Page 16 of Broken Prince

I rolled my eyes. I really didn’t have the time to find anyone attractive, especially not the hermit, an obviously damaged man who signed my checks.

Chapter Six

LUCA

I had not meant to interact with her. I just wanted to watch her without a screen, see her with my own eyes, and her eyes wide with surprise, her button nose covered with freckles that I missed on the screen but making her look so much younger than I thought.

I regretted telling her off for breaking the rules because as much as I hated to admit it, these past two days were dull without her random messages. It had been aggravating and yet, I let my fingers brush against the keyboard.

I wasn’t sure why I told her to stop. I hadn’t meant it, but she’d put me on the spot and—

“Apologize.”

My head jerked up to find Dom leaning against the doorframe of my office. No matter how unfair and cruel I was to him, he was always coming back. I was not sure I warranted such loyalty.

“What?”

He walked in, taking in my fingers resting on the keyboard. There wasn’t much that Dom missed; it made him both a fantastic ally and a ruthless enemy.

“The girl.” He jerked his head toward the garden, where I presumed she was. “Apologize to her.”

“Why would I do that?” I scoffed.

He gave me a half-smile, stealing a sweet from the candy jar she’d brought me back. “Because you were an epic ass to her.”

“I can be so much worse!”

Dom cocked his eyebrow, letting out a short laugh. “Is that really your argument?”

I shrugged silently.

“I know you can be worse; hell, I’ve felt the brunt of it, but she doesn't know that. And you called her bad seed, a liar, and a thief in the same breath. That’s a lot to take in.”

“You listened to the conversation?” I asked slowly, hardly believing he would do that. Dom knew how much I valued my privacy—just as much as he valued his.

He snorted. “You bet your ass I did! This house is mortally boring! That was the entertainment of the year so far!”

“You’re welcome to leave if you want to. Nobody’s asked you to be here.”

He shook his head, taking another sweet from my jar. “No, but I'm where I'm needed, where I belong, by your side, brother, whether you see it or not,” he added, taking another sweet.

I ground my teeth. “Next time you take one without asking, I’ll cut your hand off.”

“Apologize, Luca.”

I sighed. “Fine.”

“Fine?”

I nodded. “Uh-huh.”

“But—you never give in!”

I leaned back on my seat. “I’ll do it if—”

Dom growled, “I should have known.”

“If you go to the famiglia meeting next week.”

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