Page 40 of Mafia Boss's Baby Surprise

Maybe Aurora has a family that she loves and that she just wouldn’t be willing to leave behind or put at risk. Regular people and mafia bosses don’t mix well. Aurora would have to give up a lot to be with me, and let’s face it, I’m not worth it. She deserves better.

She deserves a life far away from killers and bad guys like me.

I can keep her safe. From afar.

It’ll be the best option for us. She’ll be protected, and she won’t even know about it. But I don’t know how I’ll handle seeing her with someone else. Just the thought of it makes me want to change my mind about everything and just keep her with me.

I could lie to her. Find a way to lure her loved ones into my territory—if they’re not already here. I could give her an illusion of normalcy. Pretend I’m just a normal businessman with some really fierce competition. She wouldn’t even have to find out about my mafia business.

Why am I so undecided? I want Aurora, so I should keep her. There are many ways to convince her to stay with me. Give her a little push so she’d agree. I’m used to doing whatever it takes to achieve my goals. Why is it different with her?

Maybe because it’s not just about me. I care about her. Somehow, I care about her, even though I barely know her. It’s just something about her that makes me want to keep her safe at all costs. Makes me want to keepher.

I sense someone approaching, and I see Theo. “I’ll be right back,” I say to Aurora and get to my feet.

Theo’s forehead is creased, and I’m not sure if he’s surprised to see me like this—I’ve never been on a date, let alone a romantic one—or if something’s going on.

“Whatever you want. It better be quick.” All I want is to get back to Aurora so we can talk.

Maybe I’ll find out something about her that I won’t like. But I doubt that’s possible. She’s perfect in all the ways that I’m not.

“It’s about Cole. He’s ready to meet. Now,” Theo says. “And there are some whispers going around that Marcello is planning to get in touch with him soon too, so if you want to strike a deal with Cole before that happens, you should make a move now.”

I scowl. Now? No way. I’m not going to leave Aurora in the middle of our dinner. What if she changes her mind and decides to stay with me?

“Why don’tyougo talk to him? You know what I want,” I say.

Theo’s jaw goes slack. “What? But he wants to meet with you, not with me. If you don’t show up, he’s going to be offended and think you don’t consider him important enough or worthy of your attention.”

“Well, then he’ll have to wait. Tomorrow.” Or whenever.

“Are you sure?” Theo asks hesitantly.

“Yeah, I’m fucking sure. Would I be telling you that if I wasn’t?” I snap.

“Okay.” He lifts his hands up. “I didn’t want to upset you on your date. I see that you’re busy.”

“It’s not a date,” I say before I can even think about it.

“Whatever you say. I’ll tell Cole you’re busy.” Theo backs away from me, and I sigh.

This situation with Aurora still weirds me out. I shouldn’t feel what I feel for her, and I shouldn’t let her affect my life because, soon, she might be gone, and I might regret all of this.

But for now, I don’t give a damn. I’ve made some really bad decisions in my life. What’s one more?

* * *

It’seasy to talk to Aurora, but she keeps avoiding questions about her family or about anything that might help me figure out who she really is or where she lives.

We talk about everything else, even her favorite TV shows and books, which I’m of course clueless about because I rarely have time for anything like that.

I like to see her relaxed and don’t want to poke into something that might upset her, but I fully intend to find the person who hurt her, and there’s nothing that’ll stop me from doing that, not even her.

“I have to tell you something,” she suddenly says.

“What is it?”

“I’m leaving town.”

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