Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1

J enna Michaels

I shouldn't be thinking about my best friend's dad.

Like not ever , but here I was, doing that same exact fucking thing like I hadn't done it a thousand times before.

Like an absolute fucking idiot…

It started innocently enough, but doesn't it always… A few lingering glances across the dinner table, the brush of his hand against mine when we passed a dish at Thanksgiving dinner, the sound of my name rolling off his tongue and that delicious fucking accent that made it sound like he was caressing my cheek with every word that fell off his lips…

Each interaction between us, no matter how small, seemed to stitch him further into the fabric of my daydreams until he became the one that I thought about before I went to bed at night.

Like every night.

But it was more than all of that.

It was the way he listened when I spoke, and how his eyes lit up with genuine interest that was so far from fake that it made my breath catch every time his soulful green eyes caught mine. It was like he saw me for who I truly was.

Yet… every time I caught myself thinking of him, guilt surged through me.

Like right fucking now when I was out by the pool with my best friend, and I was thinking about her dad instead of whatever nonsense was spewing out of her mouth about the debate team and how much she would bet money on the fact that she could sleep with any one of them if she had just the right argument.

I should be better than this. Isabella was like a sister to me. I needed to remember that.

Come on, bitch. You can do this. Fucking focus. Listen to your friend and ignore the fact that Vincenzo is walking around the house right now without a t-shirt and he is looking fucking fine as all hell.

Spoiler alert.

I failed.

The second I looked back over at Isabella, my brain started to conjure images of her dad. His thick black hair, and how his jaw always had the perfect amount of stubble covering it. His strong, callused hands, and the way he smiled at me whenever we locked eyes across the dinner table.

Shit. It was fucking everything.

"Are you even listening to me?"

I blinked back to reality and found myself looking back at my best friend who was staring at me.

Absolutely busted .

I tried to play it off as best as I could, but I hoped she couldn't tell. I smiled in her direction and cocked my head, pretending like I had been listening to her the whole time.

The last thing I needed was for her to know what was going on in my head.

She would hate me forever.

Isabella was a lot of things, but forgiving wasn't one of them. She also had a jealous streak that I've never quite understood, but it was there, and it could get really ugly. She knew it as well as I did, but she was protective as fuck over her boyfriends and for some strange reason, her father too.

She said it was because he was overprotective of her, but I was pretty sure she just had serious daddy issues or something that went deeper than that, like the fact that she'd lost her mother when she was little.

She couldn't ever find out.

My eyes slid over to his tall form anyway.

Isabella was a total Daddy's girl, and it would be cute if it wasn't such a fucking turn-on for me because there was nothing more in the world that I wanted than to be Vincenzo's girl.

But that was fucking crazy.

Right?

"Earth to Jenna," she scoffed, and I forced myself to take my gaze off him once again to look at her.

Fuck…

She was glaring at me now, her arms crossed over her chest, and she had this glorious pout on her lips that said she was not happy with me, not even in the slightest bit.

Well, shit…

Maybe I was a horrible friend.

"Sorry. What were you saying? My head was somewhere else," I said sheepishly. Then I smiled the kind of smile that only a best friend could get away with and she shook her head, but she grinned in return anyway.

"I asked if you were ready to go inside, and you completely ignored me," she finally whined, and I nodded quickly.

"Yeah, I'm ready," I replied as she stood up and stretched out her long, lean body, then bent down to pick up her towel.

"You okay?" she asked, and I nodded as we started to walk back to the patio door.

"Yeah, just tired. I didn't sleep that well last night."

"Well, maybe you should stop reading until the sun rises and it's time for you to get up," she laughed.

"Guilty as charged."

It wasn't true, at least not really. Well, maybe it was a little bit. I'd spent the night reading, just like she'd said, but it had turned into more than that. In every scene of the dark mafia romance I'd been working my way through, I kept imagining Vincenzo as the lead and when I finally forced myself to go to bed, I felt so restless and aroused that I hadn't been able to sleep.

So I'd touched myself.

All while thinking about him .

Wishing he was there running his fingers along my skin, and pressing soft kisses down the length of my body before he slid his undeniably large cock right between my legs.

Dammit…

God, this was all such a fucking mess.

Thankfully, it seemed like Bella hadn't picked up on the fact that I'd zoned out again, but at least this time I'd managed to do it without looking straight at her father.

