Page 43 of Inevitable

“Angel I don’t need protection. I can handle my own. I am The Boss for a reason.”

I narrow my eyes at him. “I don’t like it.”

He kisses my head and stands up holding my hand as we walk out of the office. “That’s okay, all I need you to do is pick out a gorgeous dress that I will rip off of you later.”

I scoff at that and shove him lightly. “You are ridiculous.”

He gives me a mischievous grin before he kisses my cheek and pulls me into the dining room. There on the table is a candlelit dinner with a large vase of red roses in the center. I turn to him and see him smiling at me, his deep dimples popping out.

“You assumed we would make up that quickly huh?” I tease.

“I hoped,” he says as he pulls out my chair for me, ever the gentleman.

Once he sits, we start eating. I groan as I taste the Chicken Picada Luis made.

“I swear if Luis doesn’t lay off the pasta dishes you will have to roll me through the house,” I groan as I take another bite.

He chuckles lightly and shakes his head. “We are Italian, Angel. Pasta is a staple in this house. You better get used to it.”

My heart skips a beat and my chest warms at his words. We haven’t talked about what our future will look like. I just hope that he doesn’t want to let go of me as much as I don’t want to let go of him. A comfortable silence settles over us as I watch him for a moment.

“What kind of life do you dream of Luca?” I ask.

He stops mid bite and furrows his eyebrows. It seems like he is confused by my question.

“I mean, I know you didn’t always dream of being a Mob Boss when you were a little boy,” I tease. He gives a sad smile and softly shakes his head before I continue. “So, what about now? If you could do anything, be anything, what would you want your life to look like?” I ask again.

“It isn’t that easy, Angel. This isn’t a choice. The family is not something I can ever walk away from. From 7 years ago till the end, I am a member of the Mariano family, the head of the family and will die that way. I have accepted it and have chosen to make the best out of it. I have surrounded myself with good loyal men who care about the family as much as I do. I try to be fair to those I deal with, if they do not give me a reason to not be. We are able to pay our men well so that their families are well taken care of, I live a good life.”

He leans back in his chair and searches my face as I digest his words. I know that he means everything he just said but I can see in his golden eyes that it makes him sad, he wishes things were different.

“That doesn’t answer my question. If it was possible to leave everything behind, would you?” I ask softly.

He twists his mouth up for a second, thinking. “If it meant you would never be in harm’s way again? In a heartbeat.”

My pulse skitters and I smile. I will never get tired of hearing his love for me. I reach my hand across the table and intertwine our fingers together. He smiles softly and squeezes.

“I was surviving. I was expanding the Mariano empire, life was good. But when I had you in my home, under my care…when you were close enough for me to reach out and touch,” he shakes his head and sighs as his hand traces lazy trails across my arm. “I realized I wasn’t really living, barely breathing, till then. You are the most dangerous thing in the world to me. You are my Achilles heel. If I was a smarter man, I would run away from you as fast and as far as I could.” His eyes connect with mine and he gives me a lop-sided grin. “Good thing I am not smarter I suppose,” he says before he lifts my knuckles to his lips.

We spend the rest of dinner laughing and talking. Then we spend the rest of the night in bed making up properly.

Chapter Sixteen

Ashlynn

The next day I call Kiki to catch up. I feel terrible that I haven’t been staying in touch with her as much as I should.

“Hello bitch, glad you still know how to use a phone,” she teases.

“Miss you too,” I say with a smile and an eyeroll.

“I do miss you. When can we break you out of jail?”

I laugh and sigh. She was really worried when I told her about being attacked. Kiki thinks that if I simply run away all of my problems will go away, things aren’t that simple and now it is abundantly clear I don’t want to run away from Luca.

“Actually, I was hoping we could get together and go shopping. I need a dress for a Gala that Luca and I are going to.”

“Uh duh, I’ll come over now,” she says.

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