Chapter 9

Ikeep looking over at Travis. He seems like he doesn’t have a care in the world. He just came face-to-face with my father and didn’t flinch. Like at all. And now he’s taking me to breakfast, as if a gun wasn’t just pointed at his head not even five minutes ago.

“You okay?” he asks. Picking up my hand and bringing it to his mouth, he kisses my knuckles.

“I’m pretty sure I should be asking you that question,” I tell him.

“I asked you first, babe.”

“Travis, my dad was this close…” I hold up my free hand, indicating the tiny space between my thumb and index finger. “This fucking close to blowing your head off, and you’re asking if I’m okay?” I laugh. It’s not funny. I’m not laughing because it’s funny. It’s more of a I don’t know what’s fucking happening to my life kind of laugh.

“Babe, answer the question. Are you okay?” he repeats.

“I don’t know,” I admit.

“Okay.” Travis nods his head. “What can I do to help you be okay?”

“You’re serious?” My neck snaps around to look at him so fast I’m surprised I don’t pull a muscle.

“As a heart attack, babe. Tell me what I can do to help.”

“I’m sorry. I should have said that first. I’m sorry my family is… a little intense.”

Travis stops at a red light. He looks across at me with raised brows. “A little intense?”

“A lot intense,” I clarify.

“It’s fine. I’m bullet free and so are you. We’re fine,” he says.

“Just so you know, if we do keep seeing each other, it’s likely to happen again. My dad has issues with letting go.”

“He loves you, Lili. That’s not an issue. Don’t worry about it. It’s gonna take a lot more than a gun aimed in my direction to scare me off.”

“So it seems.” I shake my head. “You should know his threats are not empty. Whatever you’ve heard or read about my family is more than likely true.” Which is pretty much the same as telling him my family is involved in the criminal underground. And not just involved. They run shit.

“No one gets to choose their family, Lili. You just happen to have one that loves you, wants to protect you by any means necessary,” Travis says. “Plus, if I had a daughter, there’s not a chance in hell I would have let her walk away with someone like me. I mean, the things I want to do to that body of yours, Lili… Fuck…” Travis drops my hand and adjusts himself in his seat.

I want him to do all of those things to me. Damn it, why does he have to be going out of town today?

I pull out my phone and message Harper.

Me: Are you going to Nashville with the team?

Before I can shove it back into my purse, my cell vibrates with a response.

Harper:

Sure am. Why?

Me:

I’m coming but don’t tell anyone. I want to watch the game.

Harper:

Okay. Who are you and what have you done with my friend? You should know, if this is a kidnapping, it’s not going to end well for you…

Me:

Funny. What can I say? I have a newfound appreciation for the sport.

Harper:

Really? Any reason in particular? Would it have anything to do with a certain player? Maybe someone with the number nine on his back?

Me:

Gotta go. I’ll let you know when I’m in Nashville.

Harper:

See you soon, babes.

I drop my phone into my bag as a new to-do list runs through my head. I need to book a flight, a hotel, find tickets. And, most importantly, I have to find a cousin to come with me because we don’t travel alone. Ever. It’s like an unwritten family rule.

I could ask Alessandro. My brother would probably be the safest bet. But he would also be the biggest cockblock out of everyone. Tilly, my Zio Romeo’s daughter, isn’t an option. She’s the good girl of the family and won’t go anywhere without telling the oldies what she’s doing and why. Then there’s Lorenzo and Enzo, my Zio Matteo’s oldest sons. They’re liabilities. Trouble just seems to find them wherever they go while my Zio Luca’s kids, Dante and Orlando, are too young. Which leaves me with Aurora. That’s a hard no. I refuse to be responsible for that wild card. I let out a loud, irritated sigh. Alessandro it is.

Travis stops the car. “Waffle house?” I ask him while looking out the window.

“Everyone likes waffles.” He shrugs.

“True.”

“I can take you somewhere else?” He seems unsure of himself all of a sudden.

“Nope, this is good.” I smile as I open the door and jump out. Travis meets me in front of the car, and his hand finds mine again.

Is it normal to be comfortable with someone after such a short time? It’s an odd feeling, a sense that I know him, and yet my brain is telling me I don’t know a damn thing about the guy.

We sit down and a waitress is over at our table before we have a chance to pick up a menu. “Can I get you a drink to start with?” she asks, while looking directly at Travis.

“I’ll have a coffee, black,” he says, then turns to me. “What do you want, babe?”

“Orange juice, please,” I reply, though the girl’s eyes have yet to flick in my direction.

“I’ll be right back with your drinks and to take your order,” she says.

“Must be hard being you,” I mutter to Travis.

“Why?”

“Having women put themselves out there without you even having to blink.”

“Are you jealous?” He laughs. “Because if I’m not mistaken, the two guys sitting three tables to our right and one row back are giving you more than a once-over right now.”

I glance at the guys in question and smile before returning my attention to Travis. “They’re probably just fans of yours.” I shrug.

“Sure they are, babe.” He shakes his head. “What do you feel like having?”

“Waffles,” I deadpan.

“Think we are at the right place then.” He chuckles.

Talking to Travis comes easy. It’s not forced. I’m not sitting here trying to come up with a million things to ask him like I usually would be doing with anyone else.

“Do you get nervous before a game?”

“Not really. It’s more like I get pumped. I can feel the adrenaline coursing through my veins. Being out on the ice, that’s what I live for,” he says. It’s endearing how his face lights up whenever he talks about hockey.

“I think it’s amazing that you’ve found something you love so much and that you get paid to do it.”

“What about you? What do you do when you’re not being the Valentino Princess?” he asks me with a grin, and I roll my eyes.

“I’m far from a princess. I’m in advertising. I work at Vads,” I say while leaving out the part about it being one of the family’s legitimate businesses.

“Beautiful and smart. You’re the whole fucking package, babe. You must be creative then. Do you enjoy it? Advertising, I mean?”

“I do.” I really love my job. I could be the princess everyone accuses me of being. I don’t need to work. My trust fund is more than enough to provide for me for the rest of my life. I work because I love what I do.

The rest of breakfast breezes by with more easy conversation as we really get to know each other. It’s nice.

When Travis stops in front of my parents’ estate about an hour later, I jump out before he can continue up the drive. “I hope you win!”

Travis leans over the center console and calls through the open door. “Do not get out of this car without kissing me, Liliana.” I don’t miss the way he uses my full name.

I tuck my head back inside. “Wouldn’t dream of it,” I say into his mouth as our lips collide.

“I’m going to fucking miss you.”

“See you soon, hotshot.” I pull back and run up to the gate without looking back again.

The guard opens it for me while glaring at Travis’s car like he wants to blow it up. This is exactly why I jumped out when I did. My dad’s men are just as fiercely protective of me as he is, and having one gun pulled on my date is enough for today.