Christian

I glared down into Mia’s eyes and spoke through clenched teeth. “And, please tell me I was mistaken when I saw a man who looked a lot like Maxim Ivanov in the parking lot.” Nic and I had spoken after my confrontation with Mia in her studio, and he’d mentioned who and what the passports were for. Maxim was a long-time frenemy of the DeLuca clan, and I’d met him on one occasion. So, I was fairly certain it had been him. Still, I hoped…

“Double shit,” Mia groaned quietly.

My arm dropped from around her shoulders. Apparently it was him after all.

“You lied to me?” I inquired quietly.

“No!” she exclaimed.

“Calmati, cugino,” Nic broke in before she could say more. “This was my fault, Christian. Mia was unaware Maxim was meeting me here. She hadn’t yet informed me of your…demands?” He ended on a question mark with one black brow raised.

I stared back at him darkly. “If she were Anna?”

Nic’s expression cleared, and he leaned back in his chair. “Point taken, cousin.” Then he turned his intense scrutiny on Mia. “Back to the original question. Mia, what is it you want?”

I reached for her hand under the table, and she squeezed it tightly as she gazed up at me. “You.”

A smile stretched across my face before I leaned down to claim her lips. I lost awareness of my surroundings and deepened the kiss until the spell was broken by the sound of Nic clearing his throat. I couldn’t help my small chuckle when Mia jumped back and glanced at Nic sheepishly, with her face burning red. It was adorable.

Nic sighed. “As a happily married man who hates it when his wife is in any type of danger, I cannot begrudge Christian for wanting you to step away from this life. But, I also should say, Mia, you are the best I’ve ever worked with and I would hate to see you go.” He shot an annoyed glare my way, though it had no real malice in it. “So, I’ll take what I can get. How about I consult you on the things I need, and you choose which jobs to take?”

“That works great.” Mia jumped in before I could speak. Then she let go of my hand and grabbed onto my thigh, digging her nails in so hard, I knew I’d have marks. Honestly…it was kind of hot, though unnecessary. I wasn’t going to interject; I could live with this compromise. Slowly, I pried each of her fingers out of my thigh and laced ours together.

“Brilliant. Now, if you don’t mind, I need Mia.”

“You should probably let her eat first, cugino,” Nic smirked. “She needs to replenish her energy to keep up with your DeLuca stamina.”

Mia slapped a hand over her forehead and groaned. “You did not just say that!” she snapped.

At that moment, food arrived and I gaped at the amount the waitress set in front of Mia.

Nic slid from the booth and tossed some money on the table. “You should let her out of bed to eat occasionally.”

The waitress laughed and scurried away. I glared at Nic. “Sod off, mate.” He just laughed and sauntered to the front door.

Mia had ignored us both and dug into her meal with gusto. “Is this your first meal today, love?”

She shrugged as she swallowed a bite of her sandwich. “I was focused on getting the order done and forgot to eat.”

“No wonder Camila assumed you’d be here when I called her,” I mused.

Mia shook her head and muttered, “That blabber mouth.”

“You need to be more careful about eating, love. You could be eating for two.”

Mia promptly started choking on her mouthful of food. I patted her back gently and pushed her glass of water closer to her.

“I—I’m—I’m not—no way am I—” she sputtered after taking a healthy sip. She looked up at me and her eyes narrowed at my unabashed grin.

“If you say so, love,” I placated and kissed the tip of her nose. “Still, you shouldn’t be skipping meals.”

She stared at me for a moment more, then seemed to decide to ignore the whole conversation and turned back to her food. I reached over to snag a pickle from her plate, and she promptly slapped my hand causing me to dissolve into hearty laughter.

I waved over the waitress and put in a quick order. We ate in a comfortable silence until she’d consumed every last crumb from her lunch and anything left of mine.

After paying the bill, I scooted from the booth and stretched my hand out for Mia’s. “I want to show you something. Will you come with me?”

* * *

Our cab pulled up to a well-kept, but older, pre-war building not far from Camila and Enzo’s brownstone. It was beautifully designed and the original façade had been perfectly preserved.

I was living on a college professor’s salary. However, I still had equity in the legitimate businesses. I couldn’t afford to provide Mia with the kind of home Nic or Enzo had, but that didn’t mean we wouldn’t live quite comfortably.

I hopped out of the cab and helped Mia to exit it behind me. She smiled as her eyes swept over the exterior of the apartments. “I love this building. The architecture speaks to the artist in me.”

“I hoped you would feel that way.” Taking her hand, I led her up the steps to the front door, then fished a key from my pocket. I unlocked the door and guided her inside a small hallway. There was a single door on the far end of the hallway and a set of stairs up to the next level near the front. With another key, I let us in the entrance at the end of the hall.

It led to a spacious, three bedroom, two bath apartment that took up the whole main floor and the lower level, similar to a walkout basement because it was actually street level. It also included a decent sized back yard that led to an alley through which you could reach Enzo and Camila’s home a few doors down.

“What do you think?” I asked hesitantly as she wandered quietly through the open floor plan that included a living room, dining area, and large (especially for New York City standards) kitchen.

“Did you rent this?” she asked quizzically as she disappeared down a hallway that led to the master suite. I followed behind to answer her question and gauge her reaction.

“Actually, I bought the building.”

Mia stopped short and spun around, her brows shooting up to her hairline. “You what?”

I grinned. “I bought it. We’ll have to rent out the three upper floors to afford the mortgage, but it’s ours.” I scrutinized her expression, trying to decipher her feelings. “Do you like it?” I asked, then held out my hand to stop her from responding. “Wait, let me show you something before you answer.”

Grabbing her hand again, I towed her behind me and headed to the lower level. There was another living space, two bedrooms, a laundry room, and a storage room. At least, that’s what it looked like. But, in the storage room was another door. One that blended into the wooden paneled walls and it led to a set of stairs. At the bottom was a room that had originally been used as a bomb shelter.

I’d had multiple types of lighting installed since there were no windows. They could be changed to imitate just about any setting she wanted. There was a sink, mini fridge, stereo system, and an intercom so we could communicate easily since the room lacked a cell signal. I’d transported everything from her studio at her sister’s house, then while we’d been at lunch, Enzo had brought over everything from her…secret studio. The room was set up and ready for her to create anything.

Mia gasped as her wide-eyed gaze took in every aspect of the space.

“Okay, now you can answer my question,” I prompted. “Do you like it?”