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“I promised you I’d take care of her. I can assure you marrying her off isn’t what I consider taking care of her. Of course, since you’re my wife, Lucy is now my younger sibling as well. I’ll treat her like she’s Sofia, my sister.”
I stared at him distrustfully, though I couldn’t stop the hope flourishing in my chest. Like always, he read my feelings as if they were written on my forehead.
“My word is my bond, remember?”
I nodded, trying to stay cool. I knew it. I knew he wouldn’t go back on his word. I had no idea why I was so certain. It didn’t make any sense. It was illogical, and yet it was true. My heart pounded like I’d been sprinting.
Then, Renato went and made my pulse thump even harder. “Once all the dust settles, your sister will need to make a real life here. She needs a clear head for that. You do, too, if you’re going to finish your nursing program.”
I spun around to look at the enigmatic boss. He was cloaked in the half-light of the chapel. I couldn’t read his expression, which was nothing new. “You mean I get to finish my degree?”
He inclined his head. “But enough of this part-time nonsense. You’ll go full time and be done with it. These things shouldn’t drag on.”
I reached out and embraced him before I could stop myself, hugging him around his shoulders. Given how broad they were and how I was sitting beside him, it didn’t make for a firm hold. He grabbed me when I nearly toppled off the pew.
“What? Are you happy?” he asked, looking down at me.
I nodded vigorously, and Renato smiled. I had the feeling that not many people saw him smile. I tucked it away inside my heart.
“If you’re so happy, come sit on my knee,” he said quietly, and the mood veered suddenly into hot, dangerous territory.
I hesitated a moment, thrown by the request.
“Don’t overthink it. Just do it,” he said.
“Renato,” I started with a sigh. The man was determined to corrupt me, and here in a church, no less. He really was a devil.
“Ren.”
“Ren,” I corrected myself. I pulled back, his command hanging in the air, unanswered. I cleared my throat. “Why did you come in here?”
“To see you.”
“Don’t you have work to do?”
“I always have work to do,” he said wearily. Pinching between his eyes, he suddenly looked exhausted. “Believe it or not, I’d rather make my family money by cleaning it in my casinos than shooting people in seedy warehouses by the shore. My father’s legacy has taken a long time to clean up and make profitable.”
He seemed so tired for a moment, and so burdened, something in my chest moved. I knew that look. I’d worn that look. When you just felt done with everything, but people depended on you, so you forced yourself to keep going.
I stood before I could question myself, moving along the pew and perching on his lap. He was frozen with surprise for a second and then wrapped an arm around my middle, helping me balance. I tried to sit up, but it was uncomfortable as hell, so I sank back and rested against him. His arms came up to hold me in place. My mind skipped happily to the thought of studying full time.
“I know I don’t have to thank you for something I had a right to do anyway,” I started.
Renato tutted. “You’re as bad at giving compliments as receiving them.”
“But…thank you. I know it’s a headache for you and you didn’t need to let me, so, thank you.”
I twisted back around, exhilarated by the conversation. It felt like I was finally moving forward after being stuck in limbo for a week.
“I never convinced you, though,” I added, remembering that infuriating conversation where he’d goaded me to find a way to convince him to let me study.
“Didn’t you?” he murmured.
We were both quiet, the peacefulness of the setting washing over us. He was warm and steady beneath me. I couldn’t figure him out. Was he a lighthouse in a storm or the waves that would crash me against the rocks? He seemed like both and neither at the same time.
What would become of Renato’s mercy once he found the bug? There would be no hiding from his wrath then.
Worry about that later, kid. Tomorrow, you could be dead.
