Page 9 of Playing Hard to Get

Vivian’s face dropped. Like the spoiled little rich girl she was, she said, “No. But I can tell Daddy’s housekeeper so she can make them for me.”

“I don’t like that idea.” I turned to my pan and peeled the edges of the eggs up so I could slide it onto my plate.

“What’s wrong with that idea? She won’t tell anyone.”

Setting my plate on the table in the spot next to Vivian, I took a seat. Leaned closer to her and watched her eyes slide over my lips. “If you can get this somewhere else, that's one less reason to come visit me.”

Vivian pulled her eyes away from me and looked at her plate. She picked at her food. Almost took a bite twice before putting her fork down.

I reached for her hand, rubbed my thumb over the soft skin of her wrist. “What’s wrong?”

When Vivian looked at me, her blue eyes pierced mine. “Mitch…” She shook her head, put her fork on the table next to her plate and turned to me. “We can’t do this.”

“Can’t do what, darlin’?”

She raised her hand, the one I was holding. “This. Mitch, you’re Frankie’s best friend.”

“And you’re her cousin. What does it matter?”

“It matters because I can’t hurt her.”

“What does you sleeping with me have to do with hurting her?”

Vivian pried her hand out of mine and picked up her knife and fork again. Before she touched them to her food, she dropped them on the table. “You know what my father did to her growing up, right?”

I narrowed my eyes at her. “Yeah, she’s told me.”

“Imagine growing up, as a teenage girl, and not being able to have a single friend or boyfriend because of your crazy-ass uncle. Imagine your cousin, who lives in the same fucking house, being able to get away with murder. Daddy didn’t care what I did. He didn’t care who my friends were, who I dated, who I fucked.”

Vivian glanced away, quickly, then brought her eyes right back to mine.

“I slept with the boyfriend of the only girl who wasn’t too afraid to be friends with Frankie. He dumped the girl, and she took it out on her. Frankie lost her only friend, one she had worked so hard to make and keep. I did that. I took that from her. She was devastated, and I never forgave myself. I can’t do that to her again.”

For a moment, I said nothing as I tried to make sense of what she said. Piecing together her concerns with the stories Frankie told me of Marco doing whatever it took to keep guys away from his niece. Those beautiful blues stared straight at me the whole time. Piercing. Tempting. “You think she won’t be friends with me anymore if you sleep with me?”

Vivian rolled her eyes at me and grabbed her coffee mug. “I knew you wouldn’t understand.”

I laughed, loud and long, and I was met with an icy blue stare. “You don’t strike me as the kind of woman who lets anyone stand in the way of what she wants.”

“I’m not.”

“Unless it’s Frankie.”

She hesitated, running her finger along the rim of her mug. When she responded, her voice was weak. “Unless it’s Frankie.” She picked up her mug and took a sip, ate a bite of omelet. All the while, I was staring at her. All the while, she was avoiding my gaze.

I’d had just a taste of Vivian Leonetti. One taste of her was not enough. She was good, so fucking good. That she’d make such a show of avoiding me made me think she wanted something from me. To a woman like her, there was only one thing a man like me could offer.

“You know what I think?”

She looked up and met my eyes. After taking a long sip of coffee, she asked, “What do you think?”

“I think Frankie is a big girl now.” I leaned in closer and put my hand on Vivian’s knee. “I think Frankie is a different person than who she was back then. She’s stronger, smarter. I think things have changed. Marco’s backed off. Frankie’s engaged to be married. And most importantly…”

Leaning in closer, I slid my hand up her thigh. Her breathing hitched. I placed my other hand on the back of her neck, running my thumb down her throat. She let loose a tiny moan.

“Most importantly, I’m not ready to let you go.”

I moved the last few inches and captured her lips with mine. It took her all of two seconds to respond. Her tongue greeted me greedily as her hands reached out toward my face. I pulled her out of her chair and into my lap, and moaned as she ground down on top of me.