Ivy finally shoved the gun back into the drawer. The chair scraped against the floor as she pulled it out and dropped into it.
“Do we have to work this wedding?” she asked.
“I don’t want to. But, it would look suspicious if we backed out now.”
Ivy groaned.
“Plus,” I continued. “Stefanie Adams recommended me to her. I can't make Stefanie look bad. And I need her to keep recommending us to people. Recommendations are what keepthe normal customers coming our way and help us cover up the fact that most of our money comes from the abnormal ones.”
The assassins and others who knew of our special garden and our intel hub.
“Which Stefanie?” Ivy asked. “The weather girl?”
“Formerweather girl. And guess who she's dating?”
“Oh, right.” Ivy slumped lower into her seat. “I almost forgot she was dating a Cattaneo.” Ivy sighed heavily before saying, “Stefanie is dating a Cattaneo. Tatianna, Ms. Tina's daughter, is dating a Cattaneo. And now our client, Monique Rose, is engaged to a Cattaneo.”
“I know,” I mused.
Ivy shook her head. “Why are we surrounded by women who fraternize with the family we're trying to avoid? Are the Cattaneo men the only guys in the city for these women to date?”
“It does seem like we can't avoid the Cattaneos no matter how hard we try,” I whispered.
“Oh, and did you see the way Rome Cattaneo was looking at you?”
A shiver raced down my spine.
“No,” I lied.
“Heffa, yes, you did. That’s why you froze up like that. Are you sure he doesn't recognize you?” Ivy asked.
“I'm sure.”
At least I thought I was. I hoped I was. Because if Rome knew I was Juliet...
No. I wouldn’t even allow myself to think like that. However, I couldn't stop thinking about the way he'd looked at me. I’d seen the interest in his eyes. How could he look at me like that while claiming he wanted Juliet?
Cheating ass!
I frowned.Wait. I was Juliet. Damn. I was starting to confuse myself. Either way, it still felt like he was cheating on me. Did he not take Juliet seriously at all? Had all those sweet things he’d said to her, to me, been a lie?
Had our lunch dates and nightly video calls meant nothing to him? If he looked at me like that, he probably looked at all attractive women like that. And here I was, thinking I was special to him.
I hadn’t gone on a date since the first day I hacked him. Mainly because most of the men in the area were scums who only wanted one thing. Even so, after my feelings started developing for Rome, I hadn’t entertained the thought of dating.
I didn’t even notice attractive men because none of them measured up to him. Yet, I’d felt his eyes on me the entire time I’d been talking to Monique Rose.That motherfucker!
“Did you hear me, Blossom?”
I blinked. “What?”
“I said I'm not going to lose you to a Cattaneo, am I?”
“Wait. What?” I frowned.
“You heard the question, and you understood the context. Answer me.”
I opened my mouth. Nothing came out. Should I tell her the truth and admit to how deep my feelings for Rome ran? I wanted to. I desperately needed someone to confide in. But Ivy had a short temper.
