Page 49 of Dina's Favorite Mistake

“I like it when you’re a bit snippy with me.” Steve grinned, and her stomach did a little flip. “I’m not afraid of a woman who likes to be in charge.”

Flushed, Dina snatched her purse. “You better stop that before we get into trouble out here in this parked car.”

“I’d take a public indecency charge for you.”

“You’re impossible,” she huffed, face burning as she opened her door and all but scrambled out of the car. She breathed in the cool air and tried to slow her racing heart.He’s trouble—and I can’t get enough of him.

Steve wouldn’t let her lead the way. He did that annoying cop move where he placed his body in front of hers, blocking her view. Shielding me from danger.

The rush of excitement that accompanied that realization struck hard. Every chance he got, Steve proved he was exactly as he presented himself. Honest. Steadfast. Protective.

I want him.

I want him so badly.

But I don’t deserve him.

It was a painfully hard pill to swallow. All the mistakes, all the missteps, all the stupid decisions of her youth made it impossible for her to ever be with someone as good and wholesome as Steve.

He had a whole career dedicated to helping others, to obeying and enforcing the law. She was forever tied to a cartel hitman, and not just any hitman either. The exact evil psycho who had killed Steve’s grandparents.

“You have the loudest thinking face I’ve ever heard,” Steve said as they waited for the elevator to reach Mirta’s floor of the apartment building.

“What?” For a moment, she wondered if he’d misspoken an idiom that didn’t quite translate to Spanish. Other than his Texas drawl, he spoke Spanish like a native so she discounted that quickly.

“Your face.” He gently swept his finger along her cheek. “You get all frowny and dark-eyed when you’re thinking hard.”

She self-consciously touched the frown lines between her eyes. When she tried to touch the marionette lines next to her mouth, Steve stopped her with a roughly growled, “Don’t.”

“Sorry.”

He swooped in and kissed the apology right off her lips. She reveled in the romantic moment, wishing it could go on forever, but the elevator reached the right floor too soon.

“Let me go first.” Steve wasn’t asking. He stepped out of the elevator and led the way to the apartment. “4D, right?”

“Yes.”

Steve scanned the hallway, always alert and ready to defend. “I gotta admit. I expected something more for the mother of a cartel hitman.”

“He’s broke. There’s no money anymore.”

“Really? All of it?” Steve reacted with surprise.

“He spent every penny he ever made. He wanted to live like a cartel boss, but he needed my money to do it. Once my grandfather found out Diego was hitting me and I refused to leave, he cut us off.”

Steve winced. “I’m sure Diego didn’t like that.”

Dina rubbed the spot on her right side where Diego had kicked her so brutally during that beating. He’d broken multiple ribs and ruptured her eardrum. She still had bouts of tinnitus from that one. “No, he didn’t.”

As if he could read her mind, Steve stopped walking and placed a gentle hand over hers. “I could kill him for what he did to you.”

Staggered, Dina stared up at him with wide eyes. He wasn’t posturing. He meant it. “You’d do that for me?”

“For you. For Camila. For your family. For my family. For everyone else that piece of shit hurt.” He said it so calmly, so matter-of-factly.

“Well, if Diego comes for me, you might get that chance.”

“I suspect I will,” Steve replied somberly.

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