She nodded before cocking her head to the side. “I thought people from Texas didn’t like to be anywhere else.”
“That’s usually true, but I can’t go back.”
Concern filled her eyes. “Are you in trouble?” she asked quietly.
I grinned. “Always.” Her shoulders relaxed and she tucked a leg under her, mirroring my position. “Don’t tell me you’d already miss me if I was gone?”
“I have a feeling I wouldn’t be the only one,” she said under her breath.
“Do you and Daniel live together?” I hadn’t quite figured out their relationship yet. What the hell? Might as well find out what I could.
“I’m in the apartment below his.”
“Is that how y’all know each other?”
A shadow crossed her face, and I regretted the question. “No.” Her eyes met mine. “He saved my life.”
My brows shot to my hair line. I shoved another bite of sandwich into my mouth because I didn’t know what to say to that. A million questions zipped through my brain, but I didn’t give voice to any of them. Muriella would tell me what she wanted me to know in her own time.
“My father won’t speak to me,” I finally said after eating in silence for a few minutes. “That’s one reason I won’t go back.”
“That’s not always a bad thing.”
The woman constantly said the unexpected. Where I came from, I was expected to do what my parents wanted with a smile on my face. Damn sure wasn’t supposed to make a stink about it. But I wasn’t going to apologize when it was my daddy who was in the wrong.
“You ever been married?” I asked, changing the subject.
Her posture went rigid, and her hands froze halfway to her mouth. “No,” she said softly. Sadness flashed in her eyes.
“Me neither.” I cocked my head to the side. “Would your parents ever try to force you into a marriage you didn’t want?”
“My father absolutely would.”
Damn. She’d gotten me again with her answers. I shrugged. “Then maybe I overreacted when mine did,” I muttered.
“You should never, ever, let anyone else control your life,” she said with a vehemence that told me I was getting into tricky territory.
I set aside my empty plate and edged closer to her. It was time for a little girl talk. “Now tell me everything I need to know about Daniel.”
She laughed, and though I liked that it felt like I could talk to Muriella about anything, I was glad to be back on safer ground.
“Just keep doing what you’re doing.”
I threw my hands up. “That was a big help.”
Her smile broadened. “How about chocolate chip cookies? Would those help?”
I clutched my chest. “M, you really know how to get to a girl.” I fluttered my lashes and she swatted at my knee. “I mean it. You wooed me on the first date.”
“Did I say I had cookies? This cold weather must be getting to me,” she said innocently.
“Hand over the goods, sister.” I held out my hand, and she passed me a cookie. “They’re still warm,” I said in awe.
She gave me a smug look. “You’re really impressed now.”
“No doubt.” I grabbed her hand and examined her fingers before I held up mine. “Nice nail polish.”
“Should I be afraid that we think alike?” She mock-shuddered, and I swiped a piece of her cookie. “Hey!”
I broke off some of my own and gave it to her. “So when are we doing this again?”
“Tomorrow works for me.”
ON DECEMBER FOURTEENTH, a Friday after work, Daniel was waiting for me outside the office, already shrugging out of his cash‐ mere coat when I pushed out into the falling snow. I accepted it with only a little protest, all for effect. I loved the way he smelled, and every time that coat was wrapped around me, it was a gift I wasn’t going to reject. Before we started for the subway station, I changed into my ballet shoes, which were horrible on the wet sidewalks. It was the next step in our routine when he met me after work. Daniel still held his breath every time I leaned on him for balance. I hadn’t decided which part I liked better—being surrounded by his scent or taking his breath away.
“I’d rather Muriella were here, but I guess you’ll do. At least you’re good for a coat,” I said, tucking my hand in the crook of his arm to keep it warm.
“I’m glad to know I’m useful for something,” he muttered dryly. He hadn’t mentioned my lack of a jacket again, which I appreciated. I’d been saving for one, but my money didn’t go very far. “Muriella would be pleased to hear you prefer her company to mine, but I suspect she probably already knows.”
“You sound jealous, Mr. Elliott.”
“Please and jealous. Two words I don’t do.” We descended the stairs into the subway at a leisurely pace, oblivious to the people flowing around us on both sides.
“You’ve broadened your vocabulary to include please,” I corrected him. He cast a side-eye, and I flashed him a mischievous grin as I broke free to pass through the turnstile, today without protest from the machine. He offered his arm to me once we were clear, and I took it as we fell back in step together. “How many compliments did I get this week?”
“For what?” he asked warily.
“Your improved courting skills. I bet the women you’ve taken out are impressed.”
“None.”
I stopped walking, earning a few curses from people behind me, and put my hands on my hips. “You’re kidding. I thought we were making baby steps toward improving your lady skills.”
“I’m not trying to improve my—how did you put it?—‘lady skills.’” He began to walk again. I didn’t follow him immediately, waiting for him to notice I wasn’t beside him. It didn’t take long. He turned his head, gave me a look to get my ass in gear, to which I rolled my eyes and shook my head. He mouthed, Please, eyes glittering, and I closed the gap between us.
