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“Well, I saw what I saw.”
“Whatever. Be ready by eight. I’ll swing by and pick you up.” I hang up the phone as Holly walks into my office. I take it back. I take everything I said about her working fucking back. She’s wearing a tight black pencil skirt, a white blouse, and a pink cardigan. But holy fucking shit, she’s never looked hotter. Her hair is tied back in a ponytail—a ponytail I want to wrap around my hand.
My eyes travel up and down her body, slowly, memorizing every breathtaking inch.
“T, are you having a stroke? What’s wrong with you?” Holly waves her hands in front of my face.
“Fuck, dolcezza. This is what you wear to work? I suddenly have the urge to enroll myself in your class.”
“That might be a bit hard, considering you’re not a third-grader.” She laughs.
“Are you sure you have to go to work? You could stay here, bend over this desk, and teachmea whole lot of new things. We could learn together.”
“Mmm, tempting but no.”
“Fuck. Wait. How many male teachers are at this school?” I just realized I’m not the only one who’s going to see her looking like this. “Oh, for fuck’s sake, there’re also dads.”
“Huh?”
“Every man in a ten-mile radius is going to notice you, and I won’t be there to tell them to fuck off.”
“Well, it’s a good thing I have this flashy rock to show them. I don’t know how I would have batted them all off without it.” Holly holds up her left hand, where a sparkling, new, three-carat diamond sits. I gave it to her after we got home from the funeral on Saturday. She follows up her retort with a roll of her eyes.
I don’t understand how she doesn’t see her own beauty. She’s fucking gorgeous. “It’s a good look on you, that ring. Make sure you keep it on.”
“You couldn’t pry it off me if you tried. You, Mr. Valentino, are stuck with me now. There are no returns.” Her arms wrap around me.
My hands are quick to land on her ass—her perfect, heart-shaped ass—that’s currently hugged by that tight fucking skirt.
“Obviously I’m the one winning when it comes to this marriage. You, dolcezza, are clearly way out of my league. But I’ve got you now; it’s in writing and all.”
“Trust me, I’m the lucky one. You are everything to me, Theo. Don’t ever forget that.”
Her lips land on mine, and I greedily take everything she’s offering. After a minute, I pull back. “Sorry, dolcezza, if we want to stop for breakfast before you have to be at school, we should probably go now. Although, I’m more than open to havingyoufor breakfast. Right here, on this table.” I slap a hand on my desk.
“Again, tempting. But I need Helena’s coffee. Are you ready to go?”
“Yep, you got everything you need?” I ask.
“Yes.”
“You got that mace in your bag? The taser? The knife?”
“All of those things are in the bedroom. I can’t take them into an elementary school, T. There are children there.”
“Holly, people take worse than that into those schools. You need to be protected. Don’t be fooled by the prestigious buildings and state-of-the-art bullshit—school shootings can and do happen everywhere.” I know I’m an asshole for putting these thoughts in her head on her first day, but it’s a reality in our country. She’s from Australia, where those things just don’t happen.
And now she’s also married into the mafia, where threats loom in every corner. I need her to be aware of her surroundings. It’s unreasonable for me to expect to always be there to protect her. And I know I can’t glue myself to her side, but fuck, I really fucking want to.
“Okay, and on that note, I’m going for breakfast. You’re either coming with me, or you're not.”
Holly goes to walk away. I grab her wrist and pull her back into me. “I’d follow you anywhere, dolcezza.Don’t ever forget that.” I throw her words right back at her.
“You know you’re meant to be this big scary mob boss, right? But really, deep down, you’re just a squishy love-muffin, aren’t you?”
I screw up my face in disgust. “Do not ever repeat those words to anyone. Make no mistake: I’m every bit the scarymob bosspeople will warn you about. But for you, I’ll happily be your…love-muffin.Does that mean you want to wrap your lips around me?”
“I absolutely do. But I need coffee more right now, so let’s go.”
