Page 86 of Debt to the Mafia King
The only thing that stopped me was the thought of someone walking in on us. Falling asleep on the sofa was a bad idea. I should have carried her up to bed.
Hell, there were a lot of things I should have done. Looking back I would have changed a lot of things in our relationship, but most of all I wished I’d had the guts to say it back becauseout of everything I had put her through, I was sure not saying it back to her was the thing that hurt her the most.
“Boss?” Ivan’s voice spoke from the other side of the closed door. He didn’t knock. He was good like that. “You awake?”
Sighing, I pulled on my pants and opened the door a crack. “You look like shit. How’s the head?” I said in a way of a greeting, and the other man grinned at me.
“I feel worse,” he admitted. “But I wanted to know if you needed anything before I went to bed?”
My eyebrows shot up. “You haven’t been to bed yet?”
He shrugged. “Not yet, soon though, unless you and Leah need me for something desperately.”
“She’s still asleep.” I couldn’t help it. I glanced behind me, letting my eyes fall on her sleeping form. I sighed happily. “I don’t want to wake her yet. She’s had a rough twenty-four hours. My father asked her to spy on us.”
“Makes sense. I’m pretty sure Manda is working with someone. Maybe she’s in cahoots with your dad. Otherwise, I have no idea how she got a staff key.”
I didn’t know either. All of my staff were loyal to me. They wouldn’t betray me, and none of them liked Manda. It was a mystery, but one I would get to the bottom of soon.
“And what did Leah say?”
“She told him to shove his five million where the sun don’t shine,” I chuckled. Ok, so I was paraphrasing, but hey.
Ivan nodded once. “Yeah, that makes even more sense.”
“What do you mean?”
“Jesus, Viktor, are you blind? She’s crazy about you. A woman would have to be in love with you to put up with your crap.” He patted me on the shoulder like he was congratulating me for something. “It’s good you’ve found your person, Viktor. You needed to, and Leah is perfect.”
I fell silent.
And he read my thoughts instantly. “You haven’t told her how you feel, have you?”
“I don’t even know what it is I’m feeling, Ivan. It’s not like I’ve been in this situation before.” The last person I had told I loved them had been my mom, and she had left me. Since then, I had closed myself off. Over thirty years of being an emotional mute.
Lots of people had Daddy issues.
Mine were Mmmy issues, and it had taken meeting Leah to make me realize it.
“And when she said it, I just froze. Well, the first time we were wrapped in each other, but the other time? Shit.”
Ivan looked at me like I had grown another head. “She said she loved you, and you didn’t reply to her? Twice?” His eyebrows disappeared into his hairline.
“What was I supposed to say?” This was all new to me. “What would you have said?”
“If I loved her back, I would have told her. If I weren’t there yet, I would have said something to keep her in my life if I wanted her there. What I wouldn’t have done would be risk losing her by saying nothing.”
My eyes flashed. “You think I’m going to lose her?”
I’d already lost her so many times already. The thought of going through that again was enough to make me feel sick.
“I think a woman as sweet and beautiful as Leah deserves to have someone worship her.”
“I do worship her,” I snapped.
“Then tell her how you feel, Viktor. If you want her to love you and stay with you, and I can see that you do, then you have to be honest and tell her how you feel.” Again, he clapped me on the shoulder. “Good morning, Leah,” he called out over my shoulder before he turned his attention back to me. “Good luck, boss.”
“What was that about?” Leah asked as I closed the door and leaned against it, banging my head against the wood softly.
