Page 16 of Obsessed by My Ex's Mafia Uncle

Chapter Three

Christine

Daniel is testing me.

First, he gambled the night away, and now he’s nowhere to be found?

I lean against the bar like I’m not irritated, like I haven’t checked the time enough for it to start feeling personal.

The wood is cool beneath my arms, it’s helping in a way nothing else is.

Around me, the casino still thrives, alive in that loud, careless way that makes everything feel temporary.

I should be used to this.

To him acting this way.

Still, something about tonight feels… pointed.

I take a sip of my second drink, barely tasting it. My eyes drift without permission, scanning the room like they’re searching for something specific. Or someone.

I catch myself and shake it off. But my gaze pulls back anyway, pinning on the door he walked through earlier as a part of me pines for him to walk out again.

And for a quick second, I let the yearning take root, weaving itself around Robert.

It grips and holds, like it’s been waiting for an opening. A face I barely know but can’t seem to scrub clean. A voice I shouldn’t remember this clearly, yet it lingers, the baritone still buzzing low in my stomach.

I have never been up close with someone who looks as delicious as Robert did, smells even better, and talks like some poet dragged out of the 18th century.

Gosh.

The man is so beautiful, not just handsome, but… arresting, and every time I think about him, my sex folds ache.

I press my lips together, annoyed at myself now.

It meant nothing.

It was just a conversation. A moment. That’s all.

So why does it feel like it left something behind?

I exhale deeply and take another sip, trying to drown the thought before it goes any deeper.

I hate that I’m sitting here, waiting for my boyfriend, thinking about another man, as if my loyalty is something that can be distracted by eye contact and a low voice.

I take another sip.

The door he walked through earlier is still in my line of sight. I don’t mean to keep looking at it, but I do. Like it might open again and… the door opens.

My attention snaps up. And for half a second, my chest folds with anticipation.

But it’s not him.

It’s Daniel.

He steps out from the same place, adjusting his sleeve like he’s been somewhere important. His eyes find me immediately, like I’ve been the only thing he’s been looking for.

He smiles. And just like that, the irritation shifts, softening at the edges.