Page 35 of Ruthless Mafia Daddy

I’m surprised Cassi hasn’t mentioned the croakiness to my voice, but if she does, I’m going to put it down to the bar being loud.

She is almost vibrating on her seat. “Oh, my god, really? You have to think about it? Was it that many that you have to do math?”

My cheeks burns. “Maybe four or five times?”

Part of me wants to relive the memories of Andre buried inside me forever, picking apart every detail of our time together. The way he murmured my name as he slowly thrust himself inside me. How he licked my neck, my nipples, the soft skin of my inner thighs.

It was magical, and I never expected to feel so cherished by a man I had literally just met.

Andre probably makes every girl feel like that—it’s just part of his charm. How he gets you to come home with him by buying the fancy champagne and letting you relax in the enormous bed in a penthouse suite.

And yet?

Part of me thinks that last night was an exception for him.

“Five times? How are you even walking right now?” Cassi chuckles, finishing the last bite of her breakfast.

“Honestly, I have no idea.”

“Well, I’m happy you got some, Lils. And if you change your mind about trying to find this mystery man, it would only take one phone call to the concierge at the Ritz-Carlton to find out who this guy is.”

“No, Cass. I want you to promise me you won’t go digging into this unless I say so.”

“Sure, whatever.” Cassi shrugs.

“Promise me.”

I know she can see the panic in my eyes, but I need her to not go looking for Andre. I want to protect Cassi at all costs and keep her the hell away from Andre De Luca. Ultimately, I know he’s dangerous and involved with some bad people, but I don’t want to learn what he would do if he found out I overheard his conversation last night.

“I promise,” she says.

I only hope it's enough.

Cassi is the only family I have except for my aunt, and I’m not willing to risk anything happening to her, no matter how badly I might want to see Andre again.

This time, my head has to win over my heart.

11

LILA

I love Cassi, but she can be stubborn sometimes, so I can only hope she respects my wishes.

As I head back, I stop by the grocery store to pick up a few things for dinner before going home to get some chores done around the apartment and catch up on some work emails to get ahead for the week.

I know most people hate New York in the summer months, but it’s my favorite time of year. There’s nothing I love more than walking over to central park and sitting on a picnic blanket with a good book and an iced coffee.

I make a mental note to take myself on a little date next weekend because in truth, I’ve spent too many of the past few either inside my tiny apartment or at the office.

I try to convince myself it's to make a good impression on my boss, but I know the truth. I’m too scared to be alone with my own thoughts because then I realize how lonely I’ve become since Sam left. I guess I just don’t want to give him that power over me.

So, working on weekends it is, until I find a way to reignite my spark.

When all the emails are handled and I have nothing else I can do for work, I start cleaning around the apartment.

My phone starts ringing.

I groan at aunt Maria’s name flashing, tempted to ignore it and continue on with deep-cleaning the toilet. I know her, though. She won’t rest until we talk. So, I whip off my rubber gloves and hit accept.

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