Page 29 of The Mobster's Nanny

“I don’t think you’ve ever told me about him.” I hold out the photo for her to take and catch her gaze—but even in the spare moment that I hold it, I catch a note of something grim and almost hostile. Goddamnit. Did I bring up something really bad?

“I don’t talk about him a lot,” Liss says in a somewhat lighter tone, finally gaining some of her usual colors, and turns around to the hallway. “I haven’t seen him since I was a teen. Cookies?”

“Sure.”

I’m not sure what to make of Liss’s sudden change of mood, so I just follow her lead and pretend like nothing has happened. I mean, it’s true,nothinghas happened—yet it feels like something in Liss has changed completely in those few seconds that it took her to look at the photo.

While we share the coffee, I keep catching Liss spacing out or looking away from me all of a sudden, her hands avoiding my touches. Her smiles don’t feel genuine, and her frown grows deeper whenever she thinks I’m not looking at her. It looks like she used to be very close with her brother, even if she tries very hard to pretend like the photo hasn’t affected her, but I don’t want to ask any more questions and disturb her memories that clearly hurt.

When Liss “accidentally” steps away when I reach out to hug her, it’s a clear sign that she needs some time alone, so I decide not to push it. I’ve never seen her so deep in her own thoughts, and I don’t want to make it worse. Besides, I do have to pick up Romeo—Riccardo has already texted me twice.

“Well, I’ll see you on Monday.” I turn to Liss in the doorway and, ignoring her tension, catch her hand to hold it in mine. She glances into my eyes then and smiles, but I still see the same invisible wall that doesn’t let me see her true emotions.

“Yeah, sure. Tell Romeo I said hi.”

I nod and move to leave—but no, I don’t want this to feel like a one-night stand.

No matter where her mind is, I want her to know that last night was important to me, so I turn back to her and move forward to catch her lips in a kiss. I can feel her freeze immediately, but I don’t pull away and kiss her again and again until she finally kisses me back and her hand relaxes in my hold.

“I know we just had our first date,” I murmur, pulling back just enough to look her in the eyes—and my heart swells with affection when I see a genuine smile on her face. “But I want to ask you for another one.”

Liss raises her eyebrows with a chuckle, finally looking more like herself. “Already?”

“What can I say, I can’t get enough of you.”

“Oh, you are so—” She doesn’t finish it and only swats my shoulder, shaking her head with fake exasperation. But I hear a giggle on her lips, and when she looks up at me again, I see a glint of mirth in her eyes. “I guess I don’t have a choice now, huh?”

I shrug with a theatrical sigh. “No, you don’t.”

Liss chuckles again, looking as beautiful as ever, and before I can think about it, I pull her into my arms and hold her closer to my chest. I can’t tell why it was so important for me to see her smile again before leaving, but my heart feels at peace now. We’re good. Everything’s good.

I press a kiss to her hair and murmur, “I adore you, Melissa.”

I don’t even have to look at her to know she’s scrunching her nose at the name before she breathes out and leans into my embrace a little more. And when I finally leave Liss there and take the elevator down to the parking lot, I still feel her warmth in my arms—and I can’t wait until I get to hold her again.

Chapter 10 - Liss

Damn it. My whole plan has gone completely down the drain—what am I supposed to do now? How am I supposed to explain the whole thing with Matteo to Giovanni?

I sigh and close my eyes for a moment, leaning on the kitchen counter. How can I explain it to anyone if I don’t understand it myself?

Okay, when I didn’t poison Matteo due to my own conflicted feelings, I kind of had an excuse. I didn’t have a lot of time to think, so I followed my instincts rather than my rational plan. But it’s been almost a week since we had sex in my apartment—a week full of flirting, secret kisses, and him sneaking into my bedroom in the middle of the night.

I’m closer than ever to Matteo, so why can’t I do something about it?

The response comes with the sound of a message, and I blink my eyes open and reach for my phone. Another message from Giovanni. Shit. He already texted me this morning asking if the task is done, and I really don’t want to admit that things went in the complete opposite direction. But I have no choice—I need the Mexicans’ help, so I have to communicate properly.

Don’t make us wait.

Damn it. His message doesn’t look very positive, and I don’t even want to think about pissing him off, but…yeah, the sooner I admit to my failure, the better.

The plan fell through. He didn’t drink it.

I need more time.

I send the messages and stare at the screen, chewing my lip and scratching the side of my phone. The message is delivered—and a few seconds later, I see Giovanni typing a response. It can’t be anything bad, right? They need me just as much as I need them, so he can’t just…threaten to kill me or something, right?

Did you waste the poison?

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