“See how easy it is to get what you want?”
It was his turn to roll his eyes. “At the risk of inflating your already large ego, you are the only person I will ever utter that word to.” Something inside of me puffed up, and I bit my lip so I didn’t let my grin show.
“A wise choice, sir,” I returned, pulling him along so we’d make my train.
It was standing room only, so I grasped a loop hanging from the metal bar, wobbling when the car started to move. Daniel put his arm around my waist to steady me. It was a reflex. His natural instinct was to protect me. “I don’t need you.”
“I’m well aware of that fact.” There was a lightness in his tone I liked. It had been nearly two months since the charity event, and he kept trying, hadn’t given up on me. Something was changing between us. He proved day by day that he wasn’t above earning my time instead of expecting it.
“Why are you riding the subway when you could be chauffeured around the city?”
“Because you’re on the subway, and glutton for punishment that I am, I find I enjoy your company.”
“Of course you do,” I said as if he’d stated the obvious. Inside, however, everything started to tingle. He snorted and discreetly pulled me closer. As if he were commanding the train, it came to an abrupt stop, and I stumbled, bumping into his muscular frame. People moved around us, but we just stood there, staring at one another.
“Are you going to cut me some slack?” he asked.
“What do you think?” “Probably not.”
“Probably right.” I furrowed my brow. “For what exactly am I supposed to cut you slack?”
“What I’m about to say.” He radiated confidence, his mesmerizing eyes drawing me in, and I saw something in them I never expected, something I imagined was rare. Excitement.
“I’m listening.” “You were right.” “So far so good.”
“Don’t you want to know what about?”
I leaned closer. “Absolutely, but I’m not going to beg.” Our eyes battled, and I felt he could see through me all the way to my inner‐ most core
.
He let that opening slide. “A woman worth spending time with doesn’t fall at your feet right away. She demands attention but doesn’t need it. Makes you earn her respect and in turn earns yours.” My heart pounded in my ears as he spoke. “It’s wanting to know the little things about her—that she tucks her hair behind her ear when I say something she likes, and one side of her mouth turns down when I say something she doesn’t. That she gives not for what she will receive, but simply because it’s the desire of her heart to do for others.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. He got me. Understood exactly what I wanted and was giving it to me. I held my breath as he continued.
“It’s knowing how much she loves her old ballet slippers, and how much sweeter that will make it when I finally take them off.” He paused, and I dug my nails into my palms at the implication.
“Knowing she’s determined and stubborn and won’t do anything she doesn’t want to, it’ll mean so much more when she says yes. It will be an affirmation that she finds me worthy.” He tugged me closer, erasing what little distance was left between us. “I never gave a damn about any of this with anyone before. But with you, Vivian, every time I find out something new about you, I want to know more.” I looked up at him silently, afraid to say anything that might break the spell he’d cast over the space we occupied. “I’d like to spend the day with you tomorrow. The entire day, with no expectations beyond the plea‐ sure of your company and seeing how many times I can get you to do this.” He tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, and my heart skipped a beat…or twelve. “Please.”
I fixed a smug look on my face to hide the fact that I was spinning. “You almost blew it, Princess.” I dug my index finger into his chest. “You saved yourself at the last second.”
“So is that a yes?” “That is a yes.”
Chapter 13
DANIEL
* * *
Present
* * *
“IT’S BEEN A LONG TIME.”
I cringed inwardly at the voice I’d never forget no matter how much time elapsed.
“Not long enough,” I said, full well meaning it.
Cold laughter echoed through the warehouse. “You look just like your old man.” There were few things he could say that were more insulting. “Must have gotten your smarts from your mother.”
“What do you want, Angelone?” I widened my stance as he made a broad circle, looking around into the dark shadows.
“Interesting choice of meeting place,” he commented when he stopped. The look he gave me was pointed. He knew why I’d bought the warehouse, understood my need for power over the past.
“Figured you were familiar with it.”
His lip curled up. “We’re on your turf now, huh?” I was still a scared shitless kid in his eyes and he the big, bad don. He was wrong. I wasn’t even close to the same boy that had stood before him all those years ago.
“Get to the point,” I prompted, itching to do something as he paced.
“Don’t believe I’m here to catch up with my property?”
“I belong to no one,” I grated out, the familiar flicker of my temper igniting.
Angelone tapped his index finger to his lips. Time had been kind to him. He hadn’t aged all that much from the last time I’d seen him nearly thirty years ago. The air of authority still swirled around him. Only this time, I wasn’t afraid of anything he could do to me.
“Hmm. I believe you do, Elliott. You traded one life of servitude with me for another with Salvatore. That motherfucker has you by the balls.”
I clenched my fists at my sides, which only made Angelone grin. “And if it isn’t Salvatore, then that pretty little girl—what’s her name?
Ah, Vivian. It’s Vivian, isn’t it?” I took a step forward, and his smile only broadened. He was goading me. I knew it. Yet it took every bit of my restraint not to tackle the fucker. “She is a lovely piece,” he mused.
