Page 43 of Enforcer

He slams the car door behind me, leaning down and whispering, “Such a good girl, tesoro.”

I’m done. It’s the end of an era.

Single, loner Alyssa is changing by the second, and I have a feeling I have to get to know this version of myself. Dante will accept nothing less.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

DANTE

It was evident by the third cake set before Alyssa and myself that the two girls who painstakingly planned this tasting not only knew whose wedding they were making a cake for but also thought that Alyssa and I were Brynne and Slate. Alyssa hasn’t had the heart to tell them, even though I’m sure she’s picked up on it too.

“Mr. Ricci, this is the lemon cake with the berry filling,” Sophie says.

At least for poor Sophie, I am a Ricci.

I shove the small cake topper toward Alyssa.

She digs her fork into the cake, breaking up the yellow frosting with purple flowers adorning it.

“Holy shit, that’s good.” Her moan afterward sells me on the matter, and I lift my fork and follow suit.

All the cakes have been delicious. Half of me thinks Slate and Brynne sent us here as a setup. There’s no possible way someone could only choose one.

Alyssa’s moans with each bite of cake aren’t helping the way my dick keeps filling with blood. It was bad enough I walked inhere hard as stone from the moment we shared in the car. It seems my little menace has a thing for flashy cars.

Funny, so do I.

“Since that’s the last one, we’ll give you some privacy to decide which one you’d like to feature at your wedding.”

Alyssa chokes on the water she’s been drinking. I reach over and pat her on the back.

I grin at Sophie and her partner. “Thanks.”

When the two women move toward the back of the bakery, I turn in my chair as Alyssa wipes tears off her face from her coughing fit.

“You good?” I ask her.

“We need to tell them we’re here on Brynne’s behalf. It feels wrong to make them uncomfortable when you’re not Slate.”

I pucker my brows. “What does that mean?”

She takes another sip of water, waving her hand toward where the shop owners had made their hasty exit. “Clearly, they think you’rethe Grim Reaper, and that’s what has them so fucking spooked. If they knew you were harmless, they’d calm down.”

I lean towards her. She’s sitting beside me in her own beautifully carved wooden chair. She shifts in her seat, setting her water down without looking.

“Darling, I’m not harmless. They should be afraid. Things go bump in the night in the city after dark, and I’m one of those things.”

She keeps her face neutral, but she can’t hide how her breathing hitches, and I eat up the reaction like the starving, sadistic man that I am.

“Well, I...” She clears her throat. “We need to choose a cake.”

She redirects our attention by turning back to the table and tinkering with the cakes spread out for selection.

“Now, that, I can’t help you with. I don’t know how the hell anyone could choose just one.”

She grins and looks down at her phone, typing something with the quickest thumbs I’ve ever seen before shooting the message off into cyberspace.

“Well, lucky for you, I’ve been texting Brynne this entire time. I think we have a handle on it.”

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