Page 50 of A Dark Mafia Christmas

“Me?” I blink. Did he just say that? “Why?”

“Because, Mary, you’ve fucking bewitched me. I haven’t stopped thinking about you, and every moment that I’ve spent away from you has felt like … well, like a part of me was missing. I knew it when I boarded the aircraft to go back to New York. I knew it when I landed at Newark, and I sure as shit couldn’t ignore it when I went back to the office.”

I’m trying to soak up his words so that I can replay them in my head when he goes away again, but my pulse is racing, and it’s hard to think straight. This is what I wanted. This is everything I wanted him to say to me, and more, but how can I believe him when I keep hearing his voice in my head telling me that this isn’t real?

“Say something, Mary.”

“I…” I shake my head. “What are you saying, Emmett?”

“I’m saying that I can’t live without you. I thought I could. I told myself that none of it was real, that I brought you here against your will, and you would never be able to forgive me for that, but I was lying to myself.”

“But…” Did he just say that he can’t live without me? “I don’t understand.”

He smiles. “What part of I can’t live without you don’t you understand?” Then his expression falters. “Fuck. I just poured my heart out, and you don’t feel the same way. Fucking idiot. I knew I shouldn’t have left it so long. I was going to fly straight back the next day, but…” He rubs his stubble with both hands.When he speaks again, he lowers his voice like a child admitting he ate the last biscuit. “I didn’t want to seem too desperate.”

I step closer, so close I can see the gray flecks in his eyes. “I do feel the same way.”

“You do?” So close I can feel his breath on my face. “But you didn’t want to come back with me.”

“I didn’t want to go back to New York. It’s not the same thing.”

“I-I can’t stay here though, Mary.”

“Why not? The Internet is a wonderful thing, you know.”

He laughs out loud. Then he picks me up and spins me around, his lips on mine. When he sets me down, his expression grows serious.

“There’s something I must tell you, Mary. I should’ve told you sooner, but, well…” He swallows hard, and I don’t think he has ever looked sexier than he does right now. “I didn’t want to frighten you.”

Frighten me?

“Emmett, I was frightened the night I met you.”

“I know.” He scrunches up his nose and blinks several times. “I wasn’t entirely honest with you that night.”

“You don’t say.” I smile.

He inclines his head, conceding the point. “I knew what was happening on the roof. You see, my family, we’re Irish Mafia. My father?—”

“Patrick?”

I nod. “He’s kept the peace with the other families, but I’ll be expected to take over one day. When I’m married. And, well, I wanted you to be aware of what you’re getting into. It can be dangerous. My position comes with its own risks, but I promise I will never allow any harm to come to you. There will always be someone looking out for you.”

“You mean, like Dave? And Declan?”

“Yes, but you will always have me looking out for you, Mary. Always. I just … I just wanted you to know.”

It all falls into place now. I’d suspected, of course, when Emmett didn’t react to the murder on the rooftop, but it’s not something you think about when it isn’t staring you in the face. Then, when Declan was there in the pub, keeping an eye on me when Ronan followed me to the restrooms, it started to become clearer.

How do I feel about falling in love with a Mafia Don?

Strangely, I feel safe when I’m with Emmett, and I believe him when he says that he’ll never let any harm come to me. The rest I’ll have to figure out as we go along.

“I had my suspicions, Emmett.” I shrug.

“You did?”

“I didn’t put two and two together and come up with the word Mafia, but I guess I might’ve done it in time.”

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