Page 108 of Made to Sin

I can promise you the fucking worldI wanted to scream.

Instead, the words were lodged in my chest.

She looked at me with so much hope, I couldn’t say it until I meant it. I couldn’t let her down for the second time. And, like father like son, I didn’t know if I could live up to those words yet.

Her face faltered. “That’s why we wouldn’t work.”

“Okay,” I accepted.

Contempt leaked through my veins for every movement, but I stood and walked out of her room. There wasn’t anything else to say that would alleviate the situation. At best, we don’t get into a heated argument. At worst, I confess my deep-seated obsession with her. It was too soon, and, from her plain evasion, I needed to be patient.

This was the long game.

If she needed to play into our façade a little longer, I would oblige. If she wanted me to propose to her tomorrow, I would oblige. Whatever she was willing to give, I was going to take.

But one thing was for sure: she wasmine.

Because wretchedly, I washers.

ITWASAGLOOMYSUNDAY, the air chilling and the wind unforgiving. Though I stood inside, I shivered as I stared at the frost building on the large window ledge.

“Good morning,” I casually greeted a stoic Luciano.

“Morning.”

We never spoke about our talk the other day, leaving whatever was unsaid to remain silent. But at least now, I didn’t have to worry about avoiding him anymore.

When I found out the whole Sofia drama was a miscommunication, I wanted to go back to the way we were before I misheard them. But maybe it was a good thing the scenes unfolded the way they did because when I gave him the opening to fight for me, he didn’t. He couldn’t.

From his actions, I knew Luciano felt something for me too, but if he wasn’t willing to admit it, I couldn’t keep playing pretend. It gutted me, but I couldn’t trust a Made Man, not one that embodied theCosa Nostraas much as he did.

Aside from the lack of any real conversation between us, he continued to treat me amazingly. For example, one night after work, he surprised me by buying me all the books I mentioned I wanted to read. Let’s just say, my TBR list was slightly out ofhand. I could read three books every day for three months and wouldn’t be done with the stacks he purchased. I tried to make him return it, but he called it an employee bonus.

I doubted any boss was that generous with their bonuses, but time and time again, he proved arguing with him was useless. From that moment on, I made a mental note to not make any jokes around him because he would take them literally.

If only that was it, but it was barely the beginning. As he grew sweeter, my heart grew more confused.

I blinked back to the present as the coffee machine whirled to life, grinding the espresso beans inside. The kitchen smelled like an old coffeehouse, warming my body more than the hot chocolate I was holding.

Despite dressing in his high-thread-counted suits every morning, Luciano had been working from home more often since the weather made it difficult to drive to the club. I thought it would be awkward, but, as always, he proved to be nonchalant about the whole situation.

I followed the lead.

“What time did you wake up today?” I asked, concerned at the pitch-black liquid he was pouring into his cup.

“Four a.m.”

“Why so early?”

“You ask questions about everything?”

I pursed my lips. “Yes. It’s called being curious.”

“Like I said before, sweetheart, curiosity killed the cat.”

A lingering, flaming spark ran up the crevices of my spine. It had been a while since he called me “sweetheart,” and the foreignness brought the naive emotions back. My knees wanted to fold in as I allowed myself to melt into the gravelly rasp of his voice.

“Just entertain me,” I breathed.

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