Page 30 of Boss Me Around

“My pleasure, princess,” I murmur, lifting a hand as she waves and moves toward the front door, a big smile on her face.

And that’s what I’ll focus on for the next few weeks—keeping that smile on her face and enjoying every stolen moment together. I’ll worry about how much it’s going to hurt to say goodbye later, when Bella and I are far away in Minneapolis, and no one can see me moping over the one who got away.

Chapter Thirteen

STARLING

The next morning, I wake from a dream featuring Christian, his motorcycle, and some kinky side-of-road sex, the grin on my face so wide it hurts a little.

“I did it, guys,” I tell the animals, who are back in bed with me again, making me wonder if I’ll be able to get Kyle back on the floor in his bed when we return home tonight. “I am now a fully-fledged sex goddess with a well-fucked vagina.”

Keanu gargles thumbtacks deep in his throat—Barrett should get that growl checked by the vet again, it sounds like it’s getting worse—and Kyle emits an outraged gobble.

“Too bad,” I say, lifting my arms over my head for a luxurious, full-body stretch. “I don’t care if you don’t like that kind of talk. I’m going to say ‘vagina’ as much as I want and have as much sex as I want and not think about how sad I’m going to be when Christian takes his cock away. Like my mama always said—don’t ruin the present with worry about the future. Now, who wants breakfast?”

Kyle hits me in the face with his wing in his haste to get to the door and Keanu leaps off the edge of the bed with a flourish of his hairless tail. They might not like my sex talk, but my excitement for the day ahead is clearly contagious.

By eight-thirty, they’ve already had breakfast and are chasing each other around the yard, making such a ruckus, I’m not surprised when Nora’s head appears over the side of the fence.

“Morning,” I say, lifting my coffee her way from my spot on the back porch. “Sorry, are they being too loud? Did they wake you?”

“Oh no, I’ve been up for a while,” she says. “But they let me know that you were up. Can I come over for a quick second? I have something I want to show you.”

“Totally,” I say, standing. “Meet me in the kitchen, I’ll grab you a cup of coffee.”

I head inside, but Nora’s so quick I barely have time to fetch a mug from the cabinet before she’s joined me by the sink. As usual, she looks flawless, her hair falling in perfect glossy waves and her outfit quirkily adorable. Today, she’s wearing what looks like a vintage long-sleeved miniskirt dress with a swirling pattern of fall colors paired with knee-high brown boots. I, meanwhile, am still in my pajamas and haven’t gotten around to googling a dry cleaner who takes costume pieces.

“I’m going to get the princess dress dry-cleaned, by the way,” I say as I pour her a mug of coffee from the French press. “I’ll take it in on Monday and hopefully have it back to you by Friday.”

“Oh, you don’t have to, I can wash it by hand, I have a method,” she says. “I’ll just take it with me when I go.”

“No, I insist,” I say. “I got it all dusty at the fair and I like to clean up my own messes.”

I also tossed it on the floor last night in a fit of passion, and have plans to wear it again tonight, but I’m not going to tell her about that part. I’d love to chat with someone about last night, but I know how easily gossip can spread in this town. Mine and Christian’s best chance of keeping our steamy liaisons a secret from our families is keeping them a secret from everyone else while we’re at it.

“Well, thank you,” she says. “I recommend Mancini’s. They do a great job with larger items and always have a coupon code for a discount on their website.” She pulls in a breath and releases it through pursed lips. “Now, I need to ask you something important.”

“Okay.” I lean back against the counter, refreshed coffee in hand. “What’s on your mind?”

“Is there a chance, no matter how small, that Matty might be involved in something shady?”

“Shady,” I repeat. “Like what?”

“Like…connections to the mob type of shady?” she asks, hurrying on as my jaw drops. “I know, I’m probably crazy, but on my way home last night, I saw his SUV parked behind The Cupcake Factory. He was just sitting there, staring at the back door, like he was waiting for someone to come out and talk even though it was already closed for the night.”

I shake my head. “And?”

“The Cupcake Factory is a mob cover business,” Nora says, like she’s stating the sky is blue or Kyle is the most adorable pet turkey ever.

Like it’s something I should have already known and taken for granted.

“What?” I squeak. “Since when? I thought Cassie Ann Sweetwater owned that place. Isn’t she like…a gazillion years old?”

“She is,” Nora confirms. “And she has connections to the mob going back at least three generations. From what I’ve heard from Gram, Cassie’s taken things in a gentler direction since she came to power—they mostly traffic in stolen designer goods these days, not stolen people or drugs—but a mob boss is still a mob boss and not someone Matty should be getting involved with. Seeing him there, with a hat and glasses on even though it was nearly dark…it made my trouble senses tingle.”

“Huh.” I chew on that for a moment while I take a swallow of my coffee. “I honestly have no idea, but I could feel Christian out about it at work tomorrow. I know he’s been worried about Matty for various reasons, but I didn’t get the feeling it was about anything that serious. I thought Chris was just worried about him racing cars and planning to live in a van while he travels South America for a few years.”

Nora’s brow furrows. “He’s going to South America? For years?”

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