AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Sì. You know that thing people sometimes eat in the morning.”
“I don’t usually eat breakfast, unless you count about five cups of coffee to get me going.”
“You need something to eat. I asked Bianca to set up our meal on the back patio.”
“Oh.” Breakfast on the patio sounded really nice. “Will there at least be coffee there?”
“Of course. I’m not a complete monster.” Alessandro smirked and I couldn’t help but smile. I felt better knowing that I just had to hold out for one month, then I’d be able to return home.
“Then please, lead the way.”
“Oh no. After you.”
“Why do guys do that?” I asked as I started to walk ahead of him.
“Do what?”
“Insist the girl go first. It seems like the man would want to be the lead,” I explained as we made our way down the stairs.
“It’s so that they can stare at your ass as you walk in front of them,” Alessandro’s words flustered me.Was that the reason that he had me go ahead of him?
I glanced back to try to decipher if he was joking or not when I lost my footing, stumbling on a step. My body lurched forward but Alessandro snaked his arm around my waist, pulling my body flush against his as I righted myself.
“Oh—thank you.”
“You need to be more careful. You could have fallen and broken your neck.” Alessandro’s hard tone made me stiffen, and I quickly pulled out of his grasp.
Without another word, I continued down the stairs. I didn’t speak to him again until he held open the door to the back patio for me.
“Thank you.” I stepped out onto the back terrace where a table had been set for two.
In the middle of the table was a tray filled with breakfast pastries, fruit, yogurt, coffee, and juice. Alessandro pulled a chair out for me before sitting.
“This looks great.”
“Bianca always outdoes herself. Dig in. We don’t have a lot of time before we need to leave.”
I nodded before helping myself to a little of everything. I never took the time for breakfast when it was just me, but that was something I could get used to.
Before long, it was time to go, and I popped one last berry into my mouth before going to the car.
Alessandro and I rode in silence most of the way to the clinic, both of us seeming lost in our own thoughts. I was nervous about working in the clinic even if it was only for a month. I was a surgeon and while I still did the occasional exam, I was afraid that I might be rusty. For some reason, I had the overwhelming desire for Alessandro to see me as a competent doctor. Maybe because most of the time when he talked to me, it was as though I was little more than an errant child under his charge. But he didn’t look at me like I was a child. Not that first night at dinner when I caught his gaze raking down my body in that little black dress that Mia had let me borrow. It had felt like he was peeling the fabric from my body with nothing more than his stare and it was everything I could do to appear unaffected.
I decided not to dig too deep into what that look meant or why it had thrilled me to know that I’d had that kind of effect on him.
“Don’t try anything stupid while we are at the clinic.” The sudden sound of Alessandro’s warning startled me.
“What do you mean?”
“Don’t try to run away again like you did at the motel. The clinic is well staffed with personnel as well as security that are all connected to the Venturi family. It would be a useless attempt and there are sick people in there who don’t need to have to deal with that kind of drama when they come to the clinic for help.”
I nodded thoughtfully, surprised at his consideration for the other patients and not just that he didn’t want to have to deal with me running.
“What sort of cases will I be working on today?”
“That’s a question for Arman but if I had to guess, I’d say pretty basic stuff for the most part. Shootings and stabbings are more rare than you’d think in a mafia family.”
“And they go to the clinic for emergency care? Why not the hospital?”
