Page 50 of Broken Prince

Dom looked at me with his dark eyes in a way that seemed to see deep into my soul. “You kissed him, huh?”

I rolled my eyes, mentally cursing myself for opening my big fat mouth. “It meant nothing.”

“Sure it didn’t. You want to know why I trust you with him over any other doctor or nurse? Because it’s not fear or duty driving you to make him better. You care about him deeply.”

I opened my mouth to deny it but he raised his hand.

“Don’t bother, Cassie. You’re so easy to read and I rather you be honest, okay? Now is not the time to play games.”

“He is Mafia,” I replied.

Dom nodded. “So am I.”

“Yes I know but—”But what, silly girl?

“But you’re not falling in love with me and it’s the fundamental difference.”

I shook my head. “He’s so much older than me, and broken and self-destructive and—” I stopped.

“And?”

“I’m just me.” It was a rather lame answer but I hoped it conveyed what I felt. I was just an ordinary girl, inexperienced, barely out of adolescence. A girl who thought knew a lot but was more naïve of our world than I ever thought. A girl… Just not enough for someone like him.

Dom cocked his head to the side. “You’re saying that as if it’s a bad thing.”

I shrugged.

He sighed. “Can I bring you anything?”

“Yes, please. Could you make me a thermos of coffee and bring me the cookie box I have on the kitchen counter?”

“Sure, be right up.”

Once Dom brought me everything, I grabbed a book from Luca’s bedside and settled on the seat again, setting my alarm to ring every hour.

It took three days before I actually started to worry a little less. The fever had broken completely, and he seemed a little more alert and awake even if he mostly spoke in Italian.

On the fourth day, he was awake a little longer and I managed to feed him a little broth and some toast; however, he didn’t make a lot of sense and continued to speak in Italian a lot.

“Mia piccola guaritrice, non lasciarmi innamorare di te. Spezzerebbe i nostri cuori. Ci farebbe male a entrambi,” he had mumbled after he had finished his food.

“Sure, okay.”

He smiled and nodded his head as if I had given him the right answer before he fell back asleep.

“He sleeps a lot.”

I startled, turning my head briskly. “How long have you been standing there?” I asked Dom who was leaning on the doorframe.

“Not long. I didn't want to interrupt.”

I chuckled. “There's nothing to interrupt; he is talking Italian nonsense.”

“Nonsense, yeah.” He looked at his watch and frowned. “Aren’t you supposed to go see your brother?”

I shook my head. “I called Amy, the social worker. I can’t leave Luca yet. I mean he is stable but I’d rather stay here. I’ll have a video call with Jude with my laptop.”

“That’s kind of you, but you don’t have to do that. You’ve gone above and beyond for him already. How long have you left his room in the past few days? For showers and quick naps. You need a break.”

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