Page 28 of Mafia Doctor's Secret Baby

Because of what he’s involved in, there was a part of me that felt as though I could never really connect with him—as though he would just be too far removed from everything I have experienced for me to make sense of who he really is as a person. But hearing the passion in his voice, I can see a little of myself there, a little of the girl who got involved in politics in the first place because she couldn’t stand to see the way the world was starting to go.

He lifts his coffee to his lips, and takes a long sip.

“I have work to get to,” he remarks, slightly gruff, as though he’s not used to showing that kind of emotion. “But I can come back afterward, if you want. Or send my brother to?—”

“It’s fine,” I assure him swiftly. “I’m going to be okay. I just…I just needed you last night, that was all.”

He eyes me for a long moment, and I can tell he has his doubts—but he thinks better of arguing with me on it, and goes to get dressed and leave.

And as he stands in the door, there is a part of me that wants to ask him to stay. But I know that we have already spilled more than we might have intended to with each other over the course of the last twelve hours. Maybe it’s in our best interests to take some time to cool down after everything that’s happened.

“I’ll see you soon, Katie,” he tells me. It sounds like a promise.

“See you soon, Luca.”

And with that, he leaves, and I watch him vanish down the stairs—feeling a tug in my chest with every step he takes.

And wondering just how long it will be before we can be together again.

12

LUCA

I sitin my car opposite her building, wondering if this is the right move.

Because Katie hasn’t asked me to come around tonight. She hasn’t reached out to me at all, actually, since the evening we spent together last week. Which is good news, because it means nothing has happened to cause her any worry, but that doesn’t mean I’m not missing her presence—nor does it mean I’m willing to waste my time here without seeing her and Polly.

Finally, I grab the takeout pizza boxes from the back of the car, open the door, and step out onto the road. I haven’t gone to all this effort just to chicken out now. I want to see her, to speak to her, to show her that I really want to get to know her and Polly.

I don’t know how she’s going to react, so I figured I would soften the blow with pizza, grabbing some takeout from one of the nicest places near me before I drove down to see her. I hover my finger over the button to her apartment, and then press on it, shifting back on my heels as I wait for a response.

Nobody has any idea I’m here. Particularly Emil, who I lied to outright about what I’m doing tonight. He invited me over for a couple of drinks, and perhaps to check in on the whole situation with Katie, but I declined, telling him that I had to work. He believed me—and I suppose he has no reason to doubt me, unless he turns up at my office looking to get a broken arm treated or something.

He’d tell me this was a stupid fucking idea, because it probably is. I shouldn’t be here, and I know it. I promised myself that I would let her do this on her own terms, and yet here I am, standing outside her apartment, ready to invite myself up with dinner for the two of us.

She answers the buzzer after a few moments, and her voice is a little nervy—it might just be the heavy static, but I’m sure I can sense a note of unease in there.

“Hello?”

“Katie, it’s me, Luca,” I reply. “I wanted to stop by on my way back from work.”

I try to make it sound as casual as possible—there’s no way I want her to find out that I have been planning this all day. I don’t want to scare her off. She’s probably already wondering what has gone down to require my sudden presence here, and when I reach the door, she has her arms crossed nervously over her chest.

But she softens as soon as she sees the boxes in my hands.

“What’s this?” she asks. “It smells amazing…”

“I wanted to bring you some dinner,” I reply. “Check in on how you and Polly are doing.”

She gazes up at me for a moment—and in that instant of silence, I’m worried that she’s going to tell me to turn around and walk my ass out of here. And to leave the pizza too, if that look on her face was anything to go by.

“Yeah,” she murmurs. “That would be great. I just got done feeding Polly, I was changing her when you buzzed up…”

“You finish that up,” I reply. “And I’ll get some plates out.”

“Oh, you’re really making yourself at home, huh?” she teases as I step inside.

I flash her a grin. “And you’re not stopping me.”

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