Reformed (Gangsters at War #5)

Chapter Seven

Jane

I glanced around the café with a smile. I hadn’t really known what to expect from Alessandro’s favorite place for breakfast, but it hadn’t been this quaint, charming place with its rustic timber counter and takeout items behind a glass display case.

The yeasty, freshly-baked scents just added to its appeal, especially when my stomach tightened with hunger.

We chose a round table with rattan chairs before I asked Alessandro, “You come here often?”

He shrugged. “I’m considered a regular.” He nodded toward a blackboard with colorful, cursive writing. “I always get something off the specials board along with a black coffee.”

I read the specials. “I might have the waffles with berries and cream.”

He chuckled. “I never took you for having a sweet tooth.”

“Then it looks like you’re getting to know me already.”

His eyes glinted. “It does.”

“What’s your favorite breakfast?”

“I’m a bacon and eggs guy, but I do like to explore my options.”

He clearly wasn’t just talking about food, but I played along. “I’m sure your taste buds appreciate you changing things up.”

“Oh, I’m certain of it,” he said huskily.

My face warmed as the memory of his face between my legs came back to me in stunning detail. My core throbbed and I wondered just how wet I was when Alessandro’s voice broke apart my introspection.

“It makes a nice change from dining at Serafino’s—my brother’s—Italian restaurant.”

“He must be doing well for himself.”

Alessandro smiled, then conceded, “Yes, he does very well.”

“It must run in the family.” I flushed and added, “Not that it’s any of my business, but going by your tailored suits and expensive cars, I imagine you’re just as successful.”

“Define successful ? But yes, I do all right. And it is your business. This breakfast was so we could get to know each other better.”

A waitress came and scribbled down our orders, then took away the breakfast menus.

“We seem to be doing everything back to front,” I said wryly, though a glimmer of delight sparked deep inside my soul. He might be a secretive man, but he didn’t seem to mind opening up to me.

“Sex before dating?” he asked with a chuckle. “At least we know we’re compatible.”

It wasn’t even up for debate. I might be inexperienced when it came to men, but I had no doubt there was something special between us in the bedroom.

Our coffees arrived a few minutes later, and I sipped my latte with a satisfied sigh. I hadn’t had a decent coffee for weeks, my caffeine craving getting by on instant coffee.

I put my cup down. I’d devoted so much time to my shop I hadn’t given myself any time to smell the roses. I hadn’t enjoyed the simple pleasures in life...like having a freshly brewed coffee along with a decent breakfast.

“So what are plans do you have for your business?” he asked.

“My plans.” I blinked, images streaming through my head of what I imagined my future shop looking like. “I honestly don’t even know where to start.”

“From the beginning,” he suggested.

“I plan to rip up the linoleum floor and put in teak-stained floorboards. I’ll eventually redo some of the walls so that I have inbuilt shelving where I can display more merchandise, T-shirts, pants and scarves. I also want to redesign my front window, where dressed-up mannequins showcase the history of clothes thanks to background scenes that create more immersive experiences.”

He took a sip of his coffee. “You really are passionate about your profession.”

I snickered. “You probably shouldn’t have asked. Once I start on the subject I find it hard to stop.”

“That’s good. It means you love what you do. There aren’t too many people in the world who can say the same thing.”

I nodded. “I’m extremely fortunate. They say if you love your job then you’ll never work a day in your life, and I truly believe that.”

Our meals arrived then and I smiled at his eggs benedict with a side of sausages and hash browns. “Now I know where you get your stamina from.”

He chuckled. “I’ve used up more than enough calories to devour this.”

“I can’t say I disagree.” I slouched a little on my chair and winced. “My body is sore in places I didn’t know could get sore.”

“Alessandro.” An older man approached our table, his suit screaming wealth and his persona screaming arrogance. “I thought I might find you here.”

“Carlo,” Alessandro replied, his tone distant. “What are you doing here?”

“You’re not answering your cell.” His silvery eyes hardened fractionally as he glanced my way. “I’m guessing this woman is the reason for your absence.”

“A man can have a few days off.”

“You never have days off.” He cocked a brow and said harshly, “She hardly seems your type.”

I took a bite of my waffles, but they suddenly tasted like cardboard. I swallowed and asked mock-sweetly, “He has a type?”

There was something...off about the older man. He brought out a snarky side of me I didn’t even know existed, and if I had hackles they’d be rising right now.

“Yeah,” Carlo answered. “Tall, blonde and double D. Pretty much the opposite of you.”

“If you’ve finished being rude,” Alessandro said softly, but with dangerous undercurrents in his voice and his stare filled with malice, the hairs on my arms stood up even as a shiver went down my spine. “I’ll enjoy my breakfast and then I’ll return to my...duties.”

Carlo nodded. “See that you do.” His stare speculative, he gave me a parting nod and exited the café with a takeaway coffee and bagel in hand.

I released an unsteady breath. “I’m guessing he was family?’

“You could say that,” Alessandro muttered, irritation flashing in his dark eyes. “Though he’s not blood related, he’s as good as part of the family.”

My stomach twisted with envy. “How big is your family?”

“I have four brothers and a sister, not to forget a brother-in-law who has somehow integrated his way into our family, despite his...past.”

“You’re so lucky.” I tried not to allow envy to creep into my voice, but failed miserably.

He arched a brow, then said ruefully, “Yeah, we’re just one big, happy family.”

“Why the sarcasm?”

He pushed a hand through his hair. “We’d kill for one another,” he said with a seriousness that made my breath quicken. Then he smiled and said, “Enough with my family. What about yours?”

“There’s little to tell,” I said dully. “As you know, my mother died way too young. It was left to my gran to raise me.” I managed to shrug. “Now she’s gone too, I have no one. No family.”

His eyes darkened. “No cousins, aunts or uncles?”

I shook my head. “Mom was an only child, the same as me.”

“You must feel so...isolated and alone at times?”

My laugh came out shaky. “If that’s your pep talk you suck at it. But thanks for your honesty, because yes, I do often feel that way.”

I blinked when he put a hand over mine, covering it completely. How was it that we’d had sex, and yet something as simple as his touch was so intimate and comforting?

“You’re not alone now,” he said huskily.

I nodded, my stomach twisting with a sudden yearning to be more than a fleeting lover. “Until I am,” I said softly.

“I’d like to see you again.”

My heart banged hard. “You would?”

“You sound surprised?”

I nodded. “You don’t give me commitment vibes.”

He winced. “Then you’d be right. Except, now I’m not so sure.”

I snorted, even as I spooned some cream and waffles from my plate and into my mouth. I chewed and swallowed. “Is that meant to be reassuring?”

“Sorry. I’m not known for being subtle. None of my family has that characteristic. Except my mother, but she’s long gone now.”

“I’m sure she’d be impressed to see you now.”

He nodded, his face serious. “I imagine she would.”

We finished our breakfast in silence. Despite my earlier reservations, I enjoyed my waffles and what was left of my coffee. Putting my empty cup down on the table, I said, “I should probably get back to the shop.”

He nodded, then drained the last of his black coffee. “I’ll take you back.” He pulled his cell out of his pocket and said, “But let’s exchange phone numbers first.”

I smiled, relieved he really did want to see me again. I pulled my cell out. “That’s a great idea.”

After returning my cell back into my bag, I looked up to find him staring. I blinked and asked, “Is everything okay?”

He nodded. “I just want you know I meant what I said. I really want to see you again.”

I nodded in return, my heart fluttering. “Likewise.”