Page 37 of Light in Your Eyes

I zip my mouth, trying to be professional. Working with a person with a temper like his requires never-ending patience.

We just argued like we were still in kindergarten, and I can't help but feel shame.

"So, are you going to let me feed you or not?" I ask, unable to hide my irritation.

He thinks for long seconds and then says in such a low voice, I almost can't hear it. "Just this once."

I try to muffle my laughter, taking the spoon in my hand. It's not every time that I hear a mafia leader admitting his defeat.

"Why didn't you just tell me that you were hungry when you woke up?" I ask. "You could have had your breakfast earlier."

"Because I knew that you would be hungry too, and that you needed me to feel safe downstairs to get your breakfast," he says, shocking me with his honesty. "I was waiting for you, but you took a goddamn long shower. Ifell asleep while waiting for you."

I'm at a loss for words. Maybe Kellan Romero isn't as bad as he seems.

I smile, but he can't see it.

"Here comes the food," I hum.

He willingly opens his mouth. He swallows the soup, closing his eyes in satisfaction.

"No corn, right?" I ask.

He opens his eyes and sighs. "No corn," he whispers, causing me to smile again.

He looks contented now but still looks deadly. I wonder if a smile ever touches his lips again. That thought makes me want to work hard to earn it.

As I continue feeding him, I playfully try the airplane gesture. It fails miserably, only earning a deadly stare from him. I laugh, really hard. My laughing makes him freeze, so I abruptly stop my laughter.

"What?" I whisper.

"You're laughing," he says with a frown on his lips. "I think it's the first time I heard you laugh since you came here."

Now that I think about it, he's right.

I didn't think that I would ever laugh again here, but I did it.

The fact catches me by surprise too.

"I guess so."

"It's annoying," he scowls, and I think that I'm going to have a headache again. "Your laughter is so annoying."

Why does he have to ruin it?

I scoff, and the rest of my feeding him goes quiet.

Chapter 14

Layla

I sit up in my bed as I wake up to another day. My eyes dart to Kellan, who’s still sleeping soundly next to me. He looks so peaceful when he’s sleeping, so different from the time he wakes up—he usually becomes irritated at every little thing. I get up from the bed carefully so that I don’t wake him up.

After I grab my clothes, I walk toward the bathroom and close the door behind me. I take off my clothes, ready to take a shower.

My eyes land on the box sitting in the corner of the bathroom. It consists of new bath essentials that Zoe just gave me, and a smile touches my lips.

With excitement, I open the box and pick my new shampoo. I close my eyes, smelling the delicate scent. It smells so good, like a calming aromatherapy. Zoe has wonderful taste when it comes to these products.