Page 49 of Thief of my Heart

She tasted like honey. Like a flower, with some mild perfume in her hair and on her skin. Something that reminded me of honeysuckles and lilies and some other flower I’d only ever seen at the New York Botanical Garden on a field trip when I was seven.

“Michael, this is our stop.”

With a harsh, tight breath, I managed to drag my lips from her skin. When our eyes met, it was all I could do not to kiss her again. She was fucking glowing, her long hair pleasantly mussed, lips swollen, cheeks reddened. Smiling, flushed, and so damn beautiful, it made my chest hurt.

The doors opened with the familiar chime.

I stood up and pulled her with me. “Come on, Tess.”

We stumbled onto the platform and then up to the surface. But the spell of the underground was broken as we walked back to Belmont. Lea remained quiet, her small hand gripping mine while she looked around the neighborhood like she hadn’t made this walk almost every day of her life.

I didn’t make much of an effort to talk either. Dread lodged further in my belly with every step. Toward her house. Toward the garage. Toward all the reasons why this wasn’t going to work.

I’d allowed myself one night with Lea Zola. Given her a simple date of takeout sandwiches on the Staten Island Ferry, a few hours of subway rides, and a whole lot of making out. It wasn’t much, but it was probably one of the best nights of my life.

And now it was almost over.

I hated that it was almost over.

The scent of pizza and the sounds of wine-soaked laughter told me we had reached Belmont before I noticed any of the Italian signs or flags still hanging in a few of the shopfronts. With a lead-filled heart, I stopped on the corner of 187th and Hughes, then pulled her to face me. I didn’t dare walk her all the way home. Not with the chance of my boss spotting us from the window or anyone else in her family. From here, I could see when she got to her doorstep down the street.

“I had a good time, Lea,” I said quietly. Because I couldn’t help it, I pushed a bit of her hair behind her ear and ran my finger over the downy skin below it before pulling back.

Lea frowned. “What is it? Is something wrong?”

I shrugged. “We’re back.”

Realization spread over that gorgeous face, and Christ, it made my chest hurt. I don’t want the night to end either, baby.

Especially when I knew it was for good.

“So I’ll see you…”

Four simple words shouldn’t have sounded so final. But they really did.

“Are you kidding?” Her bright green gaze boomeranged between me and her house. “That’s it?”

I swallowed hard. “I—yeah. It’s the end of the night. I’m supposed to drop you at home, aren’t I?”

She looked at her watch, then back at me. “It’s barely ten o’clock, Michael.”

“Don’t you…don’t you have a…?”

“Curfew?” she finished like it was a dirty word. Her hand found her hip, and once again, I was on the receiving end of her glare.

“Well, you are in high school,” I said lamely, though I was unable to meet her eyes when I said it. Just acknowledging the fact made me feel like a dirty old man.

“I do, but it’s more like a guideline than a rule,” she returned. “Because I’m also an adult, in case you forgot. My grandparents certainly haven’t.”

I wasn’t so sure about that, given her nonno’s warning to me when I met him, but I didn’t say so. I’d already crossed too many lines tonight.

“If this were a date with someone else, would you end it now?” Lea demanded.

I should have said yes. But I couldn’t lie. “No.”

“Well, then. I want some dessert,” she said.

I sighed. “I’m out of cash, Lea. And before you say it, no, I don’t want you to pay.”

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