Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 83677 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 418(@200wpm)___ 335(@250wpm)___ 279(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83677 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 418(@200wpm)___ 335(@250wpm)___ 279(@300wpm)
“So, what really does bring you back here? Am I getting a stalker, Mr. Leoni?” she asked.
“I like to hear you play.”
“You do?”
“You play it so well. I guess I’m getting addicted.”
“There are worse things in life to be addicted to, I guess. Do you have a drink?”
“Yes.”
“Ah, okay.” She twisted the cap off her bottle, and he watched her take a sip. “How have you been?”
“You’re asking about me?”
“It’s what friends do.”
“We’re friends?” he asked.
“I don’t know if we’re friends, but we’re certainly acquaintances. I don’t take just anyone to Mary’s, I’ll have you know. I save that for people I really like.”
“Then I’ll consider it a treat for a job well done.”
Her smile was breathtaking, and he didn’t want this moment to end. Yet, like all things, it had to end. The way he was paying her attention, someone would notice. He thought about Richard, and his enemy and knew he had to deal with that special request very soon.
Between his father, the wedding, and keeping an eye on the city, he’d pushed Richard to the bottom of the list of things to do.
“You’re quiet,” she said.
“I need to think.”
“I get that. Take all the time in the world.” She touched his hand. “You’re always more than welcome here.”
She was working in his restaurant and offering him her booth. She didn’t have a fucking clue who was sitting opposite her. He’d killed men and women in the name of his family, for loyalty. By the time he was fifteen he had over five kills, most of them of men twice his age, and who were supposed to have more skill than he did.
Running a hand down his face, he watched as Tanya returned to take Belle back to the stage.
He didn’t move.
He had to stop coming here for not only his safety but for Belle’s. She was a weak link to him, and not just because she was a woman. Her blindness made her weak. Anyone could sneak up on her, hurt her.
It was one thing to have his enemy’s death on his conscience, but it was another thing entirely to have an innocent woman.
Belle was innocent and a civilian. He couldn’t keep coming here and seeing her. No matter how it seemed to calm the beast inside him. She played the piano without a single flaw.
Finishing off his drink, he’d walk her home, and then, he’d never see her again. He wouldn’t have anything else to do to her.
He’d be getting married in a matter of months, not to mention the women he could call at a moment’s notice.
Diego didn’t get her allure. She wasn’t the sexiest woman he’d ever seen, or the prettiest, and yet, he kept on coming, like a moth to a fucking flame. She had him under her spell, and there was no way out of it, not for him.
The restaurant slowly emptied, and he held her jacket. The locker that he’d known was hers had the label, “Blind Girl’s locker.” He’d made sure his men had it removed and her locker cleaned up. She worked in his establishment, and she’d be treated with respect.
Tanya escorted her over to him, and Belle offered him that sweet smile.
“You always seem to surprise me,” she said. “You’re the perfect gentleman.”
If she really knew what he was capable of and what he’d done to many women, she wouldn’t ever mistake him as a gentleman.
Taking hold of her hand, he placed it over his arm and left the restaurant. This would be his last time seeing her, talking to her. Allowing himself to have the illusion of being a free man.
That’s who Belle deserved. Someone who would love and care for her.
“You’re still quiet.”
“I’ve got a lot on my mind.”
“I get that. Running a club must be incredibly exhausting.” She rested her head against his shoulder. “Whatever it is, it’ll be all right.”
“How could you even know that?” he asked.
“My mother, she always told me that no matter how scary anything was, there was always a way around it. There’s a solution for everything, you’ve just got to be brave enough to look.”
“Your mother sounds amazing.”
“She was.”
“Was?”
“She passed away a long time ago.”
“I’m so sorry.”
“It’s fine, really. I’ve had my chance to grieve.”
“I thought it never went away.”
“It doesn’t, but as each day passes and life makes you have to remember you’re still part of it. It doesn’t exactly allow you unlimited time to wait for the pain to die down. It just gets easier somehow. You take it one day at a time.”
“Some things in life you need to take one day at a time.”
“True. True.”
“What about your dad?” he asked. He knew all about her, after running a thorough background check the moment he realized she was one of his employees. Her father was around, and he constantly checked up on her. She wasn’t poor. Compared to his wealth she was, but she wasn’t hurting for a good life.