Page 52 of Soulmate of the Mafia King (Kings of Philly #8)

TOMMASO

D espite how much I wanted Paige to keep that little black dress on, we had a few hours before the Tower officially emptied out for our use.

I talked her into putting on something a little more walkable and keeping the lingerie on.

As if to punish me for my restraint, she picked a pair of tiny, wide-legged shorts that showed the tops of the garters attached to her stockings every time she moved and a fitted blouse.

I changed and somehow convinced myself to leave the hotel room instead of stripping everything off her and spending the hours in bed.

She took my hand as we stepped into the lobby. “I should’ve known. When you plan a surprise, it’s never just one thing. Where are we off to first?”

“So nosy.” I smiled.

“You’re right, I’ll stop asking.” She slid the room key out of her pocket and fiddled with it for a second, then dropped it. With a small smile, she bent at the waist to pick it up, exposing those garter straps again.

I grabbed her waist and hurried her the final few steps through the lobby before proximity could make me change my mind. “You’re no fun.”

“I’ll have you know I’m very fun.” She glanced at me with a flicker of worry in her eyes. “When I know what’s going on.”

I took a deep breath. Obviously, she could tell I was on edge.

But why was I even nervous anymore? I knew what I wanted.

I had her here. Everything was falling into place.

Maybe the surprise was just for me, like I couldn’t trust her to stick around unless I unveiled the elements of the day one by one. But I could. I knew that.

“We’re going to the Museum of the History of Medicine.” I called a car as Paige squealed.

The ride disappeared in a blink, and soon, we were standing in front of the relatively small museum, paying our entry fee. Paige bounced on the balls of her feet.

“I didn’t even know this was here,” she said. “But I looked up everything I could in the car ride over. Do you know their collection includes some of the rarest early medieval surgery tools ever found?”

I chuckled. “Yes, I did. I made sure I did my homework before picking this one.”

Her smile flickered as she tried to be frustrated with me for making fun of her a little, but the siren song of weird medical history was too strong. As soon as the people at the front allowed us in, Paige took off like a shot. But, after a moment’s hesitation, she circled back for me.

“Sorry.” She grabbed my hand. “My parents were happy to take me to the one in Philly, but it grossed my mom out, and my dad stayed with her, so I basically got my own run of the place while they did something else.”

I kissed the back of her hand. “I dare you to gross me out.”

The smile that spread across her lips then should’ve scared me, but nothing could touch me today except the little velvet box back in the room.

We bobbed and wove through the collection in chronological order, and Paige really did do her best. There were some fucking nasty chapters of medical history I’d never heard about, even in the many flights she’d talked me through takeoff on.

But I wasn’t here for me. I was here to watch her eyes light up as she explained the logic behind some torture device that led to modern surgical techniques, and moments like that overflowed in the weird little museum.

Once we’d exhausted their collection, we stepped out onto the Paris streets in the setting sun.

“Time to head back to the hotel? Get ready?” she asked, a little bit of those suspicious nerves returning.

I shook my head. I knew her well enough to know we needed to get ready at the last possible minute, or she was going to overthink things. “Tour of the catacombs, if you can handle it.”

“At night?” She grinned. “I think that might be the biggest daredevil experience you can have in Paris.”

I laughed as we got back into the car to drive to the start of the tour.

The catacombs were beautiful, in their own spooky way, but the tour guide I’d hired had a thick French accent and droning monotone that made him almost impossible to understand.

Paige and I quickly drifted toward the back of the pack and started making our own jokes, drawing glares from the other tourists who really wanted to struggle to hear facts about the creepy bone walls.

She tugged me in closer and whispered in my ear, “Killian has a tunnel system under his house like this, right?”

I nodded, wondering where she was going with this but enjoying the herbal smell of her, the easy way she touched me after all we’d been through.

She grinned. “I think he decorates the tunnels like this.”

I barked out a laugh, earning us a few more glares. The tunnels under Killian’s place were as concrete and utilitarian as possible, but it would make sense under that big, creepy house.

My mind drifted away to what Adrian would do with Killian’s system of cells, his syndicate in general, and then quickly to Killian and Sera spending time together on a private beach somewhere.

He’d seemed happy when he left the reception.

Hell, he’d seemed happy every time he talked about that goddamn island.

Maybe the bastard would finally relax for once.

I could barely picture him lazing around on a beach for the rest of his life.

Did I want that? The private island, the life of luxury with the woman I loved?

Paige tucked her arm through mine and stepped closer to avoid a jut of bone.

The taut muscles of her forearm pressed against mine, a testament to the fact she hadn’t given up her training in the wake of Zahur.

She wanted to be able to protect herself and the people around her, I knew.

And I realized I didn’t want the island, or at least, not now.

Neither Paige or I could give up our work.

There were so many sex traffickers, so many women who needed her.

I wanted a life with Paige, a family, but we could do that in Philly.

The danger kept us on our toes, kept us close.

I kissed her on the top of her head, trying to impress just how much I loved her and loved the idea of spending our lives together.

She just smiled up at me and made a joke about French prostitutes having some exciting opportunities down here that almost made me collapse laughing.

When the time finally came, I pulled out the suit I’d lain aside for tonight and a dress for Paige.

She raised her eyebrow at me. “You’re picking out my clothes now?”

“Just for tonight.” I smiled. “Please?”

“The puppy-dog eyes are mean.” She pecked my lips. “But fine. Scram.”

I took my suit and changed in the living room with a laugh, then paced for the long minutes until she emerged. I stopped dead as my breath caught.

She looked stunning. The rich green made her hair shine like fire, the glittering fabric cupped every inch of her body. She looked like a dream I’d had ages ago. I blinked a few times and held out my arm.

“Ready?”

She took it. “As I’m going to be.”