Total pages in book: 64
Estimated words: 61672 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 308(@200wpm)___ 247(@250wpm)___ 206(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 61672 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 308(@200wpm)___ 247(@250wpm)___ 206(@300wpm)
Matteo is already seated in one of the few coveted couches by the window, his suit jacket draped on the leather armrest. He’s rolled his sleeves up to his elbows. Sun rays dance on his golden skin and illuminates the lighter shades of brown in his dark hair.
Somehow, I’m not surprised he’s got the best seat in the coffee shop. I can just imagine him barking an order for the previous occupant of the couch to walk away.
The moment he waves at me, several girls follow the line of his sight to find me. They glare at me, practically glowing green with envy.
If only they knew what kind of a man Matteo is, what kind of violence he’s capable of as a man involved in his “family business.”
I know better. That’s why I have to do better. I can’t be ensnared by his charm like everyone else. With a toddler depending on me, I can’t afford to be careless.
“Hey, I ordered you your usual drink.” Matteo gestures at the plastic cup sweating on the table.
I won’t even ask him how he knew what I normally drink. Taking my seat, I ask, “Why do you want to see me?”
“I’ve spent four years looking for you. I can’t just walk away now that I’ve found you.”
“What do you want to do with me, then? You want me to go home with you and marry you, just like our families wanted?” I ask.
He shrugs his broad shoulders. “If that’s what you want.”
Does he think marriage is that trivial a matter?
I pick up my glass, the condensation wetting my fingers as I take a sip of my iced latte. “You know that’s not going to happen, right?”
“Why not?”
Because I can’t do that to Jack. I can’t let him grow up the same way I did.
I bite my tongue. Matteo can’t find out about Jack. Not until I figure out what to do. Maybe not ever.
Matteo leans forward. His strong, muscular forearms rest on his knees. “Grace, that is exactly what is going to happen. That’s what you want too, whether you know it or not. You’ll be happy with me, with your family all around you.”
I scoff. “That’s just a fantasy, Matteo. Real life isn’t that ideal. You don’t even know me, and you think things are just going to magically work out?”
“Yeah,” he answers without missing a beat.
“What, you’re just going to kidnap me one day when I least expect it and drag me home?”
He laughs. “I can do that. But I won’t have to.”
“What makes you say that?”
“Why did you come here? I didn’t have to drag you here. And yet, here you are,” he says with a cocky tone.
“Because you’re a mobster. And the threat is enough to make me follow your order.”
“I didn’t threaten you.” He stares at me with his sharp, penetrating eyes.
“Yeah, well, just because you didn’t say it out loud doesn’t mean there was no threat,” I say. “Don’t your parents want you to drag me home?”
“They don’t know you’re alive—not with the kind of certainty I do. But it doesn’t matter. I don’t care what they want. I’m here because I want to be here.”
“Do they know you’ve found me?”
He shakes his head. The sunlight trapped in his hair shifts, making the loose strands glitter like warm silk. “I told you. You’re my little secret.”
“How is it that you’ve managed to find me and they haven’t?”
“It’s just fate, Grace. I’m meant to find you,” he says with a teasing smirk. “I had a clue they don’t. Ashley. They don’t know you’ve used that name in the past.”
My heart races. I didn’t choose my new name myself; I only found out I’d be Ashley Davis on the drive to the airport. So even though Matteo said it so lightly, it could very well be fate.
No. It’s just a coincidence.
“Are they still looking for me?” If they are, I’d have to think about moving every year or so, just to make it a little harder for them to track me down.
Matteo nods. Not the answer I was hoping for, but I expected it. “I don’t know about your family, though. They either think you’re really dead, or they’re really good actors.”
Oh God, what am I doing here? The more time I spend with Matteo, the more risk I’m imposing on my new life, on Jack, on my family back home.
“I have to go,” I say, getting up from my couch.
“You’re not going anywhere.” His voice is laced with danger.
“That sounds like a threat.”
Unblinking, he fixes his intense gaze on me. He stands inches away from me. “I don’t care what you think it is. You’re not leaving. Besides, Grace, you forget something. I know your secret.”
My heart skips a beat. Does he know about Jack?
He’s so tall I have to crane my neck when I look up at him, but I put on a brave face. “Yeah?”