Page 49 of Mafia Maiden


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CHAPTERSEVENTEEN

I groaned as the sound of knocking invaded my dreams. I had barely been able to sleep last night, and it was not until the sun was nearly up, and now, my eyes felt heavy. I ignored the sound of the knocking and rolled back over pulling the comforter over my head.

I prayed that either the sound would stop, or that Natasha would answer the door, but neither happened.

I kicked off the covers and muttered a bunch of curse words under my breath and padded to the front door. Light was streaming into the apartment, and I suspected that it was late in the afternoon, which meant that Natasha was probably out.

“What!” I pulled the door open and was shocked to see Leo standing there. He was dressed as though he just came from work. He had a bunch of flowers in his hands, and I had to blink several times to make sure that I was not really dreaming. Not that Leo was my dream man by any means. He was much too controlling, which did not work for me.

“Did I wake you?”

I crossed my arms over my chest. I was wearing a silk slip, which was not something that I should have been opening the door in, not that it really mattered considering that Leo had seen much more of me than he could see in that slip.

“Yes.” I said, my tone short. “What are you doing here?” I glanced over at the clock that was in our living room. “It’s the middle of the day. Don’t you have…lawyer shit to do?”

“My meetings were shifted for the day, and I don’t need to be in court, so I thought that I would stop by.”

“Why?”

I expected Leo to release the exaggerated sigh that normally accompanied my combative nature. Instead, he gave me a small smile, and he held out the flowers. It was a large fall bouquet filled with vibrant oranges and yellows, and not something that I would have picked out for myself.

“I wanted to apologize,” he said.

I looked at the flowers as though they were a bomb, not really sure what to do with them. No man had ever brought me a bouquet before. “They aren’t going to squirt water at you,” he said.

My nose crinkled, and I reached out to take the flowers from him.

“I thought that you might like them.”

I did not want to admit that they were beautiful, and a very thoughtful gesture, even though he acted like an asshole last night, multiple times.

“I suppose I should give you points for creativity.”

His brow rose.

“They aren’t the standard red roses. At least, it looked like you put in some effort.”

Leo gave me a small smile, and I realized that sometimes I could see the young man who was present in those pictures, and though I did not care about Leo, a part of me wondered what it might be like to have met that man. Would he have wanted to control me the way Leo seemed determined to?

“I thought maybe we could go get ice cream?”

It sounded innocent enough, but I felt myself stiffen. “I don’t think so,” I told him. “I’m too tired to go another round with you.” I sagged slightly against the frame of the door. I had missed class this morning because I had not been able to get to sleep. Leo’s insults had played over and over in my mind, and those coupled with Natasha’s words made me feel like shit.

Was I so unlovable? Was that why my father passed me up? Or why my mother left me without a second thought?

I went to close the door, but Leo stepped forward and grabbed it. I released a heavy sigh of frustration. “Leo.” I warned. I didn’t know what I was going to do to him, but I was sure that I could think of something.

“Look,” he said, his dark eyes staring at me intensely. “I know that I was a dickhead. All I’m asking for is for you to listen to me.”

I sighed. “Aren’t you tired of apologizing?” I asked.

“Yes,” Leo said. “Which is why I am hoping that this might be the last time.”

For a moment, I wanted to just shut the door on him, but I was curious as to where this was going to go. Leo was still someone shrouded in mystery, and I was desperate to figure him out.

“Fine,” I said. I opened the door with a flourish. “You can wait out here while I change.”

He nodded, but I didn’t spend too much time watching him before I headed to my room to throw on some clothes.

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