He grabbed my arm before I could slip out of bed. “I feel better because I talked to you.”
I nodded, not sure what else to say. Devil wouldn’t have taken me to meet Elena or Rob and he sure as hell wouldn’t have told me this story if we were just taking our anger out on each other with hard, rough fucking. That might have been all there was at first, but it sure as hell wasn’t what we were doing now. That meant we were both in danger of fucking up the worlds we’d made for ourselves.
Finally, I said, “Let’s get cleaned up so we can eat.”
We showered and dressed, and Devil took out the food he’d brought.
“I’ve got the same drink choices as last time,” I said. “Beer or water.”
“Beer would do, but this lasagna deserves to be treated properly. There’s a bottle of wine in the bag on the counter.” He tilted his head toward a carrier bag.
“I’m not sure if I have—”
“A wine opener? I assumed you wouldn’t, so I brought one.”
I laughed. For an impulsive man, he seemed to have planned well for this dinner. “I’m not exactly a wine person.”
“You will be when you drink this. It pairs perfectly with the lasagna.”
I raised my brows. “You’re an expert, huh?”
“My cousin is an expert. I’ve picked up enough to fake it.”
I found the opener and then stared at the wine bottle.
“Can you open it?” Devil asked.
I huffed, acting as if I was terribly insulted while hoping I’d be able to figure it out.
While I wrestled with the cork, Devil heated up the lasagna in the oven, scoffing at the idea of using the microwave.
“I don’t suppose you also brought wine glasses?” I asked.
“Nah. I’m not so much of a snob I can’t drink out of a regular glass. You do have glasses, right?”
“A few. Don’t expect them to match.”
“I suppose that would be asking too much.”
Devil slipped some garlic bread into the oven along with the lasagna, then dressed a salad.
“You’re making me eat vegetables?”
He glared at me. “Yes. You’re going to eat an entire proper dinner.”
“Or what? You’ll punish me?”
“You don’t want to go there. I would think your ass is sore enough.”
It really was.
I poured our wine, and Devil sipped his as he finished the preparations. I decided to wait and taste mine with the lasagna since I wasn’t sure I’d like it.
Devil brushed away my offer to help, so I sat down at my scrappy kitchen table and waited. He brought each of us a plate of lasagna, bread, and salad. Once he was seated, I grabbed my fork and dug in.
“You’re going to burn your mouth,” he warned.
“I’m starving. You wore me out.” I blew on a bite of lasagna, and when I thought I wouldn’t scorch myself, I tasted it. I couldn’t stop the groan that slipped out.
“My God, this is the best lasagna I’ve ever tasted.”
“I told you Lola was amazing.”
Devil was himself again, and I was glad. I felt like shit for holding the death of that kid over his head. If I’d had any idea…
If I’d had any idea what Devil was really like, I’d have run the other way as fast as I could. I liked things to be black and white, and Devil was every shade of gray.
That was all true, but no matter how scared I was, I couldn’t let go of this man.
As we were sharing the amazing baked goods Devil had brought, he told me that he and Angelo had known Cameron since high school and that Angelo had had a crush on him back then. I was about to ask more about the bakery opening when Devil got a call.
He looked at his phone and frowned. “It’s Lucien. If I don’t answer, he’ll just keep calling.”
“Go ahead.”
“What’s up?” he said after accepting the call. I ate the rest of my cannoli and listened to him. “He did what?… Marco?… Yeah, I’ll pick him up… We’ll handle it… Any way we need to… Right. I’ll call you when it’s done.”
Dinner had felt almost like a date a normal person would have, but all it took was that one call to remind me that nothing about our situation was normal. Devil lived in a different world than mine, a world where his cousin called him and sent him out to do things I should arrest him for.
He glanced at me as he stuck his phone back in his pocket. “I’ve got to go.” He pushed his chair back and stood.
“I’m not going to ask where you’re going or what you’re doing because I’m sure it’s better if I don’t know, but be careful.”
“If I were careful, I wouldn’t be leaving. Lucien called me because I’m the one who’s never careful, the one they send in when taking a risk is the best option.”