"Oh, did you hear about that guy from our class? What was his name?"

"What guy?" I asked, her question catching me off guard and immediately changing the direction of my thoughts, for which I was grateful even if she didn't know it.

Small miracles, right?

"That guy that you had a crush on a few years ago. The one with the glasses," she said, and I rolled my eyes.

I knew who she was talking about.

I might have had a crush on this boy named Ryan a long time ago, but I hadn't really paid him any mind for a long while. He seemed too young, too immature, and he just seemed to pale in comparison to Vincenzo in every possible way.

Not that I should be comparing boys to Bella's dad…

Whoopsies.

"You mean Ryan," I offered lamely.

"Yeah, that guy," she pushed, her eyes twinkling with mischief.

"No, what about him?" I answered, my voice falling flat with disinterest, but Bella didn't pick up on it.

"He's moving," she answered.

"Wait, where? How do you know this?" I asked quickly.

I don't know why, but now she had my attention. Maybe it was just because she hadn't asked me why I was staring at her dad before or maybe because whenever I got her on the topic of boys, she could talk about it for hours with barely any prodding from me.

Yeah. I was a terrible person. So, sue me.

"I think it's California. He told me about it the other day in study hall, but I forgot to tell you. He wanted me to give you his number," she continued, and I rolled my eyes again.

"What, so he can finally try to hit it before he moves away for God knows how long? Fat chance. You know that I'm not that kind of girl," I scoffed, and Isabella shook her head with laughter.

"That's not how it was with Dane last year," she teased, and my cheeks heated at the same time my gaze jerked back to the house. Vincenzo was nowhere to be seen and I sighed inwardly with relief. Isabella knew about him, obviously, but Vincenzo didn't, and I wanted it to stay that way.

Dane was the kind of guy I shouldn't have messed with, but I did. I'd let him take my virginity, and it was not a fond memory. Not for me at least.

He'd been nice enough about it, but that was before he'd fucked another girl the week after, and Isabella hadn't been quite as gracious about the whole situation as I had been. I don't know why she was bringing it up. She knew how I felt about it, so it was kind of a low blow, but maybe I deserved that.

The truth was I should have kicked him in the balls just like she'd threatened to and walked away, but I didn't. I don't know why.

Ever since then, I'd avoided boys my age like the plague. Isabella didn't understand it, but I couldn't really explain it to her either because the man I truly wanted was her father and that could never happen.

Right?

I shook my head and tried to get my wayward thoughts under control.

"You know how that ended though," I said softly, and her face fell a little.

"It's not going to be like that this time. He's a good guy. A really, really good guy. The perfect kind of guy to let off some steam with, if you know what I mean," she replied gently, and I sighed.

"And you would know this, how?"

"Because I just do. Come on, let's get inside. I think I've gotten enough sun for the day," she said, changing the subject, and I shook my head and followed her into the house.

The heat in the kitchen enveloped us as soon as we stepped inside, and I breathed in the rich smell of tomato sauce, garlic, and fresh basil.

My stomach growled.

Vincenzo was making one of his specialties, spaghetti and meatballs. He wasn't in the room though. I didn't know where he was. He could be anywhere in this great big house, really.

Maybe his bedroom.

In his bed.

Alone.

Waiting for me…

Goddammit .

I really needed to get my shit together today. My errant thoughts were worse than usual, and I was having difficulty getting them under control. Taking a deep breath, I tried to shake it off as best as I could, all while Bella was watching me like a hawk.

Did she know? Could she tell?

"There is no lack of dating going on, Jenna. Honestly, it's just you," she grinned.

"Really? Who are you seeing?"

"I don't kiss and tell, Jen," she replied, and I groaned out loud.

"Come on, you have to give me more than that," I pressed.

"Let's just say it's the same guy that was over here the other night," she replied, and I rolled my eyes. That wasn't really saying anything. Vincenzo had allowed her to have a group of kids from our senior graduating class come over and celebrate, so there had been at least a dozen boys from which she could be talking about.

I narrowed my eyes in her direction and leveled her with a discerning glare.

"Please don't tell me you're screwing around with one of the debate boys," I asked, remembering the direction of her conversation from earlier.

"Hey, at least they're pretty smart, you know?" she said with a wink, and I groaned out loud.

