8. Thinking of You 🍆👅
EIGHT
THINKING OF YOU ????
N adia felt groggy the next morning after going to sleep with tears in her eyes. She couldn’t help but be affected by the teen. She hoped that at least while they were on the boat, she would be able to shoulder his pain for a few days.
Getting dressed for the day, she focused on de-puffing her eyes and followed up with the tinted SPF again. Quickly brushing through her short hair, she left the bathroom with a silent prayer that she would magically find something appropriate to wear.
Of course, she had no such luck.
Scavenging through the bathing suits, she didn’t pay any attention to looks or color; all she focused on was which one had the most coverage.
Finally, she came across a neon orange bathing suit that at least wasn’t a string bikini.
She had to admit, it did do a lot of favors for her, especially the bright color against her tanned skin.
She then found a pair of cutoff blue jean shorts that didn’t cover much more than her bikini already did, but when she finished it off with the button-up shirt that Dante had let her borrow, she didn’t feel so self-conscious.
She looked perfectly appropriate to be dressed this way on a yacht and finally felt comfortable enough to leave her room.
You’re going to enjoy yourself. It’s not like you’ll ever get to be on a freaking yacht again.
Mentally preparing herself for the day was important as she went up the steps. It didn’t take her long to notice the glass doors were already opened once she had reached the landing. Following the sound of commotion, she saw Dante already at the breakfast table, drinking a coffee.
“Good morning.”
“Morning.” Dante had simply raised his eyes above his mug for only a second before instinctively looking back down then straight back up for a double-take to make sure he had seen what he had seen.
Thankfully for him, Nadia had been walking to her seat and didn’t catch his action. He was simply noticing her slow change in appearance from her usual uptight self. He could still see that part of her, but now he could at least picture her having fun outside of an office.
Hell, after last night’s dress and the orange bathing suit he could see peeking through under his shirt, he was starting to wish she had her clothes from home, too.
It certainly didn’t help that the shirt was his.
It had been a long time since his shirt had been around a woman, and it was putting thoughts he definitely shouldn’t be having about Nadia in his mind.
He needed to be careful about letting his gaze linger on her. He didn’t want her to notice because, if she did, she might make a move, and he wasn’t sure he was strong enough to turn her down right now.
Man, how he wished he had taken that blonde up before he’d left …
It was everything Nadia could do to keep her eyes to herself as she took her seat across from him.
He was wearing a casual outfit again with the top of his chest peeking through, and she just wished he didn’t affect her, like she was clearly not affecting him.
The mob boss hadn’t so much as glanced at her since he had come into her room yesterday, and, honestly, now that she thought about it, she didn’t know what she expected, as he had literally given the shirt off his back to cover her up.
If a man was giving you clothes to hide your body, it probably meant he didn’t find you attractive.
Suddenly, she felt stupid for even caring about what she wore when she had come out of her room. She could be fucking naked, and she doubted the man would even notice.
“Would you like some coffee, Ms. Brooks?” Lila asked, holding a coffee pot.
“Yes, please,” Nadia answered quickly, needing the pick-me-up ASAP after the events of yesterday, and last night on top of that.
“Didn’t sleep well?” Dante asked, finally taking a proper look at her.
“You could say that,” she told him, not wanting to reveal the reason for her lack of sleep.
Thanking the kind blonde, she poured some cream and a packet of sugar into her coffee that was sitting in the middle of the table.
The big sounding footsteps, followed by, “Mornin’,” didn’t require either of them to look up to know who it was.
A refreshed-looking Amo took his seat while Leo joined them, looking the exact opposite.
Not even his sunglasses could hide his weariness, and his father took notice as he then danced his eyes between his son and Nadia, making her grow nervous.
It would be fine if Dante found out she had a deep conversation with his son; she just instinctively knew Leo didn’t prefer it, as most of their conversation revolved around Dante.
“Late night?” he asked his son suspiciously.
“Nah, he went to bed right after you,” Amo surprisingly answered, getting Leo and her off the hook.
“Oh,” Dante spoke, and it was like you could see his suspicion move from Leo to Amo. “So … you two sat up late, then?”
