Kiss de La Notte - Book III (Mafia Romance)

Chapter Twenty-Six: Misbehaving

Setting my creamer down on the counter, my hand visibly shook a little as I reached for the coffee pot, but before I could grab the handle, Lucius's steady hand encompassed mine. "That must have been difficult."

I looked down at our joined hands, before pulling mine from his. "It was the worst day of my life," I admitted in a quiet voice.

He poured coffee into my mug and added my little oat milk creamer pack, before sliding it over to me. Picking up the mug with an appreciative nod, I took a small sip.

"I didn't understand it for so long," I said, the knot wedged in my throat thickening. "How could she just pack up and leave the three of us behind? As I'm getting older, I think I kind of get it..." I set the coffee mug down, willing myself not to cry. "She was so young when she had me. She wanted her to pursue her own dreams and aspirations, but my father's business and raising two children didn't allow that sort of freedom."

Lucius gazed at the side of my face for a long moment before tilted his head down toward the counter. I thought he might feel conflicted after I told him about my mother, but he'd turned out he was too selfish to say anything about it at all. Not that I knew he'd be anything less, he really was a horrible person when I got right down to it.

But having someone to talk to about my life without any filter was a relief I didn't know I'd needed. And I didn't want to be alone just yet.

I glanced over at him.

Lucius looked good. Real good. I couldn't believe I'd ever seen him as too rugged, too rough around the edges to be handsome. He wore a black suit with a dark green dress shirt, a color I'd seen him wear before. It brought out the green in his hazel eyes like a magnet. His dark brown hair wasn't slicked with that oily product, but styled in that casual, laid-back way...

"Do you want to come up?" I blurted.

I had his full attention now. And his expression was one for the books. His one eyebrow scaled up a little, and his jaw slackened. "I'm sorry?"

I set my coffee down, afraid if I didn't act now that my confidence would deflate fast. "Do you want to come up? To my bedroom?"

I indicated Lucius be quiet as we crept up the stairs to the bedrooms. Nonna wouldn't have her hearing aids in, but my father, who's bedroom was all the way down the hallway, might've heard us coming up if he wasn't already asleep.

Lucius frowned as he closed the door behind himself. "The hell's that sound?"

"Oh, that's my white noise machine thing," I explained, pointing to the machine by the door. "Drowns out any outside noise when I'm studying. Helps me sleep, too."

He tapped the machine with his finger, making a clinking sound. "In your psych textbook, I think that would be a placebo effect."

"Well, I think science backs it up..." I realized he was making a dry joke and awkwardly changed the subject. "So, um, how was your day?"

Lucius had his back to me and was making his way around my room, analyzing everything. When he turned his head toward me, his eyes still held an amusement that told me the question had been as silly out loud as it had been in my head. "It was okay..."

"Aren't you going to ask me how my day was?"

His finger, the one with the notorious red ruby ring, brushed one of my necklaces that were hung up on nails on the wall. A golden chain with a cross at the end. My nonna had given me that one and I was surprised he hadn't burst into flames.