"So, who is it? Is it someone I know? You know you can tell me," I prodded.

"Yes," she smirked, and I laughed out loud, the sound echoing throughout the room.

"Seriously? Do I need to start guessing names or are you going to give me a hint or something?" I whined.

"You've seen him around the house before. Many times," she teased and the excitement painting her face drove my curiosity into the stratosphere.

"Really?"

"Yep," she grinned.

"Can I have any more clues?" I pushed.

"Sure," she said and started listing them on her fingers one by one, "he's tall, has a killer smile, and a great ass."

"That doesn't really narrow it down all that much," I laughed, her glee certainly lightening my mood.

"True, but it does give you a few more details to go on," she said, and I sighed.

"I feel like this goes against the best friend code," I grumbled.

"He's got a big dick too," she goaded me, and I sighed as dramatically as I could. If there had been a bed close by, I would have pretended to faint and really gone all out.

"I give. Who is it?" I pushed a bit more.

"Okay, okay. It's Damon, but you can't tell anyone," she whispered excitedly.

Oh… It all made sense now.

Damon was her bodyguard, or at least one of them. She'd mentioned him in passing before, but I didn't know anything about him other than he was around thirty-five and more obsessively protective than any of her other guards, which was a good thing, I guess.

"How the hell did you manage that? Doesn't he work for your dad?" I asked, my disbelief far too apparent in my tone and I tried to pull it back. Thankfully, she didn't notice.

"Yes," she sighed dreamily, and I raised an eyebrow.

"Okay, you have to tell me now. How did this start and how's it going? Tell me everything!"

"Not everything," she replied with a wink and my heart dropped.

"Don't tell me…"

"Things escalated, is all I'll say," she laughed and started toward her bedroom.

"Isabella!" I exclaimed.

"You can't make me talk," she called over her shoulder, and I stared at her retreating form until she disappeared around the corner. With a sigh, I turned back to the counter and peered out at the pool.

The sun was beginning to set behind the trees, igniting the sky with brilliant reds, oranges, and yellows. I leaned down, put my elbows on the granite, and shook my head.

If Bella wasn't careful, she was going to get herself in trouble, like really big trouble, and that didn't even begin to encompass the shit Damon would be in if the two of them ever got caught.

A man cleared his throat behind me.

My eyes darted to the doorway where Vincenzo was standing with a definitive frown on his face, his hands resting against the doorframe, and his fingers tapping against the white painted wood.

He had a shirt on now.

Such a shame…

I was positively hopeless.

His gaze made me feel like nothing more than a naughty little girl about to get scolded by her daddy and I didn't know why, so I stood there and tried to lift my chin as proudly as I could.

"Hi," I said breathlessly, my heart pounding in my ears. I squeezed my hands to my sides, my palms suddenly feeling a little clammy.

Why did he have this effect on me? And why couldn't I control it?

"Did you have a good day with Bella?" he asked, his voice a bit tense.

"Yes," I replied, and he smiled slightly, his eyes roving over me for the briefest of seconds before coming to rest on my face. It was so quick that I told myself I must have imagined it because he didn't look at me that way. He was just being friendly.

At least that's what I told myself…

I mean, I was only wearing a bathing suit. It was bright pink and covered with white polka dots, but teeny weenie bikini didn't even really begin to cover it.

I don't know what had come over me when I'd bought it. It wasn't full coverage by any means, not even close. Actually, most of my ass practically hung out of it. The triangle top just barely covered my B-sized tits.

Did he like my tits?

I pulled the towel a bit tighter around my shoulders, hoping it was long enough to cover up my cheeks in the back and my hard nips that hopefully weren't showing through the thin material of my top.

"I'm glad," he said and then turned to the stove. He busied himself stirring the sauce with a wooden spoon. When he was satisfied, he took a small taste, grunted, and added a pinch of salt before he stirred it and tasted it again.

This time, he seemed happy with it.

"How was your day?" I asked, and he sighed.

"It was a good day," he said, but his voice seemed pretty strained.

"That doesn't sound like a good day," I prodded shyly. He turned back to me and met my eyes, and I lost myself in them for the briefest of seconds before I remembered that I probably shouldn't be looking at him like that and dropped my gaze.

"The restaurant," he explained, and I nodded.

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay. I'm just glad to be home," he said and then he gave me a real smile.

