Page 35 of Nanny's Baby for the Italian Mafia Boss

Me: “Sorry. Got to go. My date is here.”

I send a winky face for good measure. I don’t know why I’m playing with him like that, but it isn’t his business who I’m meeting.

“Hi. How can I help you?” A happy young guy with curly hair and a bright smile asks me.

I love it when people are happy at their job. “I’ll take a caramel latte please.” I debated on getting something to eat, but my stomach is twisted with nerves and anger. I don’t care about Michael anymore, but it’s the betrayal from my best friend that eats away at me.

“Name for the order?”

“Sophie.”

“What a cute name. I love that. It will be right up.”

“Thank you,” I smile, feeling a bit lighter.

I look down at my phone when it vibrates with Matias’s name.

Him: “Sophie, you better not be meeting with a man.”

Me: “*eye roll* I’m not. I’m meeting with an old friend. Her name is Courtney. Not that it’s any of your business.”

Him: “Everything you do is my business. I make it my business.”

Me: “Caveman.”

Him: “You haven’t seen anything yet.”

Me: “And I don’t want to.”

Him: “We’ll see about that.”

I don’t know why, but his last message makes me blush. As much as I despise his threats, I find them just as sexy.

“Sophie!” The barista calls out my drink order.

I snag it and take a quick sip, sighing as the sweet caramel bursts across my tongue. The quick taste gives me a pep in my step, and I choose a back corner booth, away from people for privacy.

“Sophie.”

Her voice turns my stomach, and I look up from my drink to see Courtney. She doesn’t look great. She has no makeup on, which is unlike her. Her hair is up in a ponytail but it’s obvious it hasn’t been brushed. Her eyes are red and have dark circles under them. She looks like she hasn’t slept in days.

She sits down across from me, her bottom lip already trembling as she holds back tears.

I lift my hand, wanting her to stop. “Don’t cry. This isn’t going to be me letting you back into my life because you shed a few tears, Courtney. I’m here so both of us have closure, but the moment I walk out of the café, this friendship is officially done.” My breath catches in my throat as I say that. There’s one side of me that doesn’t want this friendship to end. I loved Courtney as if she were my own sister. I can never trust her again. Not after what she did.

What if… Matias and I start something and he meets Courtney, wanting her instead? I wouldn’t blame him. Even without makeup, Courtney looks like the typical model.

“I know. I know that. Just, please, listen to me. I’m so sorry. Sophie,” she begins to cry, and I have to look down to hide my own tears. “I am so sorry for hurting you. I don’t have a good reason. What I did was horrible. Nothing I say will make you feel better. I just—I needed to see you. I needed to apologize.”

I know the only way for me to move on with my life is if I forgive her. I take another sip of my latte and tap the lid with my finger. “Why?” I ask. “Why did you go behind my back and fuck my boyfriend? I don’t care about him now and I barely did when I was with him, but it’s the principle, Courtney. You don’t sleep with your best friend’s boyfriend.”

“He said you were okay with it. He said he you liked the idea of him and me together.” She blinks up to the ceiling, tears rolling down her cheeks. “I should have known better, but he was so…” She makes a frustrated noise. “He was so charming about it. It was hard not to believe him. He even said you wanted to watch, wanted us to be a throuple.”

“You would have been okay with that?”

“You were my best friend. I figured it was the best of both worlds, honestly. I was stupid. I’m so sorry, Sophie. He even had texts he showed me of a conversation he had with you to prove you were okay with it.”

“He and I never talked about that. Ever.”

---