Page 53 of The Mafia's Surprise Gift

A soft tinkle of music filled the air, and Rocco moved off the bed while pressing his phone to his ear.

“Hello?” His face hardened immediately, and a spew of angry Italian exploded from him. He spoke so fast that even if I had a minimal grasp of the language, I was certain I wouldn’t be able to keep up. He paced back and forth at the bottom of my bed, and I watched him closely, using his movements as a distraction from the worry in my chest.

“No,” he snapped, switching back to English. “I have important things to deal with here, Vito, so you will handle it.”

He fell silent, listening once more, and then he stopped and straightened up like a board. Slowly, his eyes moved to me and stayed there. He watched me and I watched him, trying to get any hint of what the call was about, until Rocco sighed deeply and set his mouth in a firm line.

“My father used to rule from the outskirts and you never had a problem with it. I can do the same. But let me make one thing very clear. No one, and I mean no one, makes a move without my say-so, do you understand?”

A sudden, unexpected thrill shot through me at seeing such power pour from Rocco. And the way he spoke? I wanted to hear that deep, demanding voice whispering things in my ear, knowing my body would melt just to please him.

I couldn’t tell if the person on the other end even had time to respond because Rocco hung up quickly and grimaced. “Family.”

“The worst,” I murmured.

Dino stepped through the door, his shoulders slanted down and his head low. His face was grim, but when he looked at me, warmth flooded through his eyes and he smiled.

“How is Jian?” I asked.

My words seemed to catch Rocco’s attention and he glanced up to see Dino. “How is he?”

“He’s alright,” Dino breathed out, and a sense of relief flooded the room. “He’s got some broken ribs and a pretty serious head injury, but all in all, he was really fucking lucky.”

“Oh, thank God.” I pressed my head back into the pillow with a small groan and closed my eyes. “Thank God.”

When I opened them, Rocco and Dino were seated by my bed, and my heart swelled with affection.

Rocco really meant it when he said they’d come here for me.

And they were clearly not leaving.

22

MAE

“Are you sure you should be doing all this by yourself?” Rocco sat across from me in the quiet coffee shop, one hand lightly grasping his mug. “You only got out of the hospital a few days ago. I can get you help.”

“No, no.” I shook my head quickly. “My boss approved the sick leave, and I’ve booked my mother in for a checkup so we can get a handle on whatever is wrong with her. My friend, Denise, is taking care of most things at work right now, so I’m not worried.”

“Juggling a sick mother and a seven-year-old after being in a car crash isn’t easy for anyone,” Rocco replied, and he leaned forward against the table. “Let me help you.”

“I’m okay, really.” I flashed him a strong smile and sent one to Dino, who hovered nearby with one eye on the door. “That’s not why I asked you here.”

“Well…” Rocco’s easy smile crept over his handsome face and he cocked his head. “Why did you ask me here?”

“Before that… How is Jian?”

“He’s good,” Dino spoke up. “He comes home tomorrow, and all his tests have been good. He’s gotta take it slow, but…” Dino blew out his cheeks. “He’s one lucky motherfucker. You both are.”

“Mmhmm.” Relief coursed through me like a river, and with it came the fluttering excitement in my stomach that I’d been trying to hide. The car accident had given me a unique, new perspective on how I wanted to approach things with Rocco. In some ways, it was a different kind of wake-up call.

I was falling for him. And Dino. And Jian. I was falling for them, and I needed to know if it meant anything or if it was just a crush. One of those scenarios would result in a lot of happiness. The other? Disappointment with relief in a few months that I didn’t uproot Zack’s life for a crush.

“Well, I asked you here because I’ve been thinking a lot about what happened and what it means, and how it makes me feel.”

Rocco’s cup paused at his lips. “How does it make you feel?”

“You… you broke my heart all those years ago. I know it probably doesn’t mean much now, but back then, it was horrible. So when we bumped into each other and things were… well, almost exactly the same… it felt like no time had passed, and I was hooked. But then what happened at the funeral…”

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