"The sauce smells like a really good batch," I replied lamely, but he was quiet for a long moment before he turned back to me and leveled me with a firm stare like the one that he'd had on his face when he first walked into the kitchen.

"I overheard you talking about Dane earlier."

Shit .

I felt a flush rise to my cheeks.

"Oh, that," I said lamely.

"Yes, that." He turned back to me, his green eyes locking onto mine. "Jenna, there's no need to rush into dating. You should wait until there's a man good enough for you."

The way his stern glare was boring into me was doing strange things to me and I decided in an instant that I didn't like it, or maybe I did. I didn't know. I swallowed hard, pulled the towel tighter, and took a step back.

"And who decides who's good enough for me? You?" I said aggressively, trying to muster up some sense of defiance.

Maybe you should do something about it then, big boy…

He raised an eyebrow. "I'm just saying you deserve better than someone like Dane."

"I know what I deserve," I shot back, my tone more defensive than I intended. I swallowed back my emotion, continuing with a more level, calm tone. "And I'm not rushing into anything. Actually, there hasn't been anyone since him."

Vincenzo sighed, running a hand through his hair. I don't know if I saw a look of relief cross his face at my response, but it was gone in a flash.

"I'm just concerned about you. You're young. You have your whole life ahead of you. Don't settle for anything less than perfection," he said firmly.

I couldn't help but smirk. "So, you're saying I should aim higher? Maybe go for someone more mature, experienced?"

His eyes narrowed slightly, blazing with anger, frustration, and maybe a bit of something I couldn't quite identify. "Don't twist my words, Jenna. You know what I mean."

"Do I?" I took a step closer, feeling a surge of boldness. "Because it sounds like you're trying to dictate my love life."

Was I provoking him? Why would I do that? Did I want to get into it with him? Did I want him to do something about it?

You do, you horny little slut.

"I'm not trying to dictate anything," he said firmly, and I couldn't help but notice his fists squeeze at his sides. "I'm just giving you advice. Advice from someone who cares about you."

I softened at that. "I know you care, Vincenzo. But I can make my own decisions."

"Yes, you can," he agreed, his voice gentle now, yet still laced with an edge of seriousness. "But that doesn't mean you shouldn't be careful. You deserve someone who will treat you right."

I looked down, my heart pounding. "And what if I already know who that is?"

What are you doing? Are you trying to start shit? Stop being a fucking idiot and get control of yourself!

He was silent for a moment, and when I looked up, his expression was unreadable. I watched his Adam's apple bob up and down before he lifted his chin and cleared his throat.

"Then I hope he's worthy of you," he finally replied.

Our eyes locked, and for a moment, everything else faded away. It was just the two of us, standing in the kitchen, a thousand unspoken words hanging between us, but neither of us said anything at all.

And then the moment was gone.

He nodded, a small smile tugging at his lips. "Just be careful, Jenna."

I smiled back at him, feeling a warmth spread through me. "I will."

Before Vincenzo could respond, Bella walked into the kitchen, her presence breaking the tension. She took one look at her dad and rolled her eyes.

"Dad, stop being weird," she said, grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge. She'd changed into a tank top and shorts and plopped her butt down at the table all while looking forlornly at the pot of sauce and the still boiling spaghetti noodles.

I watched Vincenzo for a long moment, his expression shifting back to neutral as he focused on stirring the sauce once more. My heart was still racing from our exchange, and I needed a moment to collect myself.

"I'm going to get changed out of my bathing suit," I said, turning to Bella.

"Sure, we'll be eating dinner soon, if it's ever ready that is," she replied, already engrossed in her phone.

"Ten more minutes," Vincenzo sighed, and I chuckled as I turned away.

Whatever had just happened between us was gone.

I headed to the guest room where I had my things. As I peeled off my damp swimsuit and pulled on a fresh set of clothes, my mind replayed the conversation with Vincenzo. His concern was touching, and his advice lingered in my thoughts, but it was my fluttering heart that was really spiraling out of control.

Taking a deep breath, I tried to shake off the lingering tension that I could still feel between us even though we were rooms apart. Tonight would be challenging enough without my overactive imagination complicating things. I just had to focus on being a good friend and enjoy dinner with the two of them.

I needed to stop thinking about Vincenzo like he could be anything more than my best friend's dad.

For good.