Page 51 of His Tesoro

“Carry me,” she demanded.

“You’re either really high or playing me,” I grumbled. But I still leaned down and picked her up. She clung to me, running her nose along my skin.

“You should snuggle with me again,” she said.

“No.”

“Meanie.”

“You have got to work on your insults.”

I carried her into her room and laid her down on the bed.

She ran her hands down her blanket. “It’s so soft.”

“Yes, well, sleep this off. And I’ll be talking to Dr. Amato about this.”

“Dr. Amato is sooo nice.”

“Simply delightful,” I said dryly.

“Do you like her more than me? She’s really pretty.”

I huffed, running my hand through my hair. “Go to sleep, Sofiya.”

“Wait, but do you?” she asked, lunging forward to grab my hand.

I sighed. “No, tesoro. I don’t like her more than you. Now goodnight.”

I forced myself out of her room, pushing down the tiny voice that told me I should have stayed.

28

SOFIYA

“How does it feel?” Angelo asked, crouching down so we were eye-level.

I bounced happily in my seat. The wheelchair people had just left after walking me through all the features of my new chair. “So good. It’s so much better than my old one.”

The front door opened and Romeo popped in. “I heard you had a special delivery today.”

I grinned. “Yeah! Isn’t it fancy? And I have the motorized assist, so I should be able to go really fast.”

A mischievous look crossed his face. “How fast? We should test it out in the hallway.”

“We don’t have a hallway,” I said, head cocked. Our elevator opened straight to the foyer with our front door.

“Mine and Sienna’s floor does,” Romeo said. “Let’s go.”

We headed to the elevator, pushing the button to take us two floors down.

“Where’s Matteo?” I asked, trying to sound casual. He’d been gone when I woke this morning, which was probably a good thing since I’d lain in bed, hoping to be swallowed by a black hole after my behavior the night before. My memories of the evening were covered in a strange haze that made them feel unreal, but I was pretty sure they were, unfortunately, very real. I had run my fingers through his hair.

Romeo and Angelo exchanged a look. “He and Domenico had some work to do.”

Well, that was mysterious. I was tempted to push for more information, but I’d long gotten used to being shut out of my father’s business. Matteo had already let me in more than the Pakhan ever did, even if it was just because of my translation ability.

The elevator doors opened on a long hallway with three evenly spaced apartment doors.

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