Page 200 of Only Fools Rush

It was all suddenly clear inside my head.

I liked him. I was attracted to him. I wanted to kiss him.Ciel.

Did he want to kiss me, too?

It looked like it. His eyes went low and heavy. His thumb brushed against the back of my hand, like he was trying to tell me something. My knee knocked against his and he left it there, touching, skin only separated by the material of our matching black combat pants.

Every singlewhat-ifthought I could possibly conceive of raced through my brain before they all collapsed into one.

What if I made another mistake?

I was so close to leaning forward and pressing my lips to his. But this was so new to me. I could be misreading things.

Instead, I pulled his good hand to my lips and pressed a kiss against his knuckles.

He sucked in a breath. “Wynn…”

I stood, releasing his hand as my cheeks burned. “I’ll go get you some water. Then you need your rest.”

I rushed out of the room before I could mess anything else up.

55

LEONA

Four days later, Giulio and his men were keeping an eye on Lucia, ensuring she stayed safely tucked away in Makarov’s territory. Obi had notified the Camorra, but he hadn’t heard back yet. Since then, Cas had been keeping updated with our new Italian men, and giving them orders to support Makarov for now, until we could start pushing into Vero territory again.

Until this board meeting was over, we had to play it safe.

Obi and Ryuji were stationed across the street from Trattoria Luminosa, where they could get a view of the table we’d reserved for this meeting. Wynn waited at the back entrance. Cas stood next to me, straightening his tie, and double-checking the twin guns he kept secure underneath his jacket.

Ciel had his hand wrapped in bandages, but he was still here—monitoring the security feeds and protecting our team from the van as we prepared to walk inside.

He seemed okay. The first day after, he was in incredible pain, and he slept most of the day. The third, he started wiggling his fingers again. By today, he hadn’t wanted pain meds, which was a good sign. He told us all to not worry until after this meeting, and the rest of us weren’t sure what to do, so we justnodded. Wynn hovered at his side constantly, doing whatever he could to keep Ciel comfortable, and all it did was make Ciel blush and fuss himself.

He’d protected Wynn—maybe even saved Wynn’s life.

Ciel made me so fucking proud.

All my guys did.

It wasthemwho bolstered my chest. I grabbed hold of Cas’s hand, linking our fingers, and stepped inside the restaurant. I wore a very respectable cream blouse and pencil skirt, paired with a trim and sophisticated blazer. My hair was pinned in a low bun, but I’d also done my makeup to accentuate a sliver of innocence—rather than my recently favored cat eye and red lip.

If I was going to convince these board members to give me my father’s seat, I needed to look the part, and I needed to appeal to the side of them that remembered me and respected my lineage. And right now, I looked every ounce of a young, sleek businesswoman climbing the corporate ladder. At my side, Caspian looked less like my bodyguard and more like my partner, especially with the ring glinting on my finger.

“We’re in,” Cas quietly announced.

“I’ve got eyes on you,” Ciel responded. “Be careful.”

The restaurant was bustling, like it usually was on a weekday for lunch. It was a frequent meeting location for businessmen and women across the city. Plenty of witnesses, in case things went south. The knife Ryuji gave me was slipped into my blazer pocket, and Cas was well armed. I didn’t feel an ounce of fear as I took in the restaurant.

Except for when I saw her.

I sucked in a breath, my hand clawing into the skin of Cas’s arm.

Chiara sat at the bar, one leg crossed over the other as she sipped from a martini. She caught my eye, glass half-frozen to her mouth.

“He’s here,” Cas said at the same time, eyes glinting toward the table.