47
Liv
I can’t believe I agreed to dinner with his parents.
I don’t even know why I’m so pissed about it, but my emotions have been all over the place since I left the hospital.
I don’t know why I take my anger out on Alessio.
Maybe because he’s being nice, and I’m still hurt.
I can’t get this whole messed-up situation out of my head.
And every time I want to lean on Alessio, his words from that day come back in full force, and it feels like a weighted blanket is wrapped around my heart, and I can’t breathe.
Then I freak out.
Get mad and push him away.
And take it out on him like it’s his fault I’m drowning in my own head.
Now, on top of all of that, I have to sit through dinner with his parents, pretending like I’m not one bad memory away from losing my shit .
It’s a while later, and I’m trying to get ready for dinner.
I’m sitting on the edge of the tub, attempting to shave my legs for the first time in…
I don’t even know how long.
But if I’m meeting the parents, I’d rather not roll up looking like Chewbacca from the waist down.
Most of the pain is gone or at least tolerable, but bending forward like this is killing me.
I let out a frustrated groan and chuck the stupid razor across the bathroom, not even caring that the cartridge went one way and the handle flew the other.
“Everything okay in here?” Alessio’s voice carries into the bathroom as he steps inside.
“A little privacy!” I yell, scrambling to cover myself.
Futile attempt, but I still try, slipping off the edge and into the tub, crossing my arms over my chest.
The water is running, but I left the drain open, so it’s only a few inches deep.
No way I’m risking getting my incision wet.
“I’ve seen every bit of your privacy,” Alessio says, completely unfazed, bending down to pick up both pieces of my razor.
“Need help?”
I let out a laugh.
“No, thanks. I’ll just have to embrace my natural side tonight.” I try to joke, even though I’m already internally cringing.
“Besides, what do you know about shaving a woman’s legs? ”
He smirks.
“Well, nothing. But I shave my face almost daily. Same concept—remove the hair, don’t cut the skin. Walk in the park.”
Then he places the razor on the edge of the tub and unbuttons his pants, sliding them off along with his shirt.
My eyes widen.
“What the hell are you doing?”
He ignores me and steps into the tub, still in his boxer briefs, and acts like this is completely normal.
I scoot back until my spine hits the other end of the tub.
“Alessio—”
“Relax, Sirena ,” he murmurs, crouching down in front of me.
“Let me take care of you.”
Before I can argue, Alessio reaches for my leg and carefully extends it.
He grabs the shaving cream and lathers my skin, which is so soft and gentle, though he looks anything but.
He picks up the razor, carefully shaving one leg, before he moves onto the next, rinsing the razor between strokes.
He doesn’t cut me, not even once.
When he’s done, he washes the blade, then grabs my aftershave gel, smoothing it over my legs.
I think he’s enjoying this more than he should.
“Need anything else shaved?” Alessio asks, shamelessly letting his eyes drag between my legs .
I roll my eyes.
“No, thanks,” I mutter, shifting slightly.
I was able to shave that area easily, but I’m not telling him that.
It’s not that he hasn’t seen everything before, but right now, I feel self-conscious.
Maybe it’s the massive wound across my stomach.
Or perhaps it’s the fact that I know it will scar, leaving me with a permanent reminder of Ezra, the cousin I vaguely remember from my childhood, who turned out to be so evil.
Alessio steps out of the tub, wrapping a towel around his waist before grabbing another one.
He comes back over, extending his hand to help me out, but I ignore it.
Instead, I twist my body, angling myself so he can’t see my stomach, wincing as I stand.
His arms are around me instantly, my back pressing against his chest as he steadies me.
“Please, let me help you,” he murmurs, his breath warm against my ear.
The way he says it makes me melt into him.
My legs press together because my kitty is purring for the big bad wolf again.
And judging by the hard, pierced pecker, pressing against my back, I’m not the only one having a reaction.
“I’m fine, really,” I say, but he doesn’t let go.
He doesn’t even pretend to believe me.
Instead, he scoops me up effortlessly, stepping out of the tub and setting me down gently on the floor before wrapping a towel around me.
His hands linger, his fingers brushing against my skin long enough to make my breath hitch.
I need to get out of this bathroom before I do something stupid.
“When do we leave?” I ask, my voice coming out too fast and too eager.
Because if I don’t break this weird tension between us, I might throw myself at him—stitches be damned, just to be his good girl again.
“An hour,” Alessio says, tucking a curl behind my ear, his fingers lingering like he’s thinking of a hundred different ways to fill that time.
