Page 26 of Mafia Christmas Vows

I clap my fingers over my mouth. “Oh my god. Pretend I didn’t say that out loud.”

Alexei’s voice carries a tone of humor. “I will pretend.”

“Thanks,” I whisper.

The thought of spending Christmas alone… well. It sucks.

But I understand.

If the loss of his mother was so painful that he can’t even look at Christmas decorations…

I get that.

He turns to go. Instinctively, I kind of reach for him.

It’s not that I don’t want him, or the future he’s offering.

I do want it.

I want it very, very badly. I want to do more than just kiss him. I can’t deny that I’m crazy attracted to him.

But my fingers curl around empty air.

“Alexei,” I call.

He freezes.

“If you… if you wanted to stay. You could,” I whisper.

He doesn’t move.

“Being alone on Christmas would suck. For both of us,” I add. “If we’re going to be… if we’re going to do this, maybe we should spend the time doing something else.”

He turns, and the hungry look on his face makes my stomach clench.

“I mean. We could get to know each other. So that things like… the decorations… they don’t happen again.”

Alexei studies me.

“Perhaps,” he murmurs.

Then, he’s gone.

I give him a minute, then quietly, I close the door to his mother’s room behind me.

I’m okay with giving Alexei space. If he needs it.

This might not be love.

But I think that if we both just… try, it could be something else.

Something that I’m okay with, even if it’s not what I’m dreaming of.

ALEXEI

“Boss. The car is not going anywhere,” Anatoly growls.

Looking outside at the blizzard, I have to agree.

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