Page 27 of Nanny to the Mafia

“Oh, you know what I mean. I am Cora’s nanny.”

“No one’s closer to Cora than you.”

I couldn’t argue that point. I loved my chubby little munchkin and the light she brought into my life. Antonio, even though he tried to spend as much time with her as he could, was still a very busy man. Her mother and grandmother obviously had other things to do. That left Rosa, her uncle Angelo, and me. From those options, I was the only suitable choice. But still …

“It doesn’t mean I should marry you. You are a sexy man. I am sure you’ll have plenty of damsels falling for you. Find one of those.”

“No.” His face darkened. “What do you think this is? I can just go out and marry some woman who I don’t even know?”

“You don’t know me either,” I exclaimed.

“I know you enough.” His tone held a finality and veiled a cold manipulation.

I didn’t care for that. “Find someone else. An ex-girlfriend. You must have plenty of them, and you know them.”

“None of them are options,” he said tightly. “You are the only option.”

“But why me?” I slumped in my chair. I had always had a wild imagination as a child and sometimes as an adult, like when I imagined his eyes following me around. But this was just beyond any vision even I could conjure up.

“Why not you?” he asked, his voice soft like smooth velvet on my hot skin.

He knelt beside me and grabbed my chin to look at him. His fingers burnt my skin as his words drilled into my mind. “You are perfect. Marvellous with Cora. Everyone loves you here. You are comfortable in my home.”

He took my hand in his, his rough thumb rubbing softly on my crazy pulse point. It must have been on a private call to my core because the urge to cross my legs overtook me. His dark eyes bore into me, knowing the effect he had on me.

What is he doing to me?

“We can scratch that itch we both have. I know you want me, mia cara,” he said in a dark and smooth voice. “Just like I want you, under me, on top of me. Any way you like. We can make this work. You, me, and Cora. Hmm.”

His voice pulled me to him inside the soft cocoon of his words.

He wants me too. Those secret looks were not in my imagination. Could this work? But there was no love, not like my parents.

“I know what you are thinking in that pretty head of yours. You will be compensated, of course…. Imagine this. An end to all your financial troubles. You can keep your parents’ house. You can enrol for your studies after everything cools off. Even in Milan like you wanted to —”

Wait. What?

I jerked my hand free and pushed him off, shooting off my chair.

“What the hell, Divya.”

A sharp spark of fury hit me. “How did you know about my finances?” I spat the words out. “How did you know about my parents’ house, about Milan?”

“Because I looked into you, of course.”

“What do you mean …” I trailed off as realisation dawned on me. “You had me investigated?”

“Of course,” he said, getting back on his feet.

“What are you? The bloody mafia, to get everyone investigated?” I yelled.

He watched me with his lips in a straight, thin line with no remorse on his face. All I saw was a determination to get what he wanted.

“You seem to forget that you lied in your interview,” he said tightly.

“So sue me. Fire me. You seem to forget that the job description didn’t include getting investigated like I am a suspect in some murder case. Marrying the bloody boss wasn’t part of the job either.”

“Did you really think I wouldn’t get you looked into? Find out what you were fidgeting about.”

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