Page 103 of Twisted Temptation

“Mr. Di Zaro.” She smiles cautiously. “I won’t take up much of your time. I just wanted to thank you in person. Thank you for what you did for me and my son. The hospital. The therapist. My son’s school fees. The money so I can take time off.” She stops and steadies herself. “I could never repay you.”

“And you never need to.”

She nods and then glances once at John Marco, then back to me, dropping her voice.

“And thank you for taking care of the other matter.”

She doesn’t need to say it out loud. I know what she means. I hold her gaze and acknowledge what she said with a nod.

“I couldn’t bear the idea of him being out there,” she says, her voice shaking now. “Walking around. Being fine. Before I knew he was gone, I thought I’d have to look over my shoulder all the time. But now I don’t have to. You gave me that, and I want you to know how grateful I am.”

“You owe me nothing, Katie,” I say. “Your job is here when you feel ready to return. In the meantime, be with your son and heal.”

She nods self-consciously. “Well, thanks again.”

She turns to go, but then spins back and hugs me. Her arms wrap around my ribs, her cheek presses against my chest, and I stand there for a moment with my hands in the air like I’m being robbed.

Then I put one hand on her back, then the other, and I hug her.

When she steps back, she wipes her eyes. “God bless you, Mr. Di Zaro.”

She leaves, and the office is suddenly very quiet.

John Marco is staring at me with both eyebrows somewhere near his hairline.

“What?” I ask.

“You let her hug you.”

“Don’t start.”

He puts his hand over his heart like he’s witnessed a miracle. “Ladies and gentlemen, it’s alive.”

He grins and rises to his feet.

“It’s a good thing,” he says.

I’m going to hear about this for the rest of my life.

“Don’t you have somewhere else to be?”

“Plenty, but nowhere is as entertaining as standing in my brother’s office and teasing him.”

I walk around my desk and sit. “Goodbye, John Marco.”

He walks toward the door but pauses in the doorway.

"Keep sleeping with your wife. You're less of an asshole when you're getting laid."

“Who said I was sleeping with her?”

John Marco looks at me like I’m a lost cause. “Oh, big brother, you’re an expert in so many terrifying things, yet such a greenhorn when it comes to matters of the heart. It’s written all over your face. I saw it at the gala, and I’m seeing it now. You’re not just sleeping with her. You’re in love with her.”

I keep my expression neutral. “Weren’t you leaving?”

He grins. “It’s a good thing, Dante. Don’t fuck this up.”

When he’s gone, I pick up the phone and call Sunny. She answers on the third ring.