Page 26 of One Filthy Kiss

“And this hotel?” I peer down at the floor; it’s still incredible to me that we’re sitting on the roof of a tower block in Manhattan. How does anyone ever take this for granted?

“Will continue to make me money.”

Amber follows the conversation and licks her empty plate clean. “Can we go now?” She jumps down off the couch and waits for Gio to stand up.

“Let’s go. Your sister has a cake to bake when we get back.”

Amber was right: Nikki didn’t mind.

Her response to my text message went something like this: If you come back to LA without making Gio’s cake, I will personally drag you back to the airport and put you on a plane to New York myself.

Amber has never been to a zoo before and she is mesmerized by all the animals living in the middle of a busy city, although she gets sad that they’re stuck inside small enclosures.

As always, I find myself peering over my shoulder and flinching every time I spot a man who even vaguely resembles Amber’s father. We’re watching Amber talking to a mini-Nubian goat through the enclosure fencing, when Gio whispers in my ear, “You’re safe with me. I protect what’s mine, Meggie.”

It’s hard to let go of my fear. Back in London, I’m responsible for my little sister. We don’t have a team of bodyguards trailing us at a discreet distance, alert to anything out of the ordinary. I have to amuse Amber and keep her safe without letting her know that I’m constantly in fight-or-flight mode. I realize now just how exhausting it is.But as we spend more time in Gio’s company, I find myself relaxing. It’s like relinquishing control to him, while we’re here—and I know I’ll have to pick up the reins again when we leave New York—but for now, I allow myself to enjoy a blissful, stress-free day.

Gio’s arm brushes mine as we walk. He points out things that he thinks I’ll find interesting, the carousel, the John Lennon Memorial, the Alice in Wonderland Statue. We take a horse and carriage ride through the park, the heat of his thigh pressed up against mine making me tingle all over. He takes usto Maman, a quirky café in Soho, the outside of which is draped with flowers, and his hand is always on my elbow guiding me alongside him, keeping me close.

I’m so aware of his presence, that I don’t notice the middle-aged guy sporting a backpack and a cap worn back to front, until he elbows me in the chest as we pass him by. I automatically apologize for not watching where I was going. But Gio grabs the man’s arm, swings him around, and pushes him up against the wall of an old building with a hostel sign swinging outside.

“Apologize to the lady,” he growls.

Ric immediately appears from nowhere, and I pull Amber behind me, shielding her with my body.

Frown lines appear across the man’s forehead, but he doesn’t retaliate. “Sorry,” he grumbles before straightening his T-shirt, gripping the straps of his bag, and scurrying across the road.

My heart is thudding when Gio places his hand on the small of my back and steers me and Amber towards his waiting car. His lips form a narrow stern line. When I quiz him about his reaction, he simply says, “He touched you. He needed to apologize.”

When we get back to the penthouse apartment, I find that Gio, true to his word, has had his kitchen filled with enough baking supplies to fill the entire bakery where I work.

“We’ll leave you to it.” He smiles, holds Amber’s hand, and she walks off with him as if she has known him her entire life.

“Wait. Where are you going?”

I feel self-conscious standing in the middle of his pristine kitchen. He has no idea that by the time I’m finished,every available surface will be covered with a fine film of flour and frosting, and his dishwasher will groan under the weight of dishes and utensils to be cleaned.

Not to mention the very real fear gurgling inside my chest that he won’t like my cakes. What if he discovers that I’m a fake? A wannabe cake maker with no real talent and an unrealistic dream.

“We’re going swimming.”

He peers down at Amber when she tugs on his hand. She stands on her tiptoes, and he leans down so that she can whisper in his ear. He straightens himself to his full height, grinning widely, and I try to control my heart’s giddy skipping.

“I had some bathing suits and inflatables delivered for her. She can swim, right?”

“Um.” I grimace. “I never got around to teaching her.”

“Well, this will be her first lesson. We’ll build up an appetite for that fantastic cake you’re about to create.”

He salutes me over his shoulder as he and my sister head upstairs to the rooftop pool. Amber has always been shy around men, probably because aside from schoolteachers, she has very little interaction with anyone other than my dad. But Gio has already earned her trust, and I don’t know how I feel about it.

I’m glad of course. If he made her feel uneasy, I’d have insisted that he take us back to LA last night. But I don’t want her to get too attached. I don’t want her to be upset when it’s time for us to leave. Because this isn’t our home, and the time we’ve spent with Gio isn’t like real life.

“Deep breath, get baking, Meggie,” I mutter to myself.

I switch on the swanky coffee machine, make coffee, and start mixing ingredients. Within minutes, I’m elbow-deep in flour and singing along to a Rihanna tune blaring through the hidden speakers.

I never thought I’d ever step foot inside a penthouse. The entire situation is so bizarre, so fantastic that I keep stopping to peer out of the window at the towering city and remind myself that I’m not dreaming. My sister is having swimming lessons in a rooftop pool and I’m baking a cake for the hottest man alive.