Page 87 of Maddest Temptation

It was close to nine o’clock, I had checked my phone almost a hundred times. I didn’t know whether I should call him or not. Cassio was Capo and he had hundreds of things to deal with, I didn’t want him dealing with my worries.

The last couple of days he had been arriving later and his problems only seemed to get worse. Something like that must have happened today. I checked my phone again. What if something happened? What if he had plans? I couldn’t help myself, even if I was working on it now, my anxiety was still active and made me overthink things. I thought about calling Vitelli, but then he would think something was wrong, and again, I didn’t want any trouble.

I clicked play on the TV and sat back on the sofa, not paying attention to what was before me. I must have taken a nap because I woke up to Reggie barking loudly. He only did that for one person. I shot up from the sofa, but then thought about it and sat again. Act casual. He didn’t want to celebrate his birthday, I reminded myself.

The door opened and an exhausted Cassio came walking in. His golden-brown hair was mussed, his suit jacket was open and wrinkled and he had a large stain on his shirt. I shot up kneeling on the sofa.

“It’s not blood,” he assured me, sounding tired and annoyed. “It’s just coffee.”

Cassio threw his keys on the table and then his phone followed. He removed the gun from his holster and placed it on the table as well. Finally, he turned in my direction.

“Shit, did I wake you?” he asked before I could tell him happy birthday. I shook my head, but his smile told me he knew I was lying.

Cassio came and sat beside me on the sofa, leaning his head against the cushion and let out a loud sigh. I loved seeing him like this, the unfiltered version. The one that got tired and didn’t have to put up a front, the man who smiled and complained about his day. The man who wasn’t the Capo. The man who was flesh and blood. Cassio Moretti.

“Rough day?” I asked and he looked at me, then at his shirt.

“If it were only that,” he confessed.

“Do you wanna talk?” I asked.

He shook his head. “There are two more hours before this day ends, and I’m hoping those two hours are better than the last sixteen.”

Two hours.

Sure enough, when I looked at the clock, it was ten. “Did you eat?” I asked anxiously.

“No.”

“Did you?” He still had his eyes closed.

“No,” I answered, and he looked at me. “I was waiting for you,” I explained. “I got us food,” I added.

Standing up and taking his hand, I forced him to follow me, and guided Cassio into the kitchen. It wasn’t anything fancy, in fact, it was nothing fancy at all, but I had run out of ideas and this was all I could come up with in such short notice. I hoped it would be enough for him.

“It’s not much, and I know you don’t like celebrating,” I said nervously, not able to look at him, afraid to see his reaction. “I got your favorite breakfast foods.” I looked at the boxes of takeout I had ordered.

Cassio didn’t speak, he simply moved to the kitchen island and looked at the things I bought. His favorite brownie, favorite pancakes, cupcakes, and the Italian bread he had been buying from the same bakery since he was small.

I began to freak out when he didn’t speak for a long time. I knew it was a bad idea and yet here I was planning something he didn’t even want.

“We can leave it for tomorrow if you’re tired.” He nodded slightly and even though I was prepared for it, I was disappointed.

Cassio came to my side, and I thought he was heading up to the room. He stepped right behind me, and with his hands resting on my hips, he spun me around and I gasped. He cupped my cheeks forcing me to look up at him.

“I don’t ever want to see that look on your face,” he expressed with such finality.

“Did you like it?” I finally asked. Cassio frowned taking a step back, he looked into my eyes and a radiant smile covered his face as he ran his hands through my hair and pulled me closer. His lips were almost on mine.

“I don’t like it,” he whispered. “I fucking love it, Francesca.” His lips met mine and I was ready for his hungry kisses, but he pulled back, earning a groan from me.

“Is it okay? I mean did you really like it?” I don’t know why it meant so much to me that he did, but after seeing the way he arrived today, I didn’t want him to have a bad night as well.

“It’s perfect. I can’t recall the last time I was so excited to celebrate. Next year we can start in the morning and eat all day.” He kissed my forehead. My throat bobbed as I tried to swallow. “Thank you, Principessa, but right now I really need to eat.” He kissed my lips quickly and headed toward the food. No wonder people said the way to conquer a man was through his stomach.

Next year?

He dug into the food like a man starved for days. Obviously, he started with his sweets; the brownie being gulped down in seconds. Cassio was a picky eater. For someone who was Italian, his eating habits could be considered as bad as mine. With the palate of a child, he loved his sugar most of all.

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