Page 77 of Made for Saints

Gio didn’t even bother looking away from the TV. “They all look fine.”

“Fine?” I repeated, my frustration mounting. “That’s not helpful, Gio.”

Tony shrugged, grabbing a handful of popcorn from the bowl on the coffee table. “Just wear the blue one. Or the red one. Whatever. It doesn’t matter.”

“It does matter!” I snapped, my voice sharper than I intended. “This is Adrianna’s second engagement party, and her mom is going to be there, judging everyone like it’s her full-time job. I can’t just wear anything.”

“Then wear the black one,” Tony said, finally glancing at me. “Black’s always a safe choice.”

I groaned, dropping the dresses onto the back of the couch. “You two are useless.”

“Glad we could help,” Gio said, smirking as he tossed a piece of popcorn into his mouth.

I was about to storm off when a familiar voice cut through the noise, smooth and laced with amusement.

“Trouble in paradise?”

I spun around, my frustration sharpening into irritation the moment I saw him. Dante stood there, casually poisedagainst the doorframe, his dark eyes glinting with that maddening mix of conceit and curiosity.

Heat rushed to my cheeks, unbidden and unwelcome, as flashes of our earlier encounter invaded my thoughts. The memory of his skilled fingers brushing against my skin, his touch deliberate, made me feel bare and vulnerable all over again. He had this infuriating ability to unravel me completely while keeping himself perfectly in control. It was equal parts maddening and...intoxicating.

“What are you doing here?” I snapped, crossing my arms over my chest in a futile attempt to shield myself from his gaze.

“I was just finishing some business with your father,” he said, pushing off the doorframe and strolling into the room like he owned it. His presence seemed to fill the space, making it feel smaller, more charged. “I figured I’d see what all the commotion was about.”

“There’s no commotion,” I said quickly, my cheeks heating further.

Dante’s gaze flicked to the pile of dresses strewn across the couch, then back to me with a raised brow. “Looks like commotion to me.”

I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose. “It’s nothing. I just...I don’t have anything to wear to Adrianna’s second engagement party, and my brothers are being completely unhelpful.”

“Shocking,” Dante said dryly, his lips twitching into a smirk.

“Shouldn’t you be leaving?” I asked, glaring at him. His smirk widened, and I had the sudden, frustrating urge to wipe it off his face—preferably with one of the dresses I hated.

He ignored me completely, his attention shifting back to the dresses. “You don’t like any of these?”

“No,” I admitted reluctantly, crossing my arms tighter across my chest. “They’re all wrong.”

Dante tilted his head slightly, his dark eyes studying me with the same intensity he used for business deals—orexecutions. “Then let’s go find something that’s right.”

I blinked, caught off guard. “What?”

“You heard me,” he said, already pulling his phone from his pocket like this was the most normal suggestion in the world. “I’ll take you shopping.”

“You?” I repeated, disbelief dripping from every syllable. “You want to take me shopping?”

“Why not?” he asked, his tone maddeningly casual as he slid his phone back into his pocket. “I’ve got nothing better to do, and clearly, you need help.”

“I don’t need your help,” I shot back quickly, though the words felt hollow even to me.

Dante raised a single eyebrow, his smirk widening as he stepped closer, his voice dropping into that infuriatingly smooth, self-assured tone. “Really? Because from where I’m standing, it looks like you’re about two seconds away from a full-blown meltdown.”

I opened my mouth to argue, but the words caught in my throat. He wasn’t wrong, and he knew it.

“And besides,” he added, his voice shifting into something more teasing, more dangerous, “I’ve got a black card with no limit. So, why not let me fix your little problem?” He leaned in ever so slightly, his smirk curving into something more wicked, more tempting. “Unless, of course, you’d rather keep sulking in those cheap knockoffs and pretending everything’s fine.”

My jaw dropped, and I stared at him, heat rising to my face. “Cheap knockoffs?” I hissed, glaring at him. “You arrogant, insufferable—”

---