Huh? Nadia didn’t quite know what was hidden in his tone until a slow smile appeared on Amo’s lips before he spoke.
“Why would it matter?”
Uh, no! “No, it was an early night for everyone.” She made it extremely clear for them.
Did she just see a wash of relief pass Dante’s face? He didn’t look pleased with his soldier right now. In fact, it kind of looked like he wanted to kill him. But what did that mean …? Could Dante have been jealous if she had sat talking with Amo all night?
Nadia practically laughed that idea off in her head. There was no way Dante Caruso gave a shit what she did as long as she stayed on this yacht.
“So, what’s for breakfast?” Amo asked Lila when she poured him and Leo some coffee into their awaiting cups.
“Yogurt parfaits!” she announced before leaving to go get them. As she brought them each a beautifully displayed serving, she could tell Amo didn’t appreciate the beauty of them, due to their size. “You’ll want to be sure to save your appetite for lunch. The chef is preparing something yummy.”
“Great,” Amo voiced, practically eating his parfait in one bite.
Leo had done the same. Except, as soon as he finished, he went to go lie down on one of the sun loungers. Amo actually followed behind him, only he had thrown his shirt off before lying in the sun, revealing that his shorts were actually swimming trunks underneath.
“May I borrow your phone?” she asked Dante before he could get up to do the same. “I really need to let my friend know I’m okay.”
Not saying a word, he reached into his pocket then slid out his phone before giving it to her.
“Thanks.” You could hear the surprise in her voice that he had actually done so. Nadia didn’t know why, but she was afraid he would assume she would try to call the cops or something, saying he had “abducted” her. Again, it showed the trust they were gaining in each other.
She hit the ten-digit number, and the other end rang for a few moments before it went to voicemail. “Shit.”
Dante lifted his cold gaze to her. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” she muttered. “I’m sure she just thinks it’s a spam call. Do you mind if I text her?”
“Go ahead.”
It was hard not to be nosy as she went to the messaging app on his phone. She really freaking tried not to glance down at the preview they gave you for the previous messages, but her eyes instantly went to a particular message, due to the graphic Emojis that were used …
THINKING OF YOU ????
It was everything Nadia could do to keep the regurgitation from coming out of her mouth.
She had half a mind to text the poor woman back that Dante clearly didn’t care enough about her to add her number in the contacts, but that would require Dante finding out she had done so. Hopefully, the woman would get a clue soon that even the Caruso mob boss was shockingly … just like all men.
Sure not to look at any other messages after having her fill, she quickly punched in Haley’s number and sent her a message.
LOST MY PHONE. USING SOMEONE ELSE’S TO TELL YOU I’M SAFE. SEE YOU MONDAY.
At least now, if she didn’t see Haley on Monday, she would call the cops and come looking for her, and that gave Nadia relief enough to enjoy the rest of her weekend.
“Thanks,” she told him, handing back his phone while trying to still get that godforsaken text message out of her head, along with the bad taste out of her mouth. “Are there any books here?” Knowing she wasn’t going to be able to sleep in the sun all weekend, she itched to read one.
“There are some books under the television,” Lila was the one to tell her as she refilled Dante’s cup.
Smiling in thanks, she headed for the console placed under the huge TV in the inside living room. On the side was an open bookcase, holding a few decorative items and even fewer books.
She had to crouch to her knees to read the spines and, as her finger went through the options, she quickly realized she wasn’t going to find a book to her liking.
They were all nonfiction, and Nadia preferred fiction.
Her life had been enough of a shit show, so when she read, she preferred to escape.
On the last shelf, she noticed a hardcover that certainly stood out compared to the others.
For one, it had a spicy couple on the front, while the other covers looked quite boring.
Picking it up, she quickly glanced at the back, reading the synopsis.
It was a romance that happened to take place in a motorcycle club, and that was definitely not fucking boring.
Nadia enjoyed a good romance, but they were usually historical ones, and, from the cover alone, she highly doubted they would be anything alike.
Deciding to take off the dust jacket to avoid any remarks at her book choice, she headed back out to the deck.