And I feel myself arching onto my toes, tilting my head just slightly about to kiss him.
“Liv?” Paola’s voice coming from my bedroom makes me snap back to reality, flattening my feet instantly.
Shit.
“I have your dress ready,” she calls.
I asked her to help me get ready, and she said she had the perfect dress in mind.
She left earlier to pick it up, insisting she’d also help with my hair and makeup, which I wasn’t about to turn down.
Alessio steps back, his jaw tightening like he’s just been caught doing something he shouldn’t.
We both turn as Paola steps into the bathroom and immediately freezes.
Her face pales, eyes wide as they go between us, both standing there in towels.
“Oh! Sir, I am so sorry,” Paola blurts, already backing toward the door like she just walked in on something X-rated, clutching the garment bag.
“It’s okay,” I reassure her quickly, but my cheeks are heating up.
“He was just helping me, but he’s leaving now.”
I give Alessio a pointed look, but he smirks, stepping past Paola, completely unfazed, like the cocky bastard he is.
“See you in an hour, Sirena ,” he murmurs before disappearing down the hall.
I let out a breath, turning back to Paola, who’s looking at me like she desperately wants to say something I don’t want to hear.
“Don’t,” I warn, pointing a finger at her.
She grins.
“Mmm-hmm.”
I let out a dry laugh, shaking my head.
“I know you’re Team Let’s Work It Out,” I say, throwing up air quotes, “but I can’t . I know I’m contradicting myself. Hell, I’ve already fallen for him; there’s no denying that. But after just one night in his world, I’m scared. Not just nervous or anxious. Scared in a way that creeps into my bones and won’t let go. Scared I’ll end up like my mom. Just another cold case file collecting dust. Another girl who got too close to the fire and disappeared in the smoke.”
Then she pulls out a knee-length emerald lace V-neck dress, holding it up like a holy relic.
I notice how it cinches under the boobs and flows over the stomach, so it will be comfortable and loose enough that it won’t bother my stitches.
Too bad it’s for a dinner I don’t want to attend.
Paola doesn’t even flinch.
“You two work so well together,” she says like it’s a fact.
“There’s a real connection. I saw it the first time you were in the kitchen together. You’re meant to be.” She grabs a pair of emerald heels with a black lace overlay, holding them out like they’re supposed to seal the deal.
I scoff, throwing my hands up.
“No. He’s part of the monsters I ran from my whole life. Just because he’s good for my hole doesn’t mean he’s good for my soul.”
Paola arches a brow like she’s unimpressed with my dramatics.
“You’d be surprised at the kind of man Don Alessio truly is.”
“Oh, you mean the big, bad mafia boss who plays with people’s lives like they’re chess pieces?” I deadpan .
She shakes her head, but there’s something unreadable in her expression.
“No. It’s more than that.”
She hesitates, like she’s debating whether to say it at all.
Then, before she can stop herself, she blurts out, “He saved me, you know.”
I pause, the sarcasm dying on my tongue.
“Saved you?”
Paola nods.
“Yeah. Before I started working for him, I was caught up in a sex trafficking ring. I was young, dumb, and thought I could make some quick cash. That’s how they get you. He and his father broke up one of the auctions where I was being sold.”
I blink, staring at her like she just sprouted a second head.
“Wait—Alessio?”
“Yes, Alessio,” she says, like she already knows I’m going to question it.
“He had just taken over as head of the Philadelphia mafia, stepping into his father’s position. The new Don had just moved into his new home, this home, and hired me right away. I didn’t even know how to cook, but he gave me a job and a place to stay. If it weren’t for him, I don’t know where I’d be.”
I lean back, trying to wrap my head around it.
Alessio, the ruthless, arrogant beast, saving people has me shell-shocked .
“So, what you’re telling me he’s some knight in shining armor now?” I scoff, crossing my arms.
“That’s really hard to picture.”
Now that I think about it, he saved me twice, once from Ezra and again when I stopped breathing.
Maybe even three times if you count everything he pulled at the hospital to make sure I had the best care.
If I were anyone else, I would probably be dead right now.
Paola lets out a small laugh, shaking her head.
“Not a knight. But you need to understand that he’s not the monster you think he is. He has his demons, like all of us do.”
I chew on my bottom lip, my stomach twisting because I don’t want to understand it.
I don’t want to see the noble side of him.
It only makes it harder to hate him for what he did to me.
“What if marrying him means I’m signing up for a life I can’t escape?”
“Don’t shut the door completely. You need to see him for who he really is, not just what he represents,” she says.