The Older Mafia Boss Had Given Up on Dating—Then His Curvy Friend Secretly Set Him Up With Her
Chapter 1
Why was the most feared man in the city sitting alone at a restaurant table, staring at an untouched glass of wine while the woman beside him secretly planned his next date?
Marcus Bellini had spent most of his adult life surrounded by people.
Bodyguards followed him through hotel lobbies. Drivers waited outside restaurants. Lawyers called before sunrise. Associates appeared at his office whenever money, territory, or trouble demanded his attention.
Yet on the evening of his fifty-second birthday, he sat alone.
The restaurant was expensive enough that the silverware had its own security cameras.
Marcus wore a black suit without a tie. His dark hair had begun to turn silver at the temples, and a thin scar crossed his left eyebrow. He looked tired rather than dangerous.
Across from him sat Sophia Romano, his oldest friend.
She was forty-three, confident, curvy, and impossible to intimidate.
She had known Marcus since they were teenagers.
She was also the only person in the city who could tell him when he was being an idiot.
“You’ve been staring at that wine for ten minutes,” Sophia said.
“I wasn’t aware.”
“That’s because you’re thinking.”
“I think frequently.”
“That’s debatable.”
Marcus almost smiled.
Sophia leaned back.
“So.”
“So?”
“When was your last date?”
Marcus looked at her.
“Why?”
“Because I asked.”
“I don’t remember.”
“Exactly.”
Marcus lifted the wine.
“I’ve been busy.”
“You’re always busy.”
“Then there’s your answer.”
Sophia sighed.
“Marcus, you’re fifty-two.”
“I’ve noticed.”
“You live in a mansion with six bedrooms.”
“Seven.”
“Nobody should have seven bedrooms and sleep alone.”
He put the glass down.
“I prefer peace.”
“No. You prefer control.”
Marcus’s expression hardened slightly.
Sophia didn’t retreat.
She never did.
“There’s a difference,” she continued. “You lost your wife twelve years ago. You’ve convinced yourself that grief is a personality.”
His fingers tightened around the stem of the glass.
Sophia immediately softened.
“I’m not trying to hurt you.”
“I know.”
“I’m trying to remind you that you’re still alive.”
Marcus looked toward the window.
Outside, rain streaked the glass.
“I don’t need anyone.”
Sophia smiled.
“That’s exactly what a man says five minutes before someone proves him wrong.”
Marcus raised an eyebrow.
“What are you planning?”
“Nothing.”
“That answer concerns me.”
Sophia stood.
“Good.”
She picked up her purse.
“Happy birthday.”
Marcus watched her walk away.
He didn’t know that before midnight, Sophia would make a phone call that would change the quiet life he had built around himself.
And he certainly didn’t know that the woman on the other end of that call had never met him.
