank you so much,” I say, wrapping my arms around him again. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
“Can we talk about what happened?”
I take a deep, shuddering breath. And then another.
He waits patiently for my words. Unable to meet his eyes, I maintain my awkward posture, resting my head on his shoulder.
“I saw you were angry, and it just…set something off.”
“I saw that. Did somebody get angry and hurt you before?”
I nod again, using a clean corner of his handkerchief to wipe at my eyes. “I was able to get away, but not before he smashed my face into a table.”
Luca is silent, and when I glance up, his eyes are hooded and dark, his mouth fixed into a hard line.
“Who did that to you?”
The dark timbre of his voice sends a shiver down my spine. But his anger is not directed at me.
I shake my head. “I want that chapter of my life to stay closed.”
He opens his mouth and then closes it. It’s clear from the tension in his jaw and the red creeping up his neck that he’s not happy with that response. But he doesn’t push.
“And this is why you hesitate around me?”
I nod, tearing up.
