“He could always kill you then force me to marry him.”
“True, but gangsters like him tend to know who they can murder and who they should avoid, and a young, highly talented and well-known doctor is probably the sort of person that would draw a whole lot of unwanted attention.”
I tapped my foot, crossed my arms, and stared at him. I couldn’t tell if he was being for real or messing with me, but I felt myself starting to soften toward the idea, at least a little bit.
“I want someone else to know,” I said, narrowing my eyes. “I want to tell Fiona.”
He laughed. “She’ll flip shit.”
“I know, but she’ll also make sure you don’t try to do something nasty.”
“Like what?”
“Blackmail me into staying? Hurt me? I don’t know.”
He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “Okay, I get it, you don’t trust men.”
“That’s my condition. I’ll consider it—if we tell Fiona, and she agrees.”
He clenched his jaw and I saw him mulling it over. “If she says no, how about you take a loan from me?”
“If she says no, I’m out of here and you’re never seeing me again.”
He sighed. “Fine. You’ve got a deal.” He walked over and extended his hand.
I hesitated, staring at his callused fingers and large palm. I wanted to walk away from this, but I knew that if Fiona was on board and was aware of the situation, it wouldn’t get out of hand. I could tell she was the type to never let something go. I could trust her to be on top of him about our fake marriage, and she’d make sure that he gave me a divorce when it was all said and done.
And he was right that it would protect me from Cosimo. Fact was, marrying that mafia asshole scared me way more than marrying Gavin, although neither situation seemed ideal. Still, he was the lesser of two evils, so I reached out and took his hand.
He held it, staring into my eyes. “You won’t regret this. In fact, I bet you’ll have some fun.”
“Don’t count on it.” I dug my fingers into his and he grimaced, but didn’t let go.
“Where should we get married? Atlantic City? Or should we fly to Vegas?”
“Your choice, darling.” I gave him a wicked smile.
He smiled back. “Vegas it is. Now, let me go call Fiona, and we’ll get this settled.”
I released his hand and he disappeared back into his bedroom.
I watched him go, trying to figure out if I just made the biggest mistake of my life—or if I was about to have a lot of fun.7GavinFiona showed up an hour later wearing her scrubs, her hair up in a tight red bun, a sour look on her face. I answered the door and she swept into the apartment, looking around the place. “So this is the famous sex dungeon.”
“Glad you could make it, Fiona.” I closed the door behind her.
“Is it safe to touch the surfaces? I know half the nurses have been in here.”
“Half? I’d say I’m at seventy percent, at least.”
She made a fake gagging sound. “You’re disgusting. I really don’t see how you get all these girls back here.”
“Come on, you don’t love the decor?”
“It’s fine.” She crossed her arms and glared at me. “Where the hell is Erica? Do you have her tied up on some sex swing in a back room right now? I’m not getting into a three-way with you, no matter how much you beg.”
“Ah, come no, Fiona. I wouldn’t ruin a good time with Erica by bringing you into the mix.”
She glared at me then her expression softened a bit. “Seriously, how’s she doing?”
“She’s adjusting.” I hesitated and leaned against the wall. “She’s in the guest room right now.”
“Did you get her story?”
“You won’t believe it.”
She opened her mouth then shut it again and nodded. “It’s not my business.”
“She’ll tell you if you ask.”
“It’s fine. I don’t need to know all the details. I just hope you’re taking care of her.”
“I promise, Fiona. I really am.” I cleared my throat and glanced toward the hallway. “Thing is though, we have to ask you something, and I have a feeling you’re going to flip out.”
“Oh, god,” she said, looking up at the ceiling. “I don’t want to know.”
“It’s not what you think. Take a seat, I’ll get Erica, and we’ll talk.”
She gave me a look, but she marched over to the couch, put her bag down on the floor, and sat at the edge of the cushion, giving it a gross look. “You’ve had sex here, haven’t you?”
“Yep,” I said as I headed down the side hallway. Fiona was a pain in my ass, but she was a good person and a friend, although she didn’t act like it, and I was actually glad Erica wanted to bring her into this—even though she was going to freak out.