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“How does a man namedSaintget nicknamed after a wild animal like a wolf?”
“Depends on who you’re talking to. I’d bet his mother would say he’s still a saint. Maybe that was her way of wishful thinking. If you have a son born to the head of the Italian mob, you name in Saint in hopes that he becomes one.”
I blow out a heavy comical breath. “Well, I assume that didn’t go as planned.”
“Nothing ever does. Did you dream of working in a bank?” He says it as though I couldn’t have possibly dreamt of counting other people’s money. Sadly, he’s right.
“I’m one of those pretty girls that didn’t dream of a career. I went right to dreaming about the money… and so… the bank thing is fitting.”
“You’re funny.”
“Funny, or brutally honest?”
“Maybe both.” He brushes a strand of hair from my face and his hand lingers on my cheek. “I’d unchain you, but Saint is guarding that key with his life.”
“Ah, I like it. I’m pretending this is all some sort of sick fantasy where he has me chained up before he spanks me, and you all have your way with my body like some weird porn I don’t have as a favorite on my desktop.”
He clears his throat. “And what else does this weird porn depict?”
I bite my bottom lip. “Are you flirting with me, gangster, even after that bruised cheek I gave you?”
His gaze meets mine. “I’m not… flirting.” The words barely leave his mouth before the door squeaks open and Saint stalks in with an offended look on his face.
“What are you doing in here?”
“Checking on the hostage. I figured she’d be hungry. It’s been almost twelve hours since you’ve offered her anything to eat or drink.”
“For a reason,” he growls. “She doesn’t eat until she behaves.”
I nod my head in agreement. “I told him as much. Eating before behaving is just ludicrous. Everyone knows that.”
“Dear God, woman. Do you ever stop?”
“Stop what?”
Saint rolls his eyes and nods toward Luca as though he’s come with an announcement.
“We did a little background check on you,” Luca says, adjusting the tie on his shirt. He’s dressed like he’s about to take a business meeting on a skyscraper with billionaires, despite the fact that we’re sloshing around in the open ocean like a can of peaches soaking in fruit punch. “You look clean.” Luca clears his throat as though he’s disappointed by the news. “No priors, no previous marriages, not even a traffic ticket. And from what we can tell by your social media, it’s been years since you’ve been in any serious relationships.”
“But did you see my garden? Because I have ten red peppers coming in.Ten.That’s nine more than my neighbor and she’s like a gardening snob.”
“We saw the garden,” Saint says, rolling his eyes to the side. “Still no boyfriend, though, and that social page gave us the last five years of photos.”
“So if a woman is promiscuous she’s a whore, and if she’s independent she’s a loser, because that’s what I’m hearing.” I yank at the chains of the cuff. “I don’t have to listen to this. My mother beat you to the shaming department.”
“I don’t get it. You’re beautiful, you’re successful, you carry yourself like you’re the goddamn queen, and you’re single?” Saint’s voice drops even lower.
I shake my head. “Number one, why does it matter? You’ve been clear all week that you don’t want me. Second, I’ve never been a fan of backhanded compliments. Third, men are good for one thing. After that, they’re a liability.”
“A liability to what?Your garden?Do they require too many peppers for keeping?”
“Ha. Ha. I think I’ll save my therapy chat for another time, if you don’t mind.”
“Well, it’s just curious because you post all these bikini pictures like you’re looking for someone.” He scrolls through his phone as though he’s still looking at my Instagram.
I raise my head and straighten my back. “I don’t need a man’s approval to post beautiful pictures of myself online. I post them for myself. Besides that, I post everything online, not just bikini pics. There are photos of work parties and family parties and lots of—”
He laughs so heartily that I swear he might choke on his own happiness. “You’re not posting these for yourself. You’re posting them for attention.”
