Page 27 of Nico

“Hello,” I repeated.

His lips tugged up into a small smile, like he was enjoying himself. Of course, he would be enjoying himself. He wasn’t at anyone’s mercy. I bet the world revolved around him and his demands while people that had the unfortunate luck to get on his radar had to scramble to survive him. God, I hope I survived him.

“Shall we sit down?” he asked, motioning to the table.

I nodded and he pulled out my chair like a gentleman. I slid into it with my back stiff and a forced smile on my lips, uncomfortable by this unfamiliar situation I found myself in. He sat opposite of me, his gaze never wavering.

The waiter came in with the menus, poured sparkling water for both of us, and took our drink order. Nico… I cringed at calling him by his first name. Should I call him Mr. Morrelli? He ordered a bottle of wine and the waiter left us our menus.

I nervously chewed on my lip. I should have said something, but my mind drew a blank. The girls and William had been my world, my everything, for so long, I wasn’t sure there was anything else in the world for me. I was always happy just being a mother and a wife, but now, I desperately tried to get out of being a wife to this man.

Grabbing the glass, I took a sip of water while watching him. He seemed perfectly comfortable while my nerves practically teetered on the edge.

“How was your day?” Seriously, Bianca! Of all the questions, that was the best one that I could come up with. I should have started with let’s talk about an alternative approach to settling my debt.

“It was very good, thank you. How about yours?”

“Um, good.” If you didn’t consider that I was having dinner with a mobster, I was on the brink of losing my house, and apparently was getting married in a week. Instead of searching for possibilities where my girls and I could live or run away too, I spent my day baking cookies for a scary bodyguard and digging through my closet trying to figure out what to wear for dinner.

“Thank you for meeting me,” he started.

“I wasn’t aware I had a choice,” I shot back tartly, making him huff a soft laugh.

That small sound made my body vibrate with a need I didn’t understand. I didn’t like it.This man is dangerous, I reminded myself. I was in way over my head and the little control of my life I had, started slipping through my fingers.

“You are right,” he replied calmly, a smile on his full lips. “This date and our wedding are happening.”

“We shouldn’t get married,” I answered instead, my voice too hoarse for my liking. “It’s a big step.”

“I agree,” he announced and my heart fluttered with hope. “It is a big step, and rest assured, Cara Mia, I will be a committed husband.”

I groaned at that comment.

“Bianca,” I said, agitation clear in my voice. “Just call me Bianca. None of the endearment crap.”

There was no reason to pretend we meant something to each other. And we both knew that commitment in the mafia basically meant, the man did whatever he wanted and the woman just pretended it was okay. That was not what I wanted for myself, nor my girls. Or maybe it would be better if he sought other women while I derived a plan to escape.

Ugh, this is so confusing!

My eyes darted to the door at the sound of the knob turning, noting the waiter had come back to take our order. I haven’t even opened the menu.

“Are we ready to place an order?” The waiter asked, glancing between the two of us.

“Would you like another minute, Cara Mia? I want you to be ready, Bianca.”Bastard.My name on Nico’s lips melted my insides and caused tingling between my thighs. All these contradicting signals between my body and brain gave me a headache.

Shifting uncomfortably, I quickly replied, ignoring my body. “No, it’s okay. I’ll just have a salad please.”

“Great choice.” The waiter’s eyes warmed on me and he gave me a bright smile.

Offering a smile in return, I added, “Dressing on the side please.”

“Of course.” He leaned closer to me. “May I suggest our house dressing?”

The waiter was fairly close to me now and I got a whiff of his overpowering cologne. I shifted slightly away with a reserved smile on my face. “Sure, thank you.”

“The woman is not on the menu,” Nico snapped, bringing both our gazes to him. He was glaring daggers at the poor waiter. “Stop drooling over her.”

I gasped. I didn’t see that one coming. I mean, yes he got a bit too close but some people had different perspectives on personal space.