Page 38 of Empire of Temptation

I don’t know what I expected, but this was no casual breakfast with a box of donuts and a carton of juice. There were china plates, tiny juice glasses, and sterling silver flatware. A crystal pitcher of orange juice rested on the table next to Luca’s electronic tablet. Was this how he spent every morning?

He filled up my juice glass. “How do you feel?”

“Shitty.”

“I’m not surprised. Eat something. It will help.”

A cup and saucer appeared at my elbow. I glanced up and found Aldo there. “Allora, signorina,” he said and put a cappuccino down in front of me.

“Thank you.” Normally, I would dump some sugar into my coffee and savor it, but this wasn’t that kind of morning. I had to get through this quickly. The sooner I finished, the sooner I could leave.

“Here.”

Luca placed my phone next to my plate. I exhaled in relief and set down my cappuccino. “Thank you. I felt totally lost without it.” I picked up the device and unlocked it. “How did you get it from the restaurant?”

“I had Roberto bring your things over last night.”

I paused, my finger hovering on the glass. Roberto? “Wasn’t he busy closing up the restaurant?”

Luca made a noise that sounded close to a snort and lifted his tiny espresso cup to his mouth. He should’ve looked ridiculous drinking from something so small, but somehow didn’t.

He didn’t answer and I couldn’t let it go. “Wait, did you snort because he wasn’t closing the restaurant?”

“First, I never snort.” He threw back the rest of his espresso and set the demitasse cup down. “Second, I don’t have any idea what he was doing. People usually do what I ask, bella.”

A rush of hot and cold shivers went through me, like a mixture of both fear and attraction. It was a strange reaction. Thrilling, but unnerving, as well.

I should have known better, though. If Luca was a mobster, I needed to stay far away from him. My mother never spoke about what my father did for a living, but it was obviously something shady. He had money, lots of it, and tried to give her some over the years, but she refused to take it. She said money comes with strings, and she didn’t want him in my life in any capacity.

Stay away from men who want to control you, Val.

Mom said this so often that I should have it cross-stitched onto a pillow. But I couldn’t think about any of that now, not when I was so hungover.

Glancing at my phone, I found a bunch of texts from Sam waiting for me. They started not long after Luca drove me here last night.

ARE YOU OKAY

PLS CHECK IN

HE CARRIED YOU OUT OMG

OFFICER & A GENTLEMAN STYLE

I frowned. What was she talking about? Was that a book?

I looked up at Luca, only to find him staring at me intently. My mouth turned dry under his intense stare, which probably caused me to blurt, “What does officer & a gentleman mean?”

His lips twitched. “A movie. Richard Gere. Debra Winger. From the 1980s. A romance. You would like it.”

A romance? What the fuck, Sam!

I went back to my other texts. These were from Maggie.

GIRRRRRRRL

I NEED TO HEAR FROM YOU

IF HE HURT YOU

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