Chapter 6 #2
Not long after that, Christiano also increased her guards to fifteen men but it still doesn’t feel like she has enough protection.
Rosie will shit herself if we add more, so for my peace of mind, I try to escort her as much as possible whenever she goes out.
Pulling up to the fortress, Rosie’s standing with her arms crossed and tapping her foot. She’s wearing baggy jeans and a purple T-shirt with the words Girls Rule across her breasts in big white letters. Her hair is up in pigtails.
Fucking cute.
I stop beside her and let down the passenger window. “Get in.”
“You’re impossible, you know? I have all the guards, plus Raffaele just got here.” I level her with a look that says it’s not negotiable, and letting out an annoyed sigh, she yanks the door open and slumps down into the bucket seat. “Nothing will happen on a short shopping trip.”
“Nothing will happen now that I’m with you,” I mutter.
“Ugh.” She pulls on the seat belt. “I’m going to fire Alessio. He’s a traitor.”
“You love him too much.”
“Yeah, you’re right.” She glares at the guards as they all get into their SUVs, and Raffaele gives me a chin lift. “I’m going to spam them with something that will annoy the hell out of them.”
“Like you do with me.” I pull away and drive at a decent speed so the guards can keep up.
Rosie smirks at me. “Did you like the song?”
“It was okay.”
“After I put in all that time looking for the right song for you!” She fakes looking hurt as she presses her hand to her chest. “You have zero taste in music.”
I glance at the outfit she’s wearing. “And you have zero taste in clothes. Haven’t you had those jeans since high school?”
“They’re comfy.” She grabs her phone from her handbag and kicks my device off the system before connecting her own to my car. The next moment, Barbie Girl by Aqua blasts over my speakers.
“Fuck, Rosie. Put that shit softer.”
She shoots me a mischievous grin. “No. I made this playlist specifically for you.” Rosie sings along, and as it finally comes to an end, she says, “Next up…” She does a drumroll on my dashboard. “What does the fox say?”
When she sings along again, I raise an eyebrow at her because why the fuck does she know the lyrics?
A minute later, she tortures me with some opera song sung by the fucking Minions, and just as I pull into the parking lot of her preferred grocery store, Baby Shark starts blasting through my speakers.
I switch off the engine and give her an unimpressed look. “You suck.” We get out, and as I fall in beside her, I ask, “Why didn’t you place an online order?”
“Cabin fever, my friend. It’s a thing. Look it up.” She grabs a cart and goes straight to the bakery.
When Rosie lets out a moan, my eyes flick to her face, and I watch as she sniffs the air while looking dangerously close to having an orgasm.
At the most inappropriate time, I begin to harden and grab the cart from her. I rest my forearms on the handlebar while leaning forward to hide my hard-on from everyone.
“You know what that smells like?” she asks. I don’t bother replying, and she grins at me. “Heaven.”
While Rosie grabs some rolls and desserts, I glance over the store, looking for anything suspicious. Alessio and Raffaele are a few steps away, and the other fourteen men are scattered around us, with a couple stationed outside.
“Have you been working with Augusto the past week?” I ask Raffaele.
“Yeah. Just say if you need help with anything.” He shoots Rosie a playful smile. “It’s boring being Rosie’s underboss. Zero action.”
“At least you won’t get your butt shot at,” she grumbles.
On the move again, we’re just about to pass the fruits and vegetables, and when it’s clear Rosie doesn’t plan to get anything healthy, I snap, “Stop right there.”
When she glances over her shoulder, she scrunches her nose and says, “I still have bananas that my dad brought over.”
Alessio and Raffaele chuckle as I grab some grapes, blueberries, and apples before loading zucchini, mushrooms, baby spinach, and a bunch of other vegetables into the cart.
“Good luck getting her to eat any of that,” Alessio mutters under his breath.
“I’m not cooking any of that,” Rosie says while getting chocolate-flavored yogurt. “I don’t have time.”
“I’ll make it.”
I’m given a happy grin before she darts in the direction of the snack aisle.
“I need to have Dr. Milazzo check her sugar levels.”
“Just say when and I’ll have the doctor come to the fortress,” Raffaele replies.
Once Rosie has enough snacks to feed the entire Cosa Nostra, I begin to add meat, rice, soups, and other ingredients.
Just as I reach the end of an aisle, another cart knocks into the front of ours.
A woman, looking like a model who’s stepped out of a fashion magazine, smiles at me. “I’m so sorry.”
When a seductive smile pulls at her mouth as she eyes me up and down with blatant interest, it makes the tiny hairs on the back of my neck stand up.
The next second, Rosie’s arm wraps around my waist, and she leans possessively into my side. “That’s okay. Accidents happen.” With a loving look that invades my heart and conquers every inch, she asks, “Right, sweetie?”
Sweetie?
As the woman pushes her cart away, I shake my head at Rosie. “Never call me sweetie again.”
“How about you thank me for saving your butt?” she mutters while gripping the cart’s handlebar and heading for the cashiers. “Ungrateful ass. Should’ve left her to devour him like a black widow.”
She keeps mumbling under her breath until I hook my arm around her neck and press a kiss to her hair. “Thanks for saving my ass, Rosie.”
“You’re welcome.” She bats her long lashes at me. “Sweetie.”
We ring up our purchases, and when Rosie gets ready to pay, I shove her hand away and tap my credit card.
“You know I can buy my own food, right?”
“How about saying thank you?”
A mischievous glint sparks in her eyes, then she grabs hold of my shoulders, yanks me down, and plasters a kiss to my cheek. “My hero. Thank you for feeding me.”
I know she’s being playful, but when she pulls back, I’m hit with an urge to slam my mouth to hers and kiss the living fuck out of her.
Yanking away from her, I signal to some of the guards to grab the bags and walk ahead of Rosie toward the exit.
“Sorry, Enzo,” she says behind me. “I didn’t mean anything by it.”
“It’s fine.”
I unlock the Mustang with the app on my phone but come to a stop when Rosie says, “I’m going to go with Raffaele and Alessio so you can get back to work.”
I shoot her a dark look. “Get in my car.”
Her shoulders slump, and her energy feels all wrong when she climbs into the passenger seat. I slide in behind the steering wheel, and when I start the engine, Baby Shark starts playing.
Rosie quickly stops it, and I keep my tone soft as I say, “Don’t do that.”
Not looking at me, she stares out the window. “What?”
“Withdraw into yourself. There’s nothing wrong with you kissing me on the cheek. I overreacted.”
Because I wanted to fucking devour you.
Rosie just nods but continues to stare out the window.
Knowing how much music means to her, I scroll through my playlist, and after connecting to the car, I hesitate a moment before pressing play on Fair To You by Vincent Lima.
It’s the closest I’ll ever come to telling Rosie I love her.
I begin to drive as the song fills the air between us, and when I glance at her and see her chin quivering, I reach across the center console and squeeze her hand.
Needing to give her something, I say, “You’re my favorite person.”
Rosie sucks in a deep breath. “Yeah-yeah.”
She takes control of the playlist, and when the weirdest shit starts playing, the corner of my mouth lifts. “What the fuck is this?”
“I swear by the Minions.” Rosie serenades me at the top of her lungs, and just like that, everything is fine between us again.