Page 43 of Assistant to the Mafia

She dragged in a steadying breath and smiled at him, her tears subsiding. “How’s Lucia? I heard something happened. Is she okay?”

Romeo swallowed back a growl. “You’re not allowed to be so goddamn perfect when I can’t show you my appreciation, angel. At least be a little selfish.”

Soft laughter escaped her and she wedged her fingers between his. “Then kiss me again. Kiss me properly.”

He studied her.

She had the nerve to smile at him. “My mouth isn’t injured, you know.”

He chuckled and leaned in again, his words grazing over her lips. “I can’t do the things I want to do to you here in a hospital.” He slipped his tongue into her mouth, tasting her, groaning into her as she vibrated beneath him. Then he eased up again.

Grace licked her lips. “Then take me home,” she said. “I don’t want to be here. Ryoma was very helpful, and I had a decent nurse, but the doctor was an ass and I really just want to go home.” Her eyes widened. “I never even made it into the office.”

Romeo pulled in a breath and kissed the tip of her nose. “That wasn’t Dante,” he said quietly. “The whole goddamn thing was a setup.” He gave her hand a squeeze as her eyes widened. “I’ll have someone start your discharge papers, but promise me one thing, angel.”

She nodded.

“If you think you need to see a doctor after all, let me know. We’ve got a couple we can call on, they’ll come to us. I’ll be with you. So if you need it, tell me.”

Her expression softened again. “Then I see no reason to stay. And you can tell me about what happened with Lucia while we wait.”

Grace found herself unexpectedly anxious when they pulled onto the road after finally being released from the hospital. It had taken longer than she’d thought it should, particularly considering the overall warm and welcome treatment she’d received, but paperwork was paperwork she supposed. She tried to tell herself what mattered was that they were going home. She tried to tell herself that they’d be taking main roads and there were three cars between them—the two Romeo had come with, and Ryoma’s team.

It still only took one rocket launcher to ruin everything.

In an effort not to think about the fear she hadn’t prepared herself for and couldn’t afford to succumb to, Grace searched her brain for a safe topic of conversation and blurted the first reasonable question that followed. “How do you want to handle telling Lucia about us? Should I find a hotel for a little while?” That was probably the most respectful thing to do, now that she’d put the notion out there.

She wanted to take the offer back. Not because she didn’t care about his daughter’s feelings or recognize the suddenness of the relationship, but because locking herself up in a random hotel, all alone, felt like the worst thing she could do for herself.

Romeo recaptured her hand, twining his fingers with hers and holding tight as he stared into her eyes. “If you try to book yourself a hotel, or go anywhere else, I will lock you in the bedroom until you come to your senses.”

She gaped at him.

His expression softened. “I’ve always tried to be gently honest with Lucia, where I can. So that’s what I’m going to do. I’ll talk to her tonight, and if she throws a fit about it, we’ll deal with whatever that looks like when it happens.” He squeezed her hand. “I do know that she likes you already. And I do know…” He trailed off, and she had the sense what he was about to say was a struggle. His tone softened, quieting. “I don’t really know what prompted it, but she told me she ‘wouldn’t mind a mommy.’” He cleared his throat. “Hopefully that’ll make it an easier sell.”

Grace felt as though she couldn’t breathe, fresh tears burning behind her eyes.

Ever since she was a young girl, all she’d wanted was a family. A warm, loving family like she saw on TV and sometimes at a friend’s house. She’d learned quick her own home life would never be that, but she’d clung to that dream for years anyway. So long that it had slowly eroded under the depressing reality of unavoidable failure, disappointment, and loneliness. Even in college, she’d occasionally paused her long nights of studying to stare down at her textbooks and wonder if she was doing the right thing for herself. She wasn’t passionate about business. She was just good at it.

“Grace?”

She dragged in a breath and smiled. “I don’t think you realize what you’re really offering,” she said. At the dramatically raised brow he gave in response, she elaborated. “I know I told you I wanted a family, but I might have undersold it.” She licked her lips, strangely nervous about saying the words out loud.

Romeo’s eyes widened faintly as she spoke, his grip on her hand tightening, and when she finished explaining her childhood dream, he was frowning. “Angel, I think I have a lot of issues with those people you left behind in Massachusetts.” He leaned in, raising her arm simultaneously, and kissed the back of her hand. “Tell me all your dreams. One way or another, I’ll make every single one of them come true.”

They made it back to the house without further incident, and though he knew it was selfish, Romeo allowed himself time to sit with Grace in the quiet. He’d had half a mind to carry her all the way upstairs, but it wasn’t so late as to justify that, so he settled them back on the chaise sofa where they’d been before external demands had—seemingly—pulled them apart. Except this time he nestled her fully in his lap.

“I probably look a mess,” Grace whispered, her head turned in toward the groove of his throat. “I should clean up before you bring Lucia home.”

Romeo reached over and caught her left hand, letting his thumb sweep down to graze across the top of the bandage she still wore on her wrist. “You have to keep this dry, angel. No showering for at least twenty-four hours.”

He could hear the displeasure in her voice when she said, “That sounds terrible. I already feel gross.”

Romeo chuckled and angled his head to press a kiss into her hair. “Don’t worry,” he murmured, “I’ll help you wash where you can, later.”

She shook with a near-silent laugh. “The nurse also said no strenuous physical activity.”

Romeo trailed his lips across her forehead and danced his fingertips over her arm. “I remember. You’ll just have to be a good girl and lay back and take the pleasure I give you.”

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