Page 54 of The Mafia's Surprise Gift

I shook my head, not wanting to get too carried away with my own rambling.

“I guess what I’m trying to say is that I started to fall for you. Each of you. And it’s been confusing and scary because your world is so scary, and I refused to put my son in any kind of danger. But then it turned out that… danger existed all around us anyway, and I could have died in that car accident. So it opened my eyes to how I was using the Mafia and the fact that you were criminals to try and avoid what I was feeling.”

I reached for my cup and took a few sips of my tea.

“Really, I’ve just been trying to deny the inevitable because I am falling for you all, and if life is going to fuck me up regardless, then why deny myself something I would enjoy?” Slowly, I lifted my gaze from my cup. “Or someone.”

My heart was pounding fiercely and slowly in my chest, like it was trying to leap right out of my chest and escape the possibility of rejection as I stared at Rocco. My hand trembled so I quickly set my cup down and clutched at my fingers in my lap.

“Wow,” Rocco breathed out, then a wide smile broke across his face. “Words I’d dreamed but were sure I’d never hear in real life.”

“What?” My heart continued to beat slowly like a drum. Did he like me back? This wasn’t as one-sided as I'd feared? While their sexual interest had been strong, it was one thing to fuck someone and quite another to date them.

“I second that.” Dino smirked from where he rested against the wall. “You mean to tell us you never got the impression that we liked you?”

“Well, I mean… it’s all been very physical so I didn’t expect there to be any kind of uhm…”

“Feeling?” Rocco’s eye-splitting grin hadn’t faded. “Mae, my biggest regret was leaving you. I recently learned that my father intended to keep us apart because he thought you would lead me astray and he wanted a soldier for a son, not a mechanic in love with an accountant.”

“In… love?” I repeated softly. Whether Rocco noticed what he said or not, I couldn’t be sure because he kept talking.

“I need to make sure you understand everything, though.” He rubbed at his face, massaging his jaw. “The assassination of my father sent a ball rolling. A ball that’s currently in the court of the Russian Bratva because we believe them responsible. People are dying. Buildings are burning, and I won’t stop until I have his killer under my boot. And that all sounds terrible and scary, I know.”

I nodded quickly. It was like something out of a movie, yet here I was, listening to it in real time right in front of me. Over coffee.

“That’s what the attack at the funeral was. They thought we were weak.” His jaw snapped shut with a click. “Fools. You don’t need to concern yourself with any of that, though, because I will keep you safe. This town is safe.”

“What, do you own the town or something?” I joked nervously.

“It’s part of our territory because my father loved it here so much.” He sighed briefly. “It’s also why my mother won’t leave the manor, but that’s another thing entirely.”

I hadn’t even spared a thought to his mother. That poor woman.

“My point is, if you can acknowledge all of that and you still… you still want to be with me, with us, then… God, I would take such care of you.”

Warmth bled into my cheeks as I smiled. “Well, so far, your world and the regular world have tried to kill me, so things are looking pretty even.”

Dino snorted with amusement.

“But I would… yes. Yes, I would really, really like to see you properly. All of you. For some insane reason, I can’t stay away.”

Rocco’s smile widened, and then suddenly, there was a flash of pain in his eyes and his smile wavered. He glanced over his shoulder, sharing a look with Dino, who also suddenly lost his smile.

“Actually, Mae… there’s one more thing.”

I looked between them and my heart started to pound faster. “What, are you married?”

“No, nothing like that.” Rocco reached across the table and took my hand. His warm fingers closed over my fist, but it did nothing to calm the sudden onslaught of nausea in my gut.

What was wrong?

“A few years ago, before we secured peace among the Families, as the son of the Don, I was a prime target for assassination. Dino did such a good job of keeping me alive that those who wanted me dead turned their attention to him.”

“Okay,” I said slowly, unable to see where this was leading.

“One night, a group of men tried to kill Dino, and they would have succeeded had Jian not taken a bullet for him.”

“Oh, my God…” I looked to Dino, unable to fathom how terrifying that must have been. And poor Jian, giving his life for others without a thought.

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