“So? Can we go out?” Lily asked with that same hopeful smile on her face.
I stopped more than an arm’s length away. “Yes, but we need to get back before dinner.”
That left a little more than two hours.
A hint of disappointment flickered in her eyes but it was gone quickly. “Then let’s go.”
We stepped out of the house and Lily stopped on the sidewalk and tilted her head up with a blissful expression. Sunrays cast her face in a soft glow. “This feels so good,” she said softly.
I know so many things that feel even better.
How would her face look in the throes of passion? It was something I’d probably never find out. I didn’t say anything, only watched her as she soaked in the sun.
She blinked up at me with an embarrassed smile. “Sorry. I’m wasting time. We were supposed to have coffee and not stand on the sidewalk all day.”
“This is about you. If you’d rather stay here and enjoy the sun, we can do that too. I don’t mind.” Not one fucking bit. Watching Lily was something I could do all day.
She shook her head. Her blond hair settled in soft waves on her shoulders and I had to stop myself from reaching out and letting a strand of it glide through my fingers. For some reason I didn’t know, I held out my arm for her. She hooked her arm through mine without hesitation, a grin twisting her lips as she peered up at me. Damn it. I led her down the street. “Do you know a nice café? I’ve been in Chicago plenty of times in the last few years but I’m not that familiar with the culinary scene.”
“Just a ten-minute walk away is a small café with fantastic coffee and delicious cupcakes. We could go there. I usually only order everything to-go but we could sit down, if you want?” There were many things I wanted, and now that I’d seen her in those tight jeans and shirt, most of them involved Lily naked in my bed.
“That sounds good. Lead the way.”
“You know what I like about you? You are so easygoing and relaxed. You seem like the guy next door. Nice and kind.”
“Lily, I’m a Made Man. Don’t make me into a hero that I’m not. I’m not kind or nice.”
“You are to me,” she said lightly. Her blue eyes were far too trusting. She didn’t know the things I’d been thinking about her, most of them hadn’t been nice. I wanted to do so many dirty things to her, she wouldn’t even understand half of them, and that was why I needed to keep my distance. Maybe she looked grown up, but she was still too young, too innocent.
I only smiled. “I’m trying.”
“You’re doing good,” she said teasingly. The sadness and hopelessness were gone from her face for the moment, and that was all the encouragement I needed.
Liliana
Romero smirked. “Thanks.” I could have kissed him then. He looked so handsome and sexy.
“You’re very welcome,” I said. We strolled down the street toward the small café that looked like it belonged on a cobblestone street in Paris and not in Chicago. It was strange walking with a man who wasn’t twice my age like my father’s bodyguards. Only when we stopped at the counter did Romero release my arm, but until then we’d walked close like lovers. How would it feel if it were the truth? If he weren’t just trying to distract me from my sick mother, if we were really a couple?
“Everything okay?” Romero asked in a low voice.
I had been staring. I quickly turned my attention to the girl behind the counter who was waiting for our order. “A cappuccino and a red velvet cupcake,” I said distractedly. It was my standard order and my mind was too frazzled to check the blackboard for the daily specials.
“The same for me,” Romero said and took his wallet out to pay for us both.
“You didn’t have to pay for me,” I whispered when we walked toward a free table near the window.
Romero raised one dark eyebrow. “A woman never pays when she’s with me.”
“Oh?” I said curiously. Romero looked like he already regretted his comment but it was too late. He’d piqued my curiosity. “How many girlfriends have you had?”
It was a very personal question.
Romero chuckled. “That’s not something I’m going to tell you.”
“That means many,” I said with a laugh. The server brought our order, giving Romero time to compose himself. The moment she was out of earshot I said, “I know how things are with our men. You have a lot of women.”
“So you know all of us?” Romero asked. He leaned back in his chair like he didn’t have a care in the world. His white shirt clung to his muscled chest and arms, a very distracting view.
I took a sip from my cappuccino. “Women talk and from what I hear most Made Men don’t say no to the whorehouses of the Outfit. For most of them it’s some kind of hobby to have as many women as possible. I doubt it’s different in New York.”
“Many men do, but not all of them.”
“So you are the exception?” I asked doubtfully. I wanted it to be true, but I was being realistic.
Romero took a bite from his cupcake, obviously considering what to tell me. “I’ve had wild days when I was younger, eighteen or nineteen maybe.”
“And now? Do you have a girlfriend? A fiancée?” I’d always put the thought out of my mind but the way Romero had talked it was a valid option. I sipped at my coffee, glad for the feel of the cup in my hands. It gave me something to focus on.
Romero shook his head with an unreadable look on his face. “No, I’ve had girlfriends in the last few years but it’s difficult to have a steady relationship if work always comes first. I’m a soldier. The Famiglia will always be my top priority. Most women can’t bear it.”
“Most women don’t get asked if they want this life or not. What about an arranged marriage?”
“I don’t like the idea of someone telling me who I should marry.”
“So your family never tried to set you up with someone?”
Romero grinned. I could have jumped over the table and crawled onto his lap. “Of course they have. We’re Italian, it’s in our bloodstream to meddle with our children’s lives.”
“But you never liked any of the girls they suggested?”
“I liked some of them well enough but either they weren’t interested in me or I couldn’t see myself spending the rest of my life with them.”
“And nobody ever tried to force you into marriage?”
Romero’s expression darkened, turned more predatory. “How would they force me?”
I nodded. Yes, how? He was a Made Man, not a stupid girl. “You’re right. You can make your own decisions.”
Romero set down his cup and leaned forward, elbows on the table. “Luca could ask me to marry for political reasons. I probably wouldn’t refuse him.”
“But he wouldn’t do that,” I said.
Romero nodded. “Maybe you’ll get to choose for yourself as well. You might meet the perfect guy soon and he might be worthy in your father’s eyes.”
The perfect guy sat in front of me. It stung that Romero suggested I’d find someone else. Didn’t he realize I had feelings for him? I didn’t want to find some guy my father would approve of. I wanted the man in front of me.