Page 7 of Ruthless Mafia Daddy

“I can only imagine.” Lila smirks.

“Oh, yeah?”

This’ll be good.

“Well, you’re either a model?—”

I bark a laugh, shaking my head at her guess.

“No?”

“Not even close.” I chuckle.

“Well, that leaves my other two guesses.”

“Hit me, sweetheart.”

“So, it’s a toss between finance bro and mafia boss.”

I fake a snort, but my muscles tense up.

“Both wrong.”

“Oh? So what, then?”

“I have a very, very rich sugar mommy.” I try to keep my tone light even if my heart pounds in my chest.

Lila throws her head back and laughs, her smile wide and true.

“Well played.” She laughs, nudging her knee against my own.

My body starts to relax.

My line of work is very much a need-to-know basis, and considering the fact that after tonight Lila will be nothing more than a fond memory, I will keep that door to my life firmly closed.

“So, tell me, was this a set up?” There is no way I want her to dwell on me, so the best way is to shine the light elsewhere.

“Huh?”

“Were you purposefully out with a waste of space to try and get rescued by someone who is actually worth your time?”

I sidle up close to her in the booth, my knee brushing hers, our bodies angled toward each other.

“You got me.” She grins, then shakes her head. “No, in all seriousness, I went through a pretty bad break up a year ago, and my best friend was tired of me being stuck in a work and home rut. She thought it was about time I get back on the scene, so she set me up with Dirk, the dick.”

I laugh. “She needs to be demoted to an acquaintance immediately if she set you up with that loser on purpose. And that name is dead on, just FYI.”

“Oh, she’s dead to me.”

I laugh harder. There’s an easiness to Lila which I’m finding intoxicating.

“What happened with your ex, if you don’t mind me asking.” I rest my left arm along the back of the booth, my fingers tangling in Lila’s soft hair, idly playing with the strands. Each touch gets me more and more relaxed, and I feel better now than I have in… I don’t even know how long.

“He…he cheated on me.” She sighs. “With one of my friends.”

I stay silent, not because I don’t have words for her, but because the ones I do have are not helpful right now. No man worth anything would ever cheat on a woman. Any woman. But especially the one sitting right here beside me.

She fiddles with the hem of her dress, her face solemn.

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