Page 116 of The Devil Can Be Kind

“I’m right here, you know! You aresuchan asshole.” I rounded on Marco so he could see my glare.

He smirked but was otherwise unaffected. “So, what is it that you want?” He insisted, going back to the original subject. “For us to buy a house together? Maybe a diamond ring?”

I pretended to contemplate his words for a moment, “I’m not really here for your sparkling personality or fantastic sense of humor. I’ll just take the sex for now,” I responded acerbically.

Enzo and Jesse howled with laughter and Marco’s expression burned with an intensity that set my insides ablaze.

“Are you sure that’s all you want? I’ve heard I’m quite the catch,” He continued tauntingly, raising a brow.

“Hm, that’s not what I’ve heard. Besides…the more time I spend around you the less likely I am to want anything else,” His smile met mine as I challenged him.

“On the contrary, falling in love with me is inevitable.” The confidence in his voice was unmistakable, despite the humor.This man!

I snorted derisively. “How deluded you are, my dear Don La Torre,” I said, patting his cheek condescendingly and he flashed me my favorite smile.

Enzo and Jesse watched our little exchange with knowing amusement before we all lapsed into a comfortable silence.

Marco ordered us two more drinks while I focused on pulling a croissant off the platter. I halved it and lathered one side in butter until it got whipped from my plate without warning. Marco already had half of it in his mouth by the time I’d manage to scowl at him, so like the dutiful fuckbuddy I usuallywasn’t, I coated the other in butter and placed it in front of him as well.

I didn’t think much of it until Marco caught me off guard with a smoldering look that made all my insides feel exposed.

Toward the end of breakfast, Eliyana had come over to invite us to a family gathering she was hosting later that evening in town. We graciously accepted the invitation, and I thought I saw a trace of satisfaction light her features as she took in the proximity between her son and me. His arm was still slung on the back of my chair, his thigh pressed up against my own under the table.

Thinking that I had somehow won her approval sent a pang of happiness straight through my chest, and my heart ached.

It’s all temporary,I tried to remind myself.

But it was growing harder for me to remember that fact as time wore on…my heart was already irrevocably lost to him.

We leftthe breakfast and headed back to the house not long after eleven. Marco had done his usual disappearing act shortly after our return, and I busied myself by catching up on work from the casino for the rest of the afternoon.

By the time five o’clock rolled around, I started getting ready for the restaurant. I picked out an emerald-green dress with a cowl neckline. It had a slit that ran halfway up my thigh and clung to my body in all the right places, making it both a classy and sexy choice.

The car ride to town had felt more cramped than usual that evening, though that probably had a lot to do with the fact that I was riding in Marco’s SUV with Wyatt and Layton. Jesse, Alonso and Tom followed in the car behind us.

The restaurant screamed wealth and exclusivity as we entered, painted stone walls and decedent smelling candles littering every square inch of available surface. Large arched windows overlooked the Ionian Sea, combined with gentle music being played on a pianoforte. It gave the space a distinctively formal and intimate feel.

Thirty or so family members had already arrived when we entered and were milling about the space, engaged in excited chatter. With one hand resting on my back, Marco led us through the crowd, greeting those in attendance until his mother came into view.

“My darlings, I am so happy to see you both.” She smiled adoringly at us.

I was quickly realizing that Eliyana was everything that my mother was not. Where my mother was as cold as ice and as sharp as a razor, Eliyana’s warmth radiated like sunshine. Her love for her son unmatched by any other mother I had ever seen. Even the fondness she seemed to extend to me after only a short period of knowing her was enough to make my heart swell.

“It has only been a few hours, Mama.” Marco admonished gently.

“Oh hush, child. Adalyn you are looking beautiful,” She enthused, giving me a kiss on both cheeks.

“Thank you, Eliyana.”

“Ada, stay with my mother while I speak to some of the other guests,” Marco all but commanded. He pulled me toward him and swiftly placed a kiss on my forehead before walking away.

A knowing smile crept onto Eliyana’s face as Marco’s form drifted out of sight.

“Come, Adalyn, let me introduce you to some key family members.”

With that, she took my hand and led me over to the nearest group of people.

Fifteen.

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