“You ready?”
“Yes.”
“Okay. Brian, you can take us up whenever you’re ready.”
“Alright. Here we go.”
The propeller began to spin and she found herself grateful for the ear protection. Her
stomach flipped as they lifted off the ground. Once the ascent ended, the helicopter evened out and she found herself in awe of the view.
Colm bent between them and opened the basket.
The sight of beef patties made her mouth water and her heart ache. They were one of her
favorite dishes from back home. Moved, she glanced up at him.
“I know you,” he mouthed.
The words wrapped around her like a warm blanket, soothing her frayed nerves. No one had
ever done anything like this for her. She felt worthy. For the first time in her life, someone saw her as deserving of love. Love? Colm smiled at her and she knew this was much more than sexual attraction or a flight of fancy. The man could have almost any pussy if that’s what he wanted and she’d turned him down repeatedly. What other reason was there for his continued pursuit? She nibbled on the beef patty, barely tasting it as she dealt with an influx of emotions she’d never experienced. Everything changed as her perception shifted. I want more too.
He offered her the flask.
Gia took it, sniffed the opening, and took a test sip. The rum punch she remembered from
her homeland slid down her throat and made her heart sing. The rusty cage of her self-imposed prison rattled, as she began to work on opening it from the inside.
CHAPTER FIVE
Lefty tugged at the collar of the button-up he wore under his vest. The fancy threads made him itch. But the entertainment was topnotch. Watching Demon try to not snap on Ardy’s father in front of his family and keep the boys to watch their wandering eyes when it came to Ardy’s sisters was priceless.
His intended bride, Ardy, came from good stock. Her two sisters, Birdie, who was nineteen, and Carylin, who was eighteen, were lookers. They’d all packed into the back room of a steak house. It was the nicest
place most of them had ever seen. Lefty felt surprised they didn’t have three forks. Gia looked right at home as she pursued the menu.
He leaned in close to her and spoke in her ear. “You don’t look like you feel out of place.”
“I’ve been more places than just Taffy’s.” She rolled her eyes.
“I know.”
“Playing the part of a lady is engrained. Plenty of men want the escort experience.” She shrugged.
She’d been doing that more and more, opening up. He almost felt afraid to get used to it.
Something shifted between them recently. Though, he couldn’t pinpoint exactly when or why. “I don’t know what to say to that.”
Gia giggled. “And that’s what I like most about you.”
“That I’m clueless?” He frowned.
“No, that you’re honest.”
“Yeah, let’s hope you’re still saying that in a month,” Lefty replied, only half joking. Most people outside of the club couldn’t handle him. He liked to be up front and real. Life was too short for pretense, and he wanted to see his enemies. If you got into the habit of lying, you forgot how to spot a liar from a dozen paces away.
“I’ve always admired that about you, Colm. Even when it pisses me off, which I know it’s