Sold to the mafia boss

I feel his eyes on me as we entered the restaurant, the bright light and Frank Sinatra’s smooth voice in the background heightened my comfort in a matter of seconds. A waitress approaches us as we entered the room, her gaze filled with disbelief when she studies me, blatantly disapproving of my presence next to Logan. Even with all the glamour and expensive dress and make up, I still didn’t belong to his world. I’d always remain the simple, timid Layla Quins no matter how much make up I wore.

“You know why she’s looking at you like that?” His whispered words travel down my spine, and I shiver the second his eyes meet mine, a playful but mischievous smirk dancing on his lips ” it’s because you look absolutely breathtaking tonight”

I almost stumble over my own feet at his words when we reach our table but Logan still had his hand firmly tucked in mine, steadying me before helping me into the chair. “Thank you” I feel the heat in my cheeks before he takes the seat opposite to me.

“Welcome to DiMarzio’s” the same waitress from earlier suddenly stands next to us but Logan doesn’t even seem to register her, his eyes still trained on me when she rambles on “these are your menus for the night. Can I get you anything to drink? We have a 2003 Sauvignon Blanc, straight from a sweet little vineyard in the south of France….”Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

Logan shoots her a quick and polite smile, so quick I almost didn’t see it, and then redirects his attention to me ” I think I’ll just go with water for now. I’ll be driving this beautiful woman back home tonight and I want to be sober for that”

Logan wasn’t gonna be driving me home, his driver would and I think he didn’t look like someone who would be driving himself home judging from his expensive dress up and I think anyone in this room would know that. I didn’t know why he said that to her but I found myself actually liking how he said it.

The waitress seems as startled as I am by his statement, her eyes wide as she stumbles over her words “oh, yes, uh, of course. What about you miss?”

I want to look at her, really, but this man’s eyes has caught mine like a hunter catches his prey and I’m the deer that’s about to be devoured by a lion. ” Same for me thanks” is all I get out before the waitress walked away.

Logan’s eyes settled on mine, and my heart instantly hammers in my chest, anxiety creeping into my bones with every passing second. I mentally screamed for God to save me right now. I didn’t know why he suddenly looked at me the way he did right now, or why he had this strange effects on me this night.

“So, Layla” his eyes sparkled with mischief when he leans back a little, not breaking eye contact for a second. I don’t think I’ve ever regarded anyone for so long without wanting to look away. Not even Emma. “What’s your meal of choice?” He gestures to the menu in front of me. I found this new found attitude of his strange and somewhat discomforting. First he stares at me like I’m his next meal, and then he asks me what I want to eat?

” I’ve never been to an Italian restaurant before” I replied, picking up the menu to scan through it. I spotted a food name that I thought maybe I’d like and I decided I wanted to order that. I looked up to find Logan’s eyes still watching me, a smile dancing on his lips. I’m tempted to ask why he’s being nice tonight, why he brought me out here.

“That’s a shame, love,” he said “I’m about to treat you to the most delicious Italian dishes you’ve probably only heard of”

“You seem to have eaten a lot of it”

“I’m Italian” he provided proudly, his shoulders heaving with pride. “Isn’t that obvious enough from all the good looks?”

I rolled my eyes casually at him.

“You look like you’re from a part of Asia, but not completely. Maybe half American, half Asian? American women are completely hot, they’re like walking goddesses.” He speaks questioningly.

I tried to ignore the compliment he was trying to throw at me, “I’m half Spanish, half German” I provided before I could stop myself. “Why have you brought me out here?” I added.

He leans back on his seat and replied “this is me granting one of your countless wishes, Layla. You wanted some air, now you can get all the air you want” he spread his arms apart for effects.

Leaning back on the table, he said in a whisper voice “who knows, you may actually be able to go some other place after here, if you behave yourself tonight”

My heart thudded.

“I’ll tell you something Layla, ” he continued as I remained speechless “I planned this whole event this evening when I walked out on someone. My father”

I saw how his eyes darkened at the mention of his father and I knew immediately that whatever he was going to say wasn’t pleasant to him. But that wasn’t a reason for him to take me on this date tonight.

“My father is a prick. I didn’t grow up with him at some point of my life. He gave me away to my uncle who was the original Mafia of the DeAngelo family. I like to think you see him when you look at me” he smiles sweetly. A smile that didn’t reach his eyes.

I remained speechless, not knowing what to say. It’s not everyday some strange man confesses his past or pains to me. Even though he’s not admitting to it, I knew his father has hurt him deeply over the years. But I didn’t know what kind of father gives his child away. I can only imagine my parents doing that to me. Oh, they did do that to me and what’s worse? To pay up for some depth. Now that’s a real heartbreaker.