Page 5 of Reckless Sinner
I just barely resisted the urge to glare at him. I would never dare to glare at my father no matter how much I might occasionally want to.
What if Dante doesn’t want me? What if he doesn’t like me?
I couldn’t fail my father in this. I couldn’t. And as much as I knew that it was hurtful and manipulative…
I wanted Dante too badly to refuse.
CHAPTER3
Dante
After I accepted everyone’s congratulations, I found myself blocked from exiting the room by Delaney Weston.
“I’m sorry,” she blurted out. “I shouldn’t have said anything. I thought you knew. I spoiled the surprise.”
“You’re fine,” I assured her. Up close I could smell a hint of lavender and see the way her tight pale pink skirt hugged her curves. “I did already know. But people like tradition. And I think your old man wanted to be the one to say it.”
“He does like to do things his way,” Delaney said, with just the faintest touch of… was that bitterness I heard in her tone?
But then she smiled and I was sure I’d imagined it. “Anyway, congratulations. Dad’s told me about how hard you’ve worked all this time, I’m sure you’ve earned it.”
“I certainly hope I have.” God, she was such a tiny thing. I could pick her up with one arm, I was sure. Pin her against the wall with no effort at all…
Delaney looked up at me through her thick lashes. “You know, I’d heard you Russo boys were dangerous but you don’t look all that bad to me.”
Was she . . . flirting with me? “I put on a good show.”
“Mmm. You know I grew up around lawyers, your kind don’t scare me.”
I felt that familiar ache of disappointment in my gut. “If you’re looking for one of the mafia bad boys, Miss Weston, I’m afraid you’ll have better luck trying my brother Marco. He’s certainly not picky.”
“Dante?” Alan was calling. “A word in my office, please?”
Before I could step through, Delaney took a step to the side so that she was in front of me again, blocking me.
“Actually I think you’re one of the good boys,” she pointed out. Her voice was a hushed whisper, the words rushed like she shouldn’t be saying them. “I don’t think anyone else lets themselves see it, but I do.”
“Dante?” Alan repeated.
I doubted he’d like me coming on too hard with his daughter. I knew I had to get a move on. But Delaney’s words had me rooted to the floor.
Ever since I had entered the world of law, everyone had assumed I was a fixer for my family. And they weren’t exactly wrong. I knew there was a reason my father had told me to go into law school. I knew it was only a matter of time until he called upon me to do something for him.
But he hadn’t called on me yet, and I had no intention of going out of my way to help him. Maybe, when the time came, I might even be able to refuse him. To finally severe my ties with my family.
Who knew.
The point was, everyone assumed I was doing dirty work for my dad even though I wasn’t and never had. To have Delaney say that she thought I was one of the good ones, that she saw what others didn’t…
“Let me get your number,” I said before I could stop myself. “Perhaps we could… grab a few drinks after work tonight?”
Delaney blinked at me in shock, like she hadn’t thought I’d want to take her out. An adorable blush spread over her cheeks and she bit her lip. “Um. Yes. Yes, I’d like that. Um. Here you go.”
She was absolutely darling. I wanted to devour her. See if I could get her blushing all over that cute little body.
I took the phone number she scribbled onto a napkin from the conference room’s coffee bar, slid it into my pocket, then hurried after her father. Thank God he didn’t seem to have seen that, going into his office with the expectation that I would follow on command.
That was the kind of man that Alan Weston was. He gave orders, and those orders were obeyed.
