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I’m in. Just let me know where.
“I don’t like this,” Fabio says, handing me back my phone.
“Agreed; you have no fucking boundaries,” I say crossly.
It’s his turn to huff. “This Inferno situation; I don’t like it.”
“Look, I haven’t liked any of this from the start, but these are the cards I’ve been dealt. I’ll go to the party, and hopefully that’ll be the end of my involvement in this little game between the family and John Davis.”
“We’ll talk about this later,” he tells me. “Hang at the house as long as you’d like. You have clean clothes in the closet.”
“Thanks.”
“And we’ll talk about us later,” he says.
“I haven’t decided if there’s an us,” I warn him.
“Rule 4: patience is king.”
“I should have never taught you the rules,” I grumble.
He flashes his dimples, stealing a kiss before we return to the kitchen.
I help Iris wash her sticky donut fingers. “Bye,” I give her a hug and kiss. “Give Lucky a big hug for me.”
“I will.”
“Uncle Fabio, make sure you let Iris listen to all her favorite music,” I tell him.
“Thank you, Aunt Kat,” Fabio says with murder in his eyes, and I snicker.
Kat
The gambling hall is buzzing tonight, and I’m trying my best to stay focused; trying and failing. I keep looking around for Fabio, but he doesn’t make an appearance. I know he dropped Iris off, because her mom texted me thank you for babysitting. Maybe Fabio got caught up with work in Newark afterward?
Frustrated that I’m completely unfocused on my job, I walk to my office and unlock the door, needing a break. Flipping on the light, I stop in my tracks: my office is an explosion of purple chrysanthemums. Vases on the floor. Vases on my desk. Vases mounted on the walls. Vases hanging from the ceiling. But the man was smart enough to keep my view unobstructed to my panel of security monitors.
Taking a seat behind my desk, I grab a key ring on top of a file folder—neither of which was here when I started my shift. Puzzled, I pick up the bedazzled black cat keyring charm with a single key dangling from it.
Opening the file folder, I nearly fall out of my chair when I see what he’s done.
Fabio
I’ve gifted Katerina the beach house, but that doesn’t stop me from lurking outside. My phone buzzes, and I check the message.
I can see you on the security monitor in your office. Stop being a creeper and get in here already.
I let myself inside through the patio door with the key—alright, so I kept a spare—to find Katerina now seated on the couch. Her eyes land on the outline of the bandage visible through my white T-shirt. “Are you hurt?” she worries, her brows furrowed with concern as she walks over to me.
I shrug out of my shirt, but her face is unreadable as she takes in my new ink—a King of Hearts poker card, with the word Patience written above it. Beside it is a Queen of Hearts, but there’s no script. “You taught me patience is king. I’m patiently waiting for my queen to forgive me, and I’ll get your name inked where it belongs.”
Kat opens her mouth to say something, but closes it.
“Here’s my heart, ripped out of my chest and handed to you on a silver platter. Not a damn thing hypothetical about it.” She still doesn’t speak, and now I know what it really feels like to have my heart ripped out; it’s the worst fucking feeling in the world. “Alright, then. I’ll get out of your house.” I turn around and start toward the door, feeling like I might throw up.
“I didn’t write down my fantasy because I was too chicken shit.”
I stop dead in my tracks, turning around. For the first time since I’ve known her, the ballsy Katerina Stefanos looks uncertain. “I have a non-consent fantasy,” she blurts out in a rush. “And after seeing you in that mask at the warehouse party, a mask would definitely be involved.”
