He smiles. “You said my name.”
Nico reaches across and grabs my hand, and brings the back of it to his lips.
Shudders attack my body. Can he feel my body trembling?
I try to yank my hand away.
“You branded me your girlfriend at Tony’s, then sealed it with a kiss in the theater lobby while half the school watched. All so no one else would dare come near me.”
“This is the perfect time for us to be a couple. We’ll go to prom together. Once I go off to college, the guys will know you’re my woman, so they won’t try to talk to you.”
“Mr. Mafia’s going to stop them with the knowledge of who he is, huh?”
“Doesn’t hurt to be one of the future mafia bosses of my family. But I don’t need my mafia ties to intimidate anyone. I’ll beat any guy’s ass who tries to talk to my woman.”
I squirm in my seat. “Please let my hand go.”
“Sweetheart, why would I do that?”
I peer at our connected hands resting on the gear shift. “I don’t want to be your girlfriend.”
He releases my hand long enough to change the gears as he pulls into the restaurant parking lot.
Once parked Nico hops out of the Bugatti and opens my door. He nods to our bodyguards as he helps me out of the vehicle.
“I know you heard me,” I push. Does he think ignoring what I said will make us a real couple?
He throws an arm over my shoulder and walks toward the entrance.
“Your father and I butted heads this afternoon. He thought you and I weren’t going on a date.”
My eyes widen. “You spoke to my dad.” It was more of a statement than a question.
“And you lived to talk about it?”
Nico and I are greeted by the hostess, who takes our jackets, then leads us to our table.
He peruses the menu.
“Nico, answer me,” I grit out.
Meeting my gaze, he smirks. “I told him we’re a couple. He wasn’t happy. But what was he going to do? Start a war over his daughter?”
I glare at him. “Um, yeah. He would.”
“There’s no need for a war,” Nico says, a smug glint in his eye. “He knows I’ll always protect you. That’s what none of the other guys could do—the ones who tried and failed to date you.”
I smirk. “You think just because we come from the same world I’m automatically yours? No. Maybe I wanted one of those clean-cut boys. The kind who didn’t learn how to kill before they hit puberty.”
He flashes a cocky smirk. “Nothing wrong with mastering your profession early.”
I shake my head. “I think you should date Lorna.”
“Fuck no,” he snaps. “You’re mine. That’s final. Now, let’s order.”
The more time I spend with him, the more my walls start to crack… then crumble.
“I don’t like you,” I lie.
