A week had passed and Andrew gave me the green signal to resume my work. Poor Emily had been working over time in my absence and I just hope my troublesome clients did not drive her to insanity. I arrived at my office and waved at Emily – she was on call with someone. She gestured me to wait. After she finished her call she turned to me.
"Your boyfriendsent you flowers." Emily hissed. "When was I supposed to know that you were dating someone?"
"Ummm... It just slipped."
Seriously why is everyone obessed with my love life?
"Liar." Emily rolled her eyes. "Although I did not take you to be into bad boys." Emily teased. "Who would've thought you and Leo? The first time you guys met you were ready to kill each other."
"Yeah even I did not expect to like him. But then things happened"
I couldn't help but smile. Leo and I had come a long way.
"You have a lunch date today." Emily said, smiling teasingly. "Oh and your boyfriendis an old-fashioned romantic. Love letters, flowers and cutesy nicknames. He calls you a doll." She emphazised the word boyfriend.
I felt my face buring up.
"Don't you know it's rude to read someone's personal letters?"
"Pftt." Emily waved dismissively. "A good friend respects your privacy a best friend violates it.. especially if it is something related to romance."
"Fair enough." I shrugged. "I'd have done the same with you."
I went in my cabin and saw a bunch of red tulips on my table. . Emily had already found a glass vase and filled it with water for the flowers. Seriously, what would I do without her? As someone who did a course on flower symbolism, I would say I was impressed. I did not expect him to send the flowers that symbolised true love, I expected cliched roses. I need to ask him if he knows flower language.
My eyes fell on the letter written on handmade scented paper. Again, his attention to detail impressed me. My wedding planner instincts had an acute sense of aesthetics and I was surprised Leo managed to live by my impossibly high level aesthetic – that guy was as extra as me and he's definately my soulmate.
He had written in cursives and I felt my heart race. A guy with a good handwriting, what more could I ask for? The letter read –
Dear Meg,
I cannot stop thinking about you and it is affecting my work. Seriously, I almost shot myself because I was engrossed with your thoughts. I've been missing you so badly that I took the liberty of setting up a lunch date for two of us. Think of it like a pre-welcome party before your big welcome home party, this is a more intimate sort of party. I hope you're free this afternoon and you can make it to Moretti mansion for our date.
Did you like the flowers? Tulips remind me of you for many reasons. It is said that during a famine in Netherlands, the Dutch ate Tulip bulbs to survive? It resembles your resourcesfulness. (Gabriella told me not to include this because it makes me look like a dork but I did against my better judgement because I am a dork when it comes to you.)
The second reason Tulips remind me of you is because they are a symbol of eternal love, it literally means love on fire in flower language... which is the precise way I feel about you.
Also, Tulips smell sweet just like your kisses Dolcezza. (I wish I was there so I could see you blush as you read this. Did I ever tell you how cute you look when you blush? You have such an expressive face.)
I'll be waiting for you my Dolcezza. Call me up after you finish reading my letter.
Yours,
Leo.
P.S : I confirmed with Emily before planning the date, so I know you'll be there. I'm just impatient waiting for you.
I read that letter twice and melted. He is so cute, I'm swooning. My boyfriend is so adorable. I imagined him calling me Dolcezza, in his Italian accent and I felt my heart race. I quickly called up Leo but he did not pick up the call so I dashed him a text confirming our date.
I was never so happy planning guest list as I was today. Leo was such a mood booster for me, I think I should have him the first thing in morning instead of coffee. Get your mind out of the gutter Meg!But was I at fault? I mean he said it was an intimate date. And red Tulips certainly had a sensous connotation to it, which was why it was a bad idea to gift it to family members. I couldn't help but get elated when I saw
I went through the morning daydreaming about Leo. I couldn't wait for afternoon.
I made my way to the Moretti mansion and bumped into Alex on the way.
"You're in the wrong side... Leo stays in the other wing which is more secluded." He said.
Seriously does everyone over here knows that I'm here for a date? But it makes sense because they all live in the same house.
"Can you lead me there, I'm pretty sure I'd get lost."
Alex smiled. "Of course."
He strode with long steps and I followed him.
"Hey I was meaning to tell you that Amy says thanks... She says you saved her life. "
Alex looked away, blushing a little. "Tell her it was no big deal and she doesn't need to thank me."
"Why don't you tell her yourself?" I asked.
"I can't..." Alex shook his head as if shaking out a painful memory.
Alex sighed sadly, "Of course, she said that, she never wanted anything more." He mumbled to himself.
Before I could ask what he meant, Alex gestured towards a passage.
"Go straight and take the second left you'll reach Leo's part of the house." He said. "I have work so I'll leave you now."
I walked through the passage and ended up in front of an open door. I walked inside and saw and saw a spacious living room and an open kitchen. I saw Leo working in the kitchen. He was humming a song while stirring something.
"I never knew you cooked."
Leo turned to face me. "Meg! You're here already?" From his voice I judged that he was surprised. I guess, I was so nervous I ended up reaching early.
He was wearing an apron over his shirt. I couldn't believe how someone could look this attractive in an apron too.
