Page 53 of Spice and Revenge

Dammit!I can’t afford to let anything sway my thoughts about Leo. He’s a monster,the end. I’m sure he wouldn’t hesitate to end my existence if he finds out who I am. I decide resolutely that I’ll do what needs to be done the first chance I get.

“Guess I wasn’t invited to the party?”

We all turn at the sound of the voice. Carmela steps into the kitchen, still in her pajamas.

“Fabio and I are learning how to cook,” Aurora says proudly.

Carmela’s gaze meets mine, but she quickly averts it.

“And what are you guys making? I don’t see anything on the counter,” she says as she stands beside Aurora.

“Sarde a Beccafico,” Fabio grunts.“What are you doing here? The kitchen isn’t really your scene.”

“I heard you guys were learning how to cook. I decided to confirm,” she replies.

“Yeah. We made yesterday’s breakfast,” Aurora says with a hint of pride in her voice.

“Really? No wonder it tasted bad,” Carmela says. I bite my lips to hide my chuckle. “I know Lorena isn’t a bad cook.”

The last part surprises me because Carmela and I don’t exactly get along. But I guess the teenager has her moments, as do all teenagers.

“Hey!” Carmela yelps as Aurora tugs her hair firmly.

“Don’t insult my cooking next time.”

“Maybe you should stick to the only thing you’re good at, which is going on trips and looking pretty for your Instagram pictures,” Carmela taunts back.

Aurora laughs. “Just say you’re still jealous we went to Santorini without you.”

Carmela flips her sister off with both hands, then she runs out of the kitchen before Aurora can smack her head.

“As we were saying before that cockroach interrupted,” Aurora huffs, flicking her long hair behind her shoulders. “Leo is really nice. I know the workers here might not share the same sentiment, but truly, he is.”

I nod, believing her words.

“Our family is into… bad stuff, but Leo never lets that get to us,” Fabio speaks. “He keeps it far from us, and he acts like a real older brother.”

“He is our real older brother,” Aurora corrects him, and my heart tugs in different directions.

It’s hard to see him as a monster when his half-siblings speak of him this way.

“What’s going on here?”

Speak of the devil.

Leo’s deep voice fills the kitchen as he walks in, asking the same question Carmela just asked seconds ago. Aurora gives him thesame reply she gave Carmela, but I barely focus on anything else as I feel his warmth behind me.

“Good morning, Don,” I mutter.

He grunts, and my mind flashes back to the last time he was behind me like this, and what we were doing, the sounds he made…

The oven beeps at that exact moment, and I exhale a shaky breath before moving over to open it.

“I’ll do it,” I hear Leo behind me again.

Barely a minute ago, I had decided that I would go ahead with my plan and now, I am this close to throwing myself at him like a dog in heat. What the hell is wrong with me? Not having it in me to argue, I step out of the way. My breath hitches as my arm brushes the material of his suit.

“You have to wear this,” I mutter, slipping the oven mitten out of my hands and handing them over to him.

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