Page 40 of Loyalty

John knew Andino was telling the truth.

He wished he knew how to tell his cousin that it would be okay, one way or the other. It wouldn’t matter. Not to his cousin.

Andino was going to do him, and that meant looking out for anybody he gave a shit about.

John included.

“Speaking of looking out for you,” Andino said quieter.

John glanced at his cousin. “Pardon?”

“I ran in to somebody—looks like she listened to me.”

“What are you talking about?”

Andino pointed over Johnathan’s shoulder. He turned to see the sight of Siena Calabrese being escorted across the VIP floor by one of Johnathan’s enforcers. The man stayed close to her side, like if she moved out of step, he was ready to grab her.

John hadn’t expected to see her.

Especially not here.

“I figured that was fucked—finished,” John said, more to himself than anyone else.

Andino cocked a brow. “What—her? I ran in to her when I had to handle some business with the Calabrese brothers. I hate them fuckers.”

“Yeah, but no. I meant, I kind of ducked out on her. What did you do?”

A sly smile and another clap on John’s shoulder accompanied Andino’s next words. “She asked about you when I ran in to her. Kind of figured you must have made … an impression.”

John cleared his throat. “Not really supposed to be dating.”

Or fucking.

Or anything.

His therapist made that clear at every appointment. He was supposed to give it time, and work on getting himself straightened out and on the up before he worried about anything else. For good reason …

Relationships, women, and sex were intense things for John. When he mixed all three together, it could be one hell of a hurricane for him.

A good hurricane.

Damn, so good.

It could be a bad one, too.

“Who said anything about dating?” Andino asked like the word tasted bad in his mouth. “Have some fun, John. That’s all.”

It wasn’t that simple.

John actually had an interest in Siena Calabrese. Her and those sweet smiles, the romance novels she always seemed to have, and her soft-spoken demeanor. It was only a little bit about her, but he liked it.

There was a lot about her he didn’t know but wanted to, as well.

The two quieted as the enforcer finally approached with Siena at his side. She flashed John a blinding smile. He was so caught up in the way she looked at him, that he barely noticed the fact she was wearing a dress that showed off all her curves, and heels that made her legs look … fan-fucking-tastic.

Painted red lips.

Hair in curls.