Page 27 of Twisted Knight

“You know what I’d like though?”

I threw her a side-look. “Let me guess? Sweets?”

Her smile widened, giving her a cute cheeky look. It was hard to identify her with the twenty-two-year-old pregnant Mafia wife she’d become. She barely looked old enough to drive, and the innocence shining out of her made her look even more youthful, even if I knew how fierce and combative she really was.

I chuckled. “I need to go to the store. I’m sure a trip to the local sweet store can be arranged.”

“Yes, you can ask Dom to take you.”

I winced. I couldn’t imagine spending time alone in a car with Dom who had been calling me ‘mobster lady’ every chance he got.

“Can anyone else take me? Maybe I can go by myself. You’ve got like five cars here.”

She frowned. “Why? Did something happen? Was Dom mean to you?”

I shook my head. Now was not the moment to approach my concerns with Dom and my infuriating attraction to him. “I just don’t want to bother him. He’s probably super busy now getting everything ready for the trip to New York.”

She cocked her head to the side, considering it, and I thought I had won until she spoke again. “Luca doesn't trust many people except for Dom, you know.” She twisted her mouth to the side. “I’m not sure he’ll be happy for you to go by yourself. I mean I can try to ask Sergio—”

I raised my hand to stop her. I knew that was bothering her, and I was not here to cause her any undue stress.

“Don’t worry. I’ll ask him. It’s just a quick trip. I’ll ask him to take me.”

She breathed out with relief, and I felt bad for making her worry even a little.

I rolled my eyes. “He is always teasing me; I want to punch him in the nuts.”

She laughed. “Dom has this effect on all of us. He only teases people he likes though. See it as a rite of passage.”

“Umph!” I shouldn’t care, and yet why did my heart have to leap in my chest at the thought of Dom liking me?

“It will pass. Just don’t show him it’s annoying. The more he knows it is annoying, the more he will do it.”

“Like a boy in sixth grade.”

Cassie nodded. “Pretty much.”

I sighed, standing up from my spot on her bed. “I’ll go find him now, and when we come back, I'll help you pack for the trip, okay?”

“Sure. Can you send Jude in, please, if you see him? I think we need to spend some quality time together.”

“Sure thing. Also, what type of sweets would you like?”

“Anything… Wait, no, just some sour Jelly Belly jelly beans and some Skittles… Oh, and some Twizzlers.”

“Got it. I’ll see you later.”

I went downstairs to Jude’s room, expecting to find him engrossed in one of his novels, but his door was open and I could hear his voice as well as the deeper, more masculine voice that I knew in a heartbeat was Dom’s.

I peeked in discreetly to find Jude standing in front of his mirror in a gray suit, with Dom standing right behind him,

“What do you need then?”

“I’m trying to do my tie, but I can’t. Cassie never taught me.” He looked up, meeting Dom’s eyes in the mirror.

Dom rested his hands on his tapered hips and nodded. “And you want me to teach you?”

Jude nodded.

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