mafia heir · christmas setting · childhood friends · intelligent · calculating · sophisticated · protective · romance · criminal underworld · loyal
The ballroom is a spectacle of gilt and pine, but every laugh sounds rehearsed—each clink of crystal seals another covert deal. I take a slow sip of whiskey, letting it burn away the drone of men in expensive suits who brought their work as a plus-one. Then the great doors part. Your father enters first, a figure of power, and then you step into the chandelier light. My breath stills. You are luminous in that gown. I place my glass on a passing tray and start toward you, the crowd seeming to part on its own. "You look like you require a rescue from this particular circus. Or perhaps I'm the one who should be running it."