I joined him in the kitchen.
"You cooked today?" I asked.
"Yeah I was just finishing up..." He said glancing at the pile of dishes. "Sorry for the mess, I'll be done in a while."
He looked up and down, taking me in. I was so glad that had time to head home and change up.
"You look pretty." He said. He threw a quick glance at the stove and turned when I stopped him by holding his arm. When he faced me, I kissed him. At first he was surprised but then he eased into the kiss. He responded by wrapping his arms around my waist.
"Thank you for the flowers. I loved them." I whispered to him.
He lifted my chin up. "As much as I want to kiss you I'm sweaty and I need to take a shower." He said, his voice a hoarse whisper.
"That sounds nice." I murmured. "Maybe we can take a shower together then."
His face flamed up. "Meg..." He stuttered. God it was so cute to see the mighty Leo get all flustered. I guess I found his weak spot and I was going to get him flustered.
Quickly he gained his composure. He rested his hand on the small of my back and pulled me close. He bent forward – his lips inches away from my ear.
"I never knew my Dolcezza could be so naughty." He whispered, the way he said Dolcezza in his accent made me melt.
He tugged my earlobe between his lips and I felt warmth spreading all over my cheeks.
His fingers tucked strands of hair behind my ear and pushed them away. Leo kissed the back of my ear and trailed down till the nape of my neck/
"Don't give me such ideas that make me want to give up on sex after three dates rule." He said coldly.
A shiver ran through my spine as I heard his cold voice. We can't be having sex I was wearing my ugly but comfy undies. The raging worries about my unflattering inner wear was silenced with his touch.
He traced a finger over the curve of my neck. With his other hand he tilted my head in the opposite direction and trailed kisses down my neck. His fingers gently uncovered my shoulder and pushing away the fabric of my top.
"Leo what are you..." I gasped.
He gently kissed the hollow of my neck and ran his thumb over the bullet scar on the back of my shoulder.
"When you save someone's life, you give them years from your life." He said, still dangerously close to me.
"Nonsense. By that logic all doctors would die young." I blurted.
He laughed softly. "Way to ruin a moment." I was still aware of the closeness between us.
"I just meant that I saved my life because I wanted to. It was my choice and I don't want you to feel indebted or something."
Leo chuckled. "You like it or not Dolcezza... my life is yours now." His lips brushed my cheeks.
He backed away making some distance between us. "I'll be having a bath while you can have fun snooping around my stuff." He said smirking.
With that he headed for his bath while I was a blushing mess, standing in the kitchen pulling up my top to cover my shoulder.
When Leo was was having bath I decided to take a tour of his house. It was unsurprisingly very clean and organized. I saw a slide door and went outside. I was surprised to see a garden filled with flowers. In corner, there was a row of tulips. I peered closer and noticed that some of the plants had flowers cut off.
"The tulips I gave you came from this plant." Leo said.
I turned to look at Leo. He was wearing a grey t-shirt and jeans. As he walked close to me, I had a whiff of his distinct lavender shampoo or perfume or what. He stood close to me and wrapped his hand around me.
I looked at his dark eyes. For once they did not seem cold or calulating – they looked relaxed. I still couldn't get over the fact that whenever I looked at him, he flashed me his genuine and adorable smile. I noticed his face and realized that he'd shaved. So the lavender was the smell of his aftershave.
"Now you know my secret..." He said. "I grow flowers in my spare time. It's kind of an embarassing thing and except my family no one else knows."
"I think it's cute. It goes against your brand but it is cute."
He raised his eyebrow, "My brand?"
"The tough, cold, brooding mafia guy who is cold, arrogant, way too smart with a short temper and a dangerous edge who doesn't give a damn and knows that makes him sexy... that is your kind of brand."
"Sexy huh?" He smirked. I rolled my eyes.
He explained, "I've seen and caused so many deaths it gets depressing. I know it's not the same but I'm trying to compensate. I take lives and I try to grow plants so that I can nurture life. Sometimes, it is the only thing that keeps me human." He said.
His eyes were far and a melancholic look covered his face. I took his hand in mine and gave it a gentle squeeze. I did not want to interrupt his thoughts but I wanted to make him feel like he knew I was here for him.
Suddenly, he snapped from his daze. "Come on let's eat. Lunch is getting cold."
Leo had specially prepared vegetarian food for me. He laid out a spread of colourful looking food on the table. I wonder how did he manage to cook so much on his own?
"So everything that I've made is traditionally from my hometown. I just made it vegetarian friendly." He explained.
He first served me some fried balls. I popped them in my mouth and felt a burning sensation.
"...So...hot...."
Leo laughed, "You ate it before I could warn you silly."
Slowly I chewed it. The crispy outer coating and the inner filling of salty cheese, tangy tomato sauce and the sweetness of rice hit my taste buds. The cheese was melted to perfection. I guessed it was mozerella.
"This is good." I said as I reached out to grab another fried ball. This time I was more cautious so I took a small bite.
"It is called Arancini. It is made in my father's hometown back in Italy." He said.
