Page 77 of Mafia Shade's Reluctant Bride
The lump in my throat grew. I looked away, blinking rapidly. “Maybe.”
Another silence, but this one felt different. Warmer. More understanding.
Lorenzo reached out, brushing a stray strand of hair from my face. It was such a simple gesture, but it sent a shiver down my spine.
“Get some rest,” he murmured.
I nodded, closing my eyes, letting his presence wrap around me like a second blanket.
“Lorenzo,” I whispered.
“Yes,” he murmured, his eyes never leaving me.
“Thank you for taking care of me.”
He didn’t respond immediately as if weighing and tasting the words. Then he finally said,
“It is something I will gladly do for the rest of my life,” and suddenly, the flood of emotions I had buried was back to the surface again.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
LORENZO
I meant it when I said it was something I would do for the rest of my life.
I wanted to care for her and show her the kind of affection and care she never got. But when she didn’t respond, I knew it was a sentence that carried a lot. So, I stood up and gave her space, going back to my room.
I didn’t really expect a response from her, considering how I was too much of a coward to respond to her last night when she asked how I saw her.
It wasn’t like I didn’t have an epistle written down somewhere in my memory of exactly how I felt about her. It just felt wrong. Not when I still keep a lot of secrets from her.
I knocked once before stepping into Maria’s room. The last time I’d seen her, she was wrapped in a blanket, looking like a sickly burrito, barely able to lift her head without groaning. Now, she was sitting on the edge of the bed, scrolling through her phone like she hadn’t spent the last twenty-four hours cursing existence.
“Well, look who decided to rejoin the land of the living.”
Maria stretched her arms above her head, her shirt riding up slightly. “And look who’s still babysitting me like I’m fragile.”
“Considering you looked like death this morning, I’d say I’m justified.” I crossed my arms, taking in her slightly flushed cheeks. At least this time, it wasn’t from a fever.
She scoffed, pulling the blanket tighter around her. “You act like I was on my deathbed. I’ve survived worse.”
“Yeah?” I leaned against the doorframe. “Like what?”
She tapped a finger against her chin, pretending to think. “Remember when I broke my toe trying to kick you?”
My lips twitched. “You mean when you attempted to roundhouse kick me and missed so badly that you kicked the wall instead?”
Her face scrunched up. “It was a miscalculation.”
“It was an act of self-sabotage.”
“Whatever.” She waved a hand dismissively, then pointed at me. “Also, let’s not forget the time I got food poisoning after you dared me to eat that expired yogurt.”
I smirked. “To be fair, you’re the one who kept saying, ‘Expiration dates are a scam.’”
“And to be fair, you could’ve stopped me.”
“I could have,” I admitted, stepping closer. “But then, I wouldn’t have gotten to watch you dramatically lay on the bathroom floor for three hours, lamenting your life choices.”
