Page 6 of Single Mom’s Mafia Daddies (The Forbidden Reverse Harem Collection #22)

LILA

H e’ll come back. I told myself that for months after Alessio left me.

It brought comfort then but agony now. Leo skipped from the school building and straight over to the car.

His black hair flopped over his forehead the same as Alessio’s.

My heart stuttered and skipped with a new surge of panic.

A teacher on duty helped him into the backseat and gave me a quick grin while Leo chattered away, telling me all about his day and thanking the woman for helping him.

The threat of Alessio’s return hung over me.

It dogged my steps throughout last night and well into this morning to the point that Alexis had asked if I needed to close early because I fumbled my coffee—almost spilling it on a new handbag—and hung a dress on the wrong rack, both mistakes I’d never made before.

“I want waffles.” Leo fidgeted with the seatbelt and leaned forward. “And chicken.”

“Sounds good to me. Help me make them?” I’d learned early on to let Leo be part of my life from morning until night. We learned together, and our bond had strengthened to the point that he took one look at my face and his nose scrunched until little furrows cut into the skin.

He gripped the seat and pulled as close as the seatbelt allowed. “Why’re you sad?”

“It’s nothing.” I concentrated on the drive to our small two-bedroom house tucked into the backside of a cul-de-sac away from the bustle of the city.

Leo stared at me, the heaviness of his gaze as intense as lasers. He had Alessio’s determination, and he’d stare at me until I gave him an answer he believed.

I always tried to shield him from the darker side of life, but this was one of those times when a half-truth saved us both some grief. “I saw an old friend yesterday. It made me sad.”

“Oh.” He kicked one foot back and forth. “Like that time when I saw the stray kitty and you wouldn’t let me bring it home?”

“Something like that.” We’d taken the cat to the vet and got the help it needed, and the vet had reassured me that they’d find the animal a home where it would be loved.

That was enough for Leo, my tender-hearted little man who wanted to save the world, even if he did it single-handedly.

“Which do you want to make tonight? The chicken or the waffles?”

“Waffles.” He wiggled side to side in his seat, his whole body moving to the rhythm in his head. “I looove waffles. Not as much as I love you, though.” He turned serious in a heartbeat. “Will you always be my mama?”

“Of course.” I pulled into the driveway and parked. “Why?”

He shrugged one shoulder and climbed out of the car. “My best friend has a new mom. He says she’s not as nice as his old mom. I wanted to make sure you didn’t give me to a new mom who didn’t let me cook waffles.”

Even at six, his independent streak shone with Alessio’s confidence.

Add in his height and most people mistook him for eight or nine years old.

I’d hoped Alessio did the same when he saw the picture, but the look in his eyes said he knew the truth.

He’d fathered a son. Would he have stayed if he’d known?

Probably. And I never would have known if he loved me or stayed because he felt responsible.

I scooted from the car and wrapped Leo into a hug. “I’m never, ever, giving you to anyone else. You’re my Leo, and I’m your mom. Nothing can ever change that.”

Satan himself would have to come up from hell and drag me away, and even then I’d fight and claw my way out of the pit to come back to Leo. Nothing mattered more than making sure he knew he was loved and cared for.

“Good.” Leo squeezed my neck tight enough to choke off my air then let me go and rushed to the door. “I’m starving. Let’s cook and eat now.”

It took me a little longer to regain my composure, but by the time we walked into the kitchen and I handed Leo the waffle mix, I’d managed to sniff back the tears and paste on a smile. “How many waffles do you want?”

“Five.” He held up five fingers. “And you can have five too. And three chickens.” He dumped the mix into a bowl and scurried over to the refrigerator for eggs and milk while I set the oil on the counter where he could reach it.

I used to try and pour things for him, but he’d become adept this last year and insisted on doing things himself. My smile turned genuine when he cracked the first egg and whipped it into the batter. Pride stunted my breaths and tangled my thoughts. He’d grown up so much.

“You’re an amazing kid.” I ruffled his hair.

“Mama, not over the counter.” He tossed his head back so his hair fell the other direction. “I don’t want hair in my waffles.”

“Ew, me either.” I bundled my hair into a loose ponytail. “Maybe you should wear a hairnet.”

“It itches.” His tongue poked out in the gap where he’d lost a tooth last week.

We worked together to fix our food and carried everything over to the kitchen table. Leo hopped into his seat and decorated his waffles with strawberries, banana slices, and syrup.

I dunked my chicken into the syrup and popped a bite into my mouth. I’d be willing to live this day on repeat for the rest of my life. But that would mean Leo never grew up, and I wanted the world to know my son, the wonderful man I knew he’d become.