"I'm not sure I'll remember that name." I said.
After I finished the fried thing, Leo served me some pasta. I was surprised to see eggplants in a pasta.
"Eggplants in a pasta?" I blurted out loud.
"It sounds weird but it tastes good. It's a substitute of meat." He said.
Skeptically, I took a spoonfull of pasta. It was spicier than it looked. The eggplant was the tender and it went well with the tangy tomato sauce. The basil leaf gave it such a subtle taste. I love the taste of fresh basil and black pepper.
"The black pepper adds such a nice flavour to it." I said.
"That is my improv of Pasta alla Norma. Since I heard that you Indians like spicy food so I made it spicy."
"Either way, it is delicious." I said hogging spoonfuls after spoonfuls of the eggplant pasta. I noticed that Leo was very generous with his serving of parmesan cheese. Can I love this guy more?I'm going to have to spend an entire day in gym to compensate for the hogging fest I was up to. But, that is a worry for another day. Right now, I was more engrossed in eating.
I sipped some water and streched out my legs. Accidently, my feet hit Leo's knee. He raised his brows but said nothing. It gave me an idea. I slipped off the slipper Leo gave me to wear around his house and placed my feet on his.
"So, what do you think of Andrew and Gigi's wedding? I'm worried." I said.
His face became sad, "I don't know but I blame myself for it. I should've been more careful with it. I tried to keep it hidden but newspapers found out and..." He stopped abruptly when he felt my feet on his.
"And?" I asked batting my eyelashed.
Leo took a deep breath, "But what needs to be done has to be done. I can't help it now" He said. He pulled his chair closer to me. I felt his hand on my thigh and I almost choked on my food.
"You should drink some water Dolcezza because you're clearly thirsty." He whispered throatily. His voice was dripping with sarcasm.
I wanted to wipe that smug smile off his face. I wiggled my feet at the hem of his jeans and touched his bare ankle. Besides me, I could hear him straighten up and inhale sharply.
"You were saying something?" I asked innocently.
"I think Andrew's parents will be convinced in a while. It will take some time but they will come around. Besides, it shouldn't be difficult because Gabriella isn't involved in the family business." He said.
His hand roamed over my thigh giving me goosebumps. I looked at him and he gave me a devilish smirk and inched above my thigh till the waistband of my pants.
"Yeah... we can convince them." I said trying my best not to pay attention to his touch.
"Really?" He asked. The mockery in his tone did not go unnoticed.
"If we were to talk to Andrew's parents and convince them that Gigi isn't a part of mafia we coul..."
I gasped when I felt Leo's hand slide under my top.
"We could... we could..." I closed my eyes trying to steady my breathing. But all I could focus on was his touch moving all over my waist and my stomach.. maybe, I was thinking of his hands all over my body.
He leaned closer and whispered. "We could do what Meg?"
The fork in my hand slipped when he circled his thumb over my navel. I tried my best to remain indifferent to it.
"We could do so many things..." I blurted out.
Leo's hands moved up till my midriff and reached my chest. I could barely imagine the possibilities from here. When his fingers touched the centre of my chest, a moan slipped out of my lips. I can't take this tension anymore.
"Are you going to say it or do you want me to carry you till the bedroom, Dolcezza?"
That was the last I remember him saying before both of us started kissing each other. After that all I rememberd was the feling of his mouth over mine and his touch on on my body.
I parted from the kiss to catch a breath. I rested my head against Leo and he was gasping for air too. I was sitting on Leo's lap and he held me close.
"You know... couch is nearer."
He pulled me closer, wrapping his arms around me.
"I like the way you think Dolcezza." He whispered.
"Leo." I asked. "Why do you call me a doll?"
"Dolcezza doesn't mean a doll. It means sweetness." He answered. "You're sweet that's why I call you Dolcezza."
"It sounds sexy." I said.
Leo put his arms around my legs and lifted me up effortlessly. He kissed the top of my head, "You make everything and anything sexy Dolcezza."
I wrapped my arms around his neck as he kissed me once more. God knows how badly I've wanted to do this to him. His lips were so warm.
"Guys can you cut the PDA?" Nico cleared his throat.
Leo pulled away and I looked away. We'd been so engrossed in kissing that we did not notice Nico, this was so awkward.
"It's not PDA, It's called barging in." Leo rolled his eyes. "Can't you see I'm kind of occupied right now?" He glanced at me.
"It's an emergency." Nico said. "It about you Meg."
"Oh." Suddenly I realised Leo was still holding me in a bridal style. No wonder, Nico looked so annoyed with us. I whispered Leo to put me down.
"What about Meg?" He asked as I sprang to my feet.
"Someone sent people to kill Meg but they found Amy instead." Nico noticed my anxious expression. "She's safe. She fended them off but she found out someone is behind her life."
Oh god, what was this trouble brewing up for me?
A/N:
This was my favourite update because of Leo and Meg's chemistry.
I know I said I'd be ending this book (which is true in a way.) But there is a sequel for sure. I'm still working on it.
And, Thank you for reading so far. I really appreciate it! :-)