Page 83 of Mob Boss's Second Chance

Her scent, soft and sweet, wraps around me, and I close my eyes, powerless to resist. Powerless to stop myself from breathing her in. From remembering the way, her lips felt against mine—soft yet opinionated, demanding yet yielding.

It’s been too long.

Far too long.

I’ve missed her. Thought about her. Dreamt about her. I’ve lingered outside her apartment for hours, my mind consumed by the man I saw the other day—the one whose gaze clung to her like he had a right to.

I’ve held myself back from knocking on her door, from throwing away my pride and begging Natalie to take me back.

I don’t know how much longer I can keep myself in check. What I know as logic is slipping through my fingers, and the temptation to surrender—to be consumed by her—is a breath away from devouring me whole.

I’ve always prided myself on my will, sharpening it into something unbreakable. It’s how I’ve survived, built, and protected the Cross legacy.

Natalie is my weakness and her mere presence brings my mortality and emotions to the surface.

But I’m not certain if I care about being strong anymore.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Natalie

Ituck my phone between my shoulder and my ear as I move from closet to bed, pulling and tossing clothes around while listening to Daniellerambleon the other end of the call.

To be honest, I’m grateful for her rambling.

She’s been calling me nonstop, keeping me sane since I found out aboutit. The baby.

We haven’t spoken about it since that day—the evening when I called her, gripping my phone till it left glowing red marks on my palm. I broke down at the back of the cab, unable to get anything out other than the first sentence.

Danielle was at my apartment before I got there, and she hugged me until I fell asleep.

Shestayed the next day and left to get some clothes while I was sleeping. I woke up to the smell of chicken soup, felt like the world was right again, took one look at it, and ran to the bathroom to throw up.

“How many bikinis?” Danielle asks, and I can hear her rifling around in the background. “You need at least three because we’re going to be at the beach every day, baby!”

Her excitement is for my sake.

The impromptu trip that she sprung on me yesterday was for my sake, too.

“Are you sure your boss said you could take the week off?” I ask, grabbing a loose-fitting dress and shoving it into my open luggage. “We don’t have to go anywhere if it’ll cost you your job, Dany.”

She makes apfftsound, brushing away my concern. “It’s fine. I handled it. I told him my mom was in palliative care and that if he didn’t let me take care of her, I would tell everyone on the internet what a horrible boss he was.”

I let out a full-bodied guffaw, my head thrown back as the sound escapes me. The sudden burst of laughter makes me lose my grip on the phone, and I fumble to retrieve it. “You did what?” I ask, still grinning as I straighten. “Why the hell would you tell him that?”

Danielle doesn’t talk to her parents—not because they’re terrible, but simply because they never had that kind of relationship.

“It was either that or telling him I had cancer,” she says, utterly unrepentant. “Obviously, I wasn’t going to lie about something people actually suffer from, and my mom—” she snorts, “well, who knows with her? She could be on the verge of a meltdown right now.”

I shake my head, torn between scolding her and appreciating just how far she’d go to put a smile on my face.

She sensesmy hesitation.

“You know I’d do anything for you, Natalie. Anything at all. You’re my best friend, and you’re… well,” her voice softens, “I’m going to be an aunt soon. I don’t think it’s too soon to start spoiling my niece.”

A sob catches in my throat as warmth and affection—the kind she’s always shown, that I’ve always relied on—spills through the phone. I slap my hand across my mouth to keep it from bubbling out, but Danielle’s ever-attentive ears catch the strain.

“I love you,” she whispers, close to tears herself. “I know it might not be the best time, but I know you’ll make a great mom. It’s who you are, Natalie. Always looking out for the people you love.”

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