Page 46 of Nanny's Baby for the Italian Mafia Boss

Oh, no.

No, I cannot cry in front of the righthand man of the guy I slept with last night. I really hate authority. It’s why I’ve been determined to be on my own, so I can ignore it for as long as possible.

“Hey, hey, hey, none of that. Hey.” He tilts my chin up with the side of his hand instead of his fingers, and for some reason, it reminds me of how my father would force me to look at him after I had hurt myself by falling off my bike.

Gianni has that quality about him, and it has me trusting him with ease.

“No tears. You have no reason to be afraid of me.”

“Minus you being in the mafia, and probably killed someone this morning.”

He chuffs, lifting a shoulder. “Notthismorning.”

“It’s still early,” I tell him, eyeing the cliffside.

“I’m not going to throw you off a cliff. I’m very proud to see you act so quickly to protect yourself. You should not be sorry for that. You have a mean right hook.” He goes to take my hand, stopping just as he is close. “May I?”

I nod. “You aren’t mad?”

“Mad? No way. You should always protect yourself. You were out here alone, and I came out of nowhere. I shouldn’t have snuck up on you like that. Apologies.” He takes my hand and I hiss, wincing when he presses his thumbs against my reddened knuckles. He tsks. “You need to work on your form. You might have fractured your hand, sprained it, or perhaps it just hurts. But you need to hold your fist like this.” He puts my hand in position, tucking my thumbs over my fingers. “Your thumb probably hurts because you had it tucked inside your fist. You don’t ever want to do that. When you hit your assailant, you could end up breaking your thumb, so always on the outside. And you want to keep your wrist straight. I could give you some pointers, if you’d like.”

I start walking through the woods, holding my wrist has it begins to throb. “Yeah, I think that’s a good idea. Especially, if I’m working for the mafia.”

“Just working?”

I flick my eyes to him, his brows lifting in amusement and curiosity as he wipes the sweat from his face with his shirt. He must have run up here. I’m so embarrassed that I didn’t hear him.

“Oh. I—I mean—I should only be working.” My cheeks heat from being put on the spot. “That’s all there is between me and Matias. It’s just work.”

“Sophie, I’ve been the righthand man and security lead for the Milazzo family for many years. I am profoundly experienced in profiling people. You and Matias crossed the employee/employer work line last night. For a few hours, I might add.”

“Oh my god, you heard? You heard!” I pick up the pace as I walk, trying to get away from Gianni. If he heard, then Ella could have heard.

“Hey, no, no. Nothing like that. Well, not fully. I heard the headboard, that’s all. It was a very light, muffled sound since the walls were so thick. I came to the conclusion myself. Was I wrong?”

I shake my head. “No, you weren’t wrong. It shouldn’t have happened.”

“Why not? You’re both adults.”

“Come on. You know why.”

The house comes into view as we step out of the tree line.

“You need to understand something about Matias.” He stops walking, gently snagging my arm which forces me to come to a complete stop. “I’ve known him for a long time. He is a deep thinker, feels deeply, but he doesn’t wear his heart on his sleeve. If he has a dream in his head, he will make it come true. He doesn’t sleep around. He doesn’t date, Sophie. If he took you to bed, it wasn’t for a night.”

My hope rises like a sea during a storm, rocking my fear as if I’m a boat caught in the waves. “It has to be one night. I can’t lose this job. I need it more than I need him,” I say, the words rancid across my tongue as I speak them.

“Maybe you’ll see that things aren’t so black and white. There are circumstances where situations can be both.”

“I wish I could believe that, but I’ve learned that this world is black and white, Gianni. There’s good and bad. There’s live or die. There’s hate and love. Anything in between is a lie.”

He frowns, his eyes darting over my face in pity. “I’m sorry you had to grow up in a world like that, but you’re missing a lot of color in your life. I promise.”

I check the time, wanting to remove myself from this uncomfortable conversation. “I need to shower and prepare Ella breakfast.”

He nods. “I have to meet Matias in town for a meeting as well. Let me walk you back.”

“He isn’t home?”

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