“You’re sad again.” Leo scratched the side of his nose and lifted a whole waffle to his mouth to bite a chunk from the edge. Syrup dripped down his chin, and he swiped it away with the back of his hand.

“Not sad. Thinking.” I’d done enough thinking for one day. Time to concentrate on what really mattered. “Want to go to the park this weekend? They’re having a boat race at the lake.”

“Yes.” He answered so fast he almost spat waffle back out but caught it with his lips and sucked it back in.

We finished our food, and I washed the dishes while Leo cleaned off the counter.

By the time we finished, went through his school stuff for the day, and he’d taken a bath, it was time to put him to bed.

He climbed into his twin bed, pulled the covers up over his head, then opened a pocket for his face to peek out. “Night. Love you.”

“Love you too.” I kissed his forehead and made sure the night light shone through the gap in the door.

There was nothing left to do except wait for sleep to find me.

Memories of my summer with Alessio ensured sleep stayed far away.

I relived every moment with him, every touch, every whispered breath.

He’d been gentle and loving, and nothing in how he treated me gave me an inkling that he’d be able to leave without anything more than a single note with two sentences written in his perfect slant.

I’d crumpled the note, burned it, and washed the ashes down the drain, but nothing took the words from my mind as I struggled to understand what had driven Alessio away.

I’d fallen in love with him during those long nights, and seeing him yesterday, having all that agony brought back and flung in my face, cut as deep as ever.

My night passed in a series of tossing and turning mixed with dreams of Alessio. By the time I woke, dressed, drove Leo to school, and walked through the back door into the boutique’s storage room, I’d convinced myself that it was all a dream.

Alexis met me at my desk when I set my coffee and keys down. “So. Who was the hunk?”

“Hunk?” I checked my makeup in the mirror hanging beside the desk and ran a quick inventory of the suits hanging on the rack ready to replenish the dwindling stock in the showroom. Almost time to make another order.

Alexis rolled her eyes. “Come on, Lila. You’re not blind.

And I know you noticed him since you carried on a full convo for like ten minutes.

I almost didn’t come get you for the delivery.

The tension between you two was on point.

” She kissed her fingertips and smacked her lips. “Like seriously hot.”

Dread crawled down my spine. Not a fever dream then but a reality that threatened to consume me…again. “Remember me telling you about Leo’s dad?”

“Yeah.” She drawled out the word. “But what does that…wait.” She grabbed my shoulders and shook me. “ That’s Leo’s dad?”

I nodded as my teeth rattled from the force she used.

“Holy shit. He’s hot.” She winced and released me. “I mean, he’s a jackass for leaving you, but you know, seriously freaking hot.”

“Yep.” No need trying to deny it.

“Why’d he show up yesterday?” Alexis usually stayed out of my business, but we’d become friends the longer she worked for me, and this was a question with an easy answer.

“I don’t know. But he doesn’t know about Leo, and I’m hoping to keep it that way. I won’t let him hurt Leo the way he hurt me.” No one deserved to be abandoned like that, and I’d gut Alessio before I gave him the power to make Leo feel betrayed or unworthy.

“Can you open for me? I need to grab these suits.” I made my way over to the rack and listened to Alexis’s retreating steps.

The lock clicked, followed by a low murmur of voices, then, “Lila, can you come up front?”

I grimaced into the suits. Great. Just what I needed this morning, a difficult client. At least I had clients. Rich clients who paid me good money to put up with bullshit so I could afford all the things Leo and I wanted and needed.

“On my way.” My smile came into place as I crossed from the back room to the showroom.

A man stood at the door, a giant bouquet of red roses in his arms. He peered around the blooms. “Lila Carmichael?”

“Yes.”

“Thank goodness.” He hefted the bouquet and set it down on the counter with a clank of glass on glass.

“This thing weighs a ton. Whoever’s apologizing, he knows he fucked up.

” With his hands now free, he swept off his cap and ran a hand over his forehead.

“There’s a note in there somewhere. Have a good day. ”

I gaped at the flowers then at him, almost asking who’d sent them.

He read the question on my face and shrugged. “I just make the deliveries.”

“Of course.” I delved into the blooms in search of the note, finally finding it tucked in the center, clipped to three blooms with a spray of baby’s breath hiding it from view. The thick white card creased in the middle, and I unfolded it with shaking hands, already certain what I’d see inside.

Alexis moved around the store, giving me privacy and helping prepare for the day by turning on the sound machine and starting the fragrance misters.

I closed my eyes, squeezing them tight. “Please be from Mrs. Walker.”

A flip of the top paper and Alessio’s familiar penmanship stared back at me: “We need to talk.”

I rubbed my thumb over the words, hearing them spoken in his voice before I shut it away and blinked the sudden tears from my eyes. “Over my dead body.”