Controlled by the Mob, Tami Lund [ebook reader 7 inch .TXT] 📗

“Fear of rejection?”

“Why did you just word that as a question?”

“Because you’ve gone from relaxed and happy to borderline furious and I have no idea why, and I’d rather not piss you off any further.”

She shook her head. He was right. She’d immediately gone onto the defensive, and honestly, he hadn’t given her any reason to do so. “I’m sorry.”

He flapped his hand. “Don’t be. Are you here because of a relationship gone bad too?”

A laugh burst from her lips before she could contain it. If he only knew. Which he wouldn’t, ever. The only time Shannon dwelled on that period of her life was when her subconscious didn’t give her a choice, and she never, ever spoke of it.

“To be perfectly honest, I’m here because I want to be Maureen someday.”

Leo glanced over his shoulder. “Does Maureen know you plan to possess her body?”

Shannon chuckled. “No, as a matter of fact, she does not. So please don’t let the cat out of the bag.”

He leaned back in his chair and rested a leather flip-flop clad foot on his knee while miming twisting a key over his lips and then tossing it away.

Shannon laughed. Again. Her abs were starting to ache. This was better exercise than an aerobics workout.

“So you want to own a B&B? This specific one?”

She shook her head. “Yes, but not here. Most likely, I’ll end up buying one out of state.” Somewhere far away from Davit.

“Have you been real estate shopping?”

“Not yet. I still need to save a little more money.” She sipped her wine. “I plan to pay cash.”

“Oh-h-h, I’m impressed. That’s a huge undertaking. Smart, intending to start out debt-free. So what do you do currently? Do you work in hotels?”

She almost said, “Sort of,” but she bit her tongue. “No. I have no experience in this industry. It’s just…a dream I have.”

“It’s good to have dreams. They give you something to live for.”

Didn’t she know it. “Does that mean you have your own dreams?”

He finished his sparkling wine and then stared into the empty flute. “I didn’t, for a long time. I mean, when I was a kid I wanted to be Batman. But it didn’t quite work out. Since then… I guess I sort of lost myself. Was just going through the motions, doing what I was told, making sure everyone around me was happy, not even thinking about myself.”

Shannon could certainly relate to that feeling.

“And then I walked in on Bridgette getting fucked by my brother’s best friend, and I had this sort of revelation. I realized I didn’t want to do that anymore. I didn’t want to take care of everyone else at the expense of my own happiness. So here I am.”

“We’ve covered that. What about your dreams?”

He winked. “I’m still working on that part.”

She smiled. “Let me know when you get there.”

“Will do.” He stood. “I’m going to head back to my room. Thank you for sharing the bottle and keeping me company. I had a far more enjoyable time than I expected to tonight.”

“You’re welcome.” She watched him walk toward the house. “Wait.”

He stopped and half turned around, those sleek, black brows arched.

“Tomorrow. Can-can I join you?”

He smiled. It was wide, unrestrained, genuine. “Absolutely. I’ll meet you in the lobby at nine. We can get breakfast first.”

“I understand Maureen puts out an amazing buffet in the mornings.”

He nodded. “Then I’ll meet you in the dining room. ’Night, Shannon.”

He slipped inside, and she sat there for a long time afterward.

It was the first time in six years a man knew her only as Shannon, without the Serendipity or Star persona.

And she was going on a date with him tomorrow.

Chapter Five

Leo was downstairs in the dining room by eight-thirty.

And she was already there, standing in front of the buffet, dropping a scoop of scrambled eggs onto her plate. Her hair was pulled back into a thick ponytail, showing off bright, caramel-colored highlights. She wore a T-shirt under which he could see the outline of a tank top, and a pair of khaki shorts, her long, slender legs ending in tennis shoes that actually looked appropriate for climbing sand dunes versus simply looking stylish.

He stepped up next to her and plucked a plate from the stack at the end of the buffet. “Too excited about those dunes to stay in bed too, huh?”

She glanced over her shoulder at him, her gaze registering surprise for a moment before she lowered her lashes. She once again wore no makeup, and he knew it because there were huge purple bruises under her eyes. She clearly hadn’t slept well last night.

Shit, now he felt guilty for asking her to join him.

She shook her head and focused on piling blueberries and strawberries next to her eggs. “I had a nightmare and couldn’t get back to sleep.”

She snagged a napkin wrapped around silverware and, instead of moving to the huge, antique table in the middle of the room where a smattering of other guests were seated, she stepped out onto the patio and sat at the same small table where he’d found her the day before.

Leo hurried to fill his plate and follow. “Mind if I join you?”

She nodded at the chair across from her, so he sat and placed his napkin on his lap. A young man who bore a strong resemblance to Maureen hurried over and offered them coffee, which they both accepted.

“Want to talk about it?” Leo offered when the silence between them drifted into uncomfortable territory.

“To be honest, I can’t believe I even told you I had one. I’ve never told a single person about the nightmares.”

Nightmares, plural. Like it was a common occurrence. One she was either