Page 62 of The Mafia’s Girlfriend

In joy.

I was no longer a virgin.

And I’d made that happen in the best of ways, on my terms.

With the man I loved.

Chapter 23

Luke

I told Emma that I didn’t want to second-guess the fact I could’ve already fallen in love with her.

In the next couple of days that followed, I laughed to myself that I had. I fell for that pain-in-the-ass well before I thought about making love with her.

Leaving her condo, where I was sleeping with her every spare chance I could, I wondered how long she’d manage my absence until she tracked me down and stole another kiss.

“Luke?”

She cracked the door open and beckoned me to return.

I laughed, shaking my head as I was beholden to return to her. “Five seconds. That’s a record.”

She grabbed the front of my shirt and pulled me inside the doorway. “I miss you the moment you walk away.”

I groaned, thrusting my tongue into her mouth as she tried to cling to me. “I’ll see you later.”

“I know.” I’d been sneaking into her place and staying the night and had no plans to stay. She was well aware of how addicted I was to her, and she didn’t hold it against me as power.

“But I need to use the rest of my lunch break to check on my mom.” I’d been texting her. So I wasn’t worried. Still, I couldn’t neglect her and let her worry about me not showing up. At the least, I had to tidy up the place by taking the trash out and such.

“I could come with you.”

I smiled, stroking my hands over her back. I knew she’d enjoy it. I was confident my mom was already nuts about her, and that was a huge weight off my shoulders. My situation was unique. I had to provide for my ailing mother. I had been since I was a young teen. That was the hand of cards I’d been dealt and I wouldn’t change that. Whenever I used to wonder about what it’d be like to meet a woman I wanted to keep forever, I worried that she wouldn’t like my situation of taking care of my mom. Randy still griped about Alyssa’s complaints about his mom.

I’d lucked out in so many ways in knowing Emma really did like my mom.

“Didn’t you want to check on Krista?”

She sighed, nodding. “Yeah. As long as she stayed hydrated, she’ll be all right.”

I smiled, loving this nurturing side that she hid from me at first. “I’ll see you later,” I promised.

This time, when I walked out, I stayed on track to head home. I only had a half hour to get there and back, and I bet my mom would want to ask me all kinds of questions about how I was getting on with the “decent, nice good girl” she wanted me to find.

Before I got to the main road that would lead the way home, I saw a familiar—or not so familiar—figure approaching. I would recognize Jimmy anywhere, but never in the broad daylight like this.

“Luke.”

I lifted my chin in acknowledgment. It was weird to see him now, but I wouldn’t treat him like a stranger. “Hey, man,” I greeted, leaning in to shake his hand and pat his back in the familiar routine we did. He didn’t lift his hand to my back in reply though, quick to step back.

“What’s up?”

His grim expression didn’t bode well. “I need to talk to you.”

“Here?” He typically preferred to have our conversations at night, in the shadows. Where fewer people could overhear or see. I scanned the street, realizing that not many people were loitering on the sidewalk. It was too damn hot.

“It doesn’t matter where. Just that you listen to me now.”