Chapter 71

While Frankie drives us to my lunch shift at Lupa, he doesn’t mention – at all – anything that may or my have not passed between us this morning. I watch him carefully from the corner of my eye, watching for any hint or a sign but…

No, there’s really nothing. Frankie’s rather a lock box, isn’t he? I watch him, listening as he chats and jokes, keeping up a casual monologue as he so frequently does, and I wonder passively what other secrets he’s got hidden away in his heart and his mind.

If Frankie notices me studying him with particular gravity today, he doesn’t give any sign of it. So I just continue to watch him, half looking for a little slip, half just…admiring the straight line of his jaw as he speaks, the changing shape of his lips.

I have to blink out of my reverie when Frankie pulls us to a stop. He looks over at me, smirking. “You all right?”

“Fine,” I sigh, looking down as I unbuckle my seatbelt and then back up at him, my hand on the door’s handle. “Just…slept differently last night. You know?” I put particular emphasis on the second word, letting him know that the double entendre applies.

Frankie just smiles at me, slow, and then reaches out a finger to tap me on the nose. Just as I did to him this morning. “Don’t go there, Bambs,” he says, quiet, staring at me for a moment. And then he turns, opening his own door and climbing out.

I sigh, following him out of the car, and side-by-side we walk into Lupa, ready to get my shift started.

Things start normally enough. Andre puts me to work and bosses me around even though I’m doing everything right. Frankie sits in his corner, either playing on his phone or pretending to be. The rest of the staff move around with quick efficiency. I let the patterns of this place soothe me, liking the way it feels when customers come in and we have something concrete to do, someone to serve, something to set right.

Of course, this all goes wrong when a certain tall dark figure walks in the door.

“All you, Bambs,” Andre murmurs to me as my mouth goes dry, my hands go still, as I watch Edward Marino stroll through the doors, a frown on his lips as he makes his way over to the bar.

He keeps his eyes fixed immediately on me – only on me – as he slowly lowers himself to a stool, all grace and power. I don’t need a second glance to guess that he’s pissed as hell.

And I definitely don’t need a second guess to figure out why.

I stay still for a long moment and then, slowly, I put down the glass that I’m drying and cross over to him. “Edward,” I say, leaning on the bar and giving him a warm smile. “Twice in two days. To what do we owe the pleasure?”

“Are you aware, Bambi,” he begins, completely ignoring my question, his voice rumbling low in his chest, “that I always get what I want?”

“Well then you came to the right place,” I say, slowly blinking my lashes and putting more of my weight on the bar. I hold his gaze. “Lupa always aims to please. What can we get for you?”

“You were supposed to call me,” he snaps, not letting me be cute.

I stand up a little straighter, seeing that my wiles – or which of them I’m using today – clearly aren’t working. “I’m sorry, Edward,” trying to fill my voice with true apology. “I thought you were just being nice about that. I never assumed that you actually –“

“Do you think?” he says, leaning towards me, a little more dangerous than I’ve seen him before. “That I’m in the practice of giving my number to girls as a prank?” My eyes go wide as I lean back a little, seeing the mafia Prince that Christian referenced yesterday come out in this handsome man.

“No,” I say, casting my eyes down, sensing that now is not a moment to press, or counter, or play coy. No, he wants to dominate me in this moment, to play boss. And I know how to play my role in this game. “I’m sorry, Edward – but I…” I hesitate, glancing over at Andre, trying to decide if I will get him into any serious trouble if I try to blame this on my job.

“What,” Edward snaps, his eyes moving immediately to Andre as well. “Did he tell you not to?”

“No!” I say, instant, seeing that my instinct was right. I reach out and press my fingers to Edward’s wrist, bringing his attention back to me. “Andre didn’t do anything. It’s just – it’s in the manual, okay?” I slowly draw my hand back, holding his gaze and his attention. “And I…I didn’t want to break the rules.”

Slowly, Edward narrows his eyes, trying to judge whether I’m lying or not.

“I’m a good girl, after all,” I murmur, tucking my hands behind my back in a way that I know makes my chest press forward. I keep my voice breathy, girlish. “I like to follow the rules.”

He’s still for a moment, and then his lips curl up in a smile. I fight to keep my own smile off my mouth, instead looking up at him with wide and innocent eyes, even though I feel a little swell of victory run through my veins.

“All right,” he says, leaning against the bar a little, buying my story and letting it roll off his back. “So what do you say, good girl, want to be a little bad?”

“What?” I ask, tilting my head, genuinely confused about where this is going.

“If you called last night I was going to ask you out on a date tonight. You stole that chance from me.”

“Oh!” I say, my eyes going wider.

“So, time to break the rules,” he says, standing up from his stool. “Come on, good girl. Time to play hookie. I’m taking you on a date right now.”

“What!?” I sputter, laughing a little and looking around. “What…where would we go!?”

“Well we’re already in a bar,” he says, giving another shrug. “Come on.” He turns, starting to walk over to one of the booths.

Shocked, I turn my head towards Andre, who is already looking at me. He inhales a deep breath but then nods towards the place where the bar folds up, telling me to get moving. I hesitate for a second, wondering what Christian would say, but then I go, ducking beneath the bar and starting to cross the restaurant towards the dark booth where Edward has taken a seat.

On the way, the only thing that makes me slow my steps is the look Frankie gives me, his face grim, his lips pressed into a thin line.

I shrug at him, silently asking what the hell I’m supposed to do instead.

But he just shrugs, and sighs, admitting that there’s no recourse here. And so I keep moving, wondering, really, if he doesn’t want me to go because he knows Christian wouldn’t like it?

Or if…if Frankie himself doesn’t want me to go.

I exhale a deep breath as I sit down in the booth across from Edward, as anxious as if I really am on a first date.

“So,” Edward says, giving me a soft and dangerous smile. “What’s good here?”

“Oh,” I say, squaring my shoulders and forcing myself to be Bambi again, because Bambi – she’s braver than Iris. “Everything’s good here.” And then I give him a slow grin, and we get started.