Page 8

8

ROMEO

Juliet sat back with a groan. We were on the floor again, facing each other with our legs touching, Thai food containers scattered around us.

I couldn’t stop staring at Juliet’s thighs in her painted-on jeans. I kept having to adjust myself so she didn’t see my hard-on, but fuck, I wanted her. I wanted to drag her onto my lap, press that hot little pussy against my cock, and make her feel so good the only thing she could do was cry out my name.

“You ordered too much food,” she said.

I blinked, brought back to reality. “No such thing as too much food,” I scoffed, but the stack of untouched containers mocked me in the corner. She might have a slight point. I was used to ordering takeout for a lot more people—Sofiya, Sienna, Matteo, Angelo, Enzo, plus leftovers for whoever was coming in on night watch.

“You got a fridge here?”

She nodded.

I shrugged. “Good. You can have leftovers, then. If you want them.”

Her eyes lit up. “Really? You’re sure that’s okay?”

I cocked my head to the side. “Of course it’s okay.”

She did a happy wiggle, and I grew more confused. She was this excited about takeout leftovers? I had the strange urge to have food sent here daily.

She stood, and suddenly, my face was level with her pussy. If I just leaned forward, I could…

I stifled a groan when she fucking bent down to grab the containers. Her ass was so plump and tempting. I wanted each cheek to fill my hand as I squeezed…

“I’m just going to put these in the fridge,” she said, standing with a stack of containers.

I leapt up, grabbing the boxes from her. Juliet shouldn’t have to carry anything. She gave me a curious expression as she led me to the small fridge at the back of the store.

“I’m going to use the restroom.” She hesitated for a moment. “Will you still be here?”

There was something vulnerable in her expression that made me want to pull her to my chest and never let go. I didn’t want to leave. I wanted to bask in Juliet’s starlight as long as I could, even though it was unfair to her. The longer I stayed, the more at risk she was.

“I’m not going anywhere.”

Her shy smile made it worth it.

I headed back to the desk area to clean things up, but paused when my eye caught on an envelope with the Empire Properties logo. It was one of Matteo’s legitimate businesses, and I was technically the CFO. That meant this letter was just as much my business as it was Juliet’s. At least, that’s what I told myself as I pulled it out of the already-opened envelope. My chest tightened as I scanned the contents.

My head snapped up at the soft sound of Juliet’s footsteps. “What is this?” My voice was harsh as I held up the envelope.

Her brow furrowed as she plucked it out of my hand. “My private mail?”

“It says there’s a rental increase on the bookstore. Is that normal?”

Juliet placed the letter back in the mail stack, smoothing it out with her hand. She didn’t look at me as she shrugged. “Yeah. I mean, I think it’s normal for rent to increase.”

“Can you pay it?”

A little line appeared between her eyes. “I’ll figure it out.”

Nope. I didn’t like that answer.

I stepped up behind her, my arms caging her against the desk. “Are you lying to me, angel?”

She squirmed, but it just meant her body brushed against mine. “This isn’t your problem, Romeo.”

I didn’t like that response either. Call me a selfish bastard, but I rarely cared about anyone outside the Family. For some reason, I wanted everything to do with Juliet to be my business.

“Is the increase too much?” I tilted her chin so I could see her expression.

“I don’t know.” She tried to push me away, but I stayed exactly where I was. After a few moments, she softened against my touch. “Maybe I’m just not good at doing this.” She sounded so unsure.

“Doing what?”

“Running this bookstore. Maybe I’m not cut out for all this. I still can’t believe Arturo trusted me with it, and now…”

A red haze fell over my vision. I gripped her hips and spun her to face me, pressing my body flush against hers. “Who the fuck is Arturo?”

Juliet cocked her head. “He owns the bookstore.”

“I thought you owned the bookstore.”

“No, I’m just the manager. Arturo moved away last year and left me in charge, and I don’t want to disappoint him. I’m trying new ways to bring people into the store, like having signings and posting on social media, but I don’t know.” She trailed off, her cheeks pink like she was embarrassed.

I cupped her face. “I think you’re doing an incredible job. Everyone who came in here today loved talking to you.” Too much, if you asked me. “Do you have anyone to help you?”

She nodded slowly. “I have two part-time employees. One of them was supposed to work today, but they called in sick, and now I’m worried I won’t have enough money to pay them.”

I wanted to tell her she didn’t need to worry about paying rent, but I couldn’t say that without revealing my job. And if she looked into it, she might find the online rumors that Matteo was Mafia. The stark contrast between our worlds filled me with a deep, unsettling dread. I wouldn’t say anything now, but I sure as fuck was going to figure out what was going on with the rental increase and fix it for her. I didn’t like seeing any stress on Juliet’s face.

“I’m sure it’ll all work out, baby.”

I leaned in and kissed her forehead, and it felt so right. Too right. I shouldn’t have come here today. I needed to cut this off for both our sakes, but the thought of never seeing her again made me feel physically ill.

She softened against me, and I moved closer until she was backed up against the desk, her curvy body flush against mine.