I wanted to bash his skull on the concrete floor until he never had another thought about her again. Instead, I ground my teeth and waited impatiently for him to get to the fucking point.
“You owe me.”
“I owe you nothing,” I scoffed.
“Because of you and Salvatore, I spent six years up the river.”
Jesus Christ, he sounded like a poor man's Don Corleone. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said to him, trying not to laugh in his face. I looked down at my suit, examined the lapels of my jacket. “Last I checked, I’m no fed. So I’d say there’s no way that I had anything to do with your trip to prison.” I shrugged. “Maybe you should have tried to be more law abiding.”
His jaw worked as he tried to tamp down his own temper. At least I had an effect on him too. “I want something.”
“Don’t we all?”
He glared, and I shoved my hands into my pockets. “You’ll get it for me.”
“That’s a pretty big assumption.” I feigned disinterest. Even started toward the door.
“Your father was a stupid man. A stupid, stupid man.”
I stopped, my brows dipped as I stared at Angelone. “I won’t argue with that.”
“What he did to you got him killed.”
The hairs on my neck stood at attention. “He killed himself.”
The look was unimpressed, as if disappointed in my naiveté. He lifted a shoulder. “Whatever you say.”
He knew something. I wasn’t going to give him any more information, if that’s what he wanted.
“I think we’re done here.” I spun on my heel, but only made it two steps before he spoke.
“The jaune.”
Unease slithered through me even as I kept a neutral expression on my face. Donato and I had a buyer looking for the largest known canary diamond, the existence of which was only a rumor to most people. But I knew it was real, and where it was. How Angelone was aware we were negotiating to purchase it had my hackles up. And more than that, how did he know our code word for it?
“I have no idea what you mean.” I feigned ignorance while my insides were churning with possibility. Did we have a rat? Or was the owner of the diamond playing me?
He tilted his head to the side, face awash with disappointment. “Don’t play stupid with me, son. That’s straight out of your old man’s book.”
My lip curled up in disgust. These insults were beneath me, yet they dug deep. I tried to let them bounce off, but he’d struck a nerve.
“You’ve wasted both of our time.” I resumed my trek toward the door.
Angelone placed a hand on my chest to stop me. I looked down at it and rose a brow in an are you sure you want to go this route gesture.
“You. Owe. Me,” he reiterated.
I sniffed. “No. I don’t.”
“I want in on that diamond. I know you know where it is.”
“It makes no difference to me what you think you know. Now get out of my warehouse.”
“You will let me in on this deal,” he said, steel in his voice. “If there were a deal, I absolutely wouldn’t.”
“I’ll be reasonable. I’ll only take half.” He glossed over my words as if I hadn’t spoken.
My lip curved up in an insincere smile. “Enjoy your half of nothing.”
I shoved past him, was nearly to the door when he spoke. “How about Donato? Is he nothing?”
I stopped. “Next time you want something from me, play a better hand to get it.” I pretended as if Donato didn’t factor into anything. We both knew he did. I hated being backed into a corner, but if he continued down this path, it would be a tricky one to get out of.
“There are many, many ways to make him suffer.” His stare penetrated and spoke of something he hadn’t voiced. “But if you work with me, I can make his situation go away.”
“If you wanted to make him suffer, you’d have done it a long time ago.” There had been skirmishes over the years between the Salvatores and Angelones, but overall, they had remained remarkably civil.
If either of them had wanted to get rid of the other, it could have been done a thousand times over. They weren’t allies, but they benefited from each other’s existence. Donato didn’t want a war, and I didn’t believe Angelone did either.
“Very true, but I’ve refrained. Now I see no reason to.” His finger slid across his lower lip. “But maybe ensuring Donato’s well-being isn’t the right incentive for you. Maybe I should focus on Vivian and that other stunning woman who lives with you.”
The way he spoke of them made me lunge for him. I grabbed the lapels of his jacket and shook. He grinned. I’d shown him my weak‐ ness. The number one rule, and I’d broken it.
“It would be a shame to mar either of those pretty faces, but—” He shrugged, and I struggled not to kill him with my bare hands.
“Do not threaten my family.” I shoved him and took slight satisfaction when he stumbled.
“Let me in on the deal, and I’ll owe you.”
That gave me pause. I could do with a man like Angelone owing me a favor. He didn’t hand those out easily. But I was trying to get out of this world. Somehow, I kept getting in deeper.
Besides, didn’t he want in to settle the debt he believed I owed him? This reeked to high heaven. There was only one possible response.
“Fuck you.”
* * *
I STALKED out to my car and cursed under my breath. I had a prob‐ lem. A fucking whale of one.
Chapter 14
VIVIAN
* * *
Present
* * *
“THEY’RE SO FULL OF ENERGY.”
Kindergarteners buzzed around the playground at Saint Pius while Muriella and I ate our lunch.
“That’s why I like being around them so much.” She gazed over them with a bittersweet smile, longing in her eyes.
“I thought it was to get away from me,” I teased, desperate to do anything to take that look off her face.
She threw a baby carrot at me. “Was I that obvious?”
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