Sicily"I'm sorry you had to deal with this, Miss. Moretti." The lead officer on her case shook his head and kept his eyes turned toward the ground."It's okay. I just wish Martin wouldn't have been the criminal in this." She forced a smile as Paul glanced up, the man having been a good friend to Drake during the whole process. For that, she was grateful."And you're sure you want this record to read that you put a hurting on the boy that has him going to the hospital?" The cop lifted his eyebrow and tilted his head slightly. He had to have known it was Drake who laid the wayward teen out on the ground."Yes. He attacked me and I acted in self-defense. I'm from the streets of New York, officer." She shrugged and moved her gaze to rest behind him as the paramedic's loaded Martin up in the ambulance. "He's going to be okay, right?""Yeah. Just standard procedure." Paul turned and let out a long sigh. "Alright, well, we'll get your name cleared at the station, and if anything pops up fro
SicilyKari and Jake showed up a few minutes later and helped fix up the bakery before splitting up for the ride home. Jake drove his truck and Kari took the keys to Sicily's car to drive her back to the house.Sicily's stomach growled loudly as she buckled up and leaned back in her seat."You hungry, hun?" Kari reached out and squeezed Sicily's hand."I guess." She glanced at the clock, realizing that it was early afternoon. "I didn't eat breakfast and with all the drama, lunch passed me right by too.""We were going to make sub sandwiches.""You and Jake?" Sicily turned to watch her pretty friend."No. He was at work. He came by the house to grab me after Drake called him. Lisa and I were making sandwiches. She had a fit to come get you, but we figured too many people might make you a little crazy. Jake wouldn't take no for an answer on coming, so it was me and him." She shrugged and pulled her hand back into her own lap."A sandwich sounds good." Sadness filled up the entire space
DrakeDrake parked his bike around the back of the shop and walked languidly to the front. His thoughts assaulted him left and right. No matter how hard he tried to put the scene out of his head, he kept coming back to the same place. Sicily standing there, horrified by him. He had been too aggressive with the kid, though the little punk ass deserved every minute of it.Sicily obviously didn't agree.Her words were harsh, and though he knew she didn't truly mean them, he couldn't convince himself otherwise. It was good that she had seen firsthand what a monster he could be. It had been a peaceful five years, but good fortune never lasted long in his life. The mob would come calling sometime soon and he would have to return. The sins of his past owed him a life of hell. Sicily didn't need to get involved in with him.She can do much better. I want her to. Drake walked into the gym and nodded at Violet as she glanced up from the appointment book."Hey, boss. How goes... oh." Her expres
DrakeThe leaves had collected at the door again and all over the parking lot. There was nothing more breathtaking than the crimson, dark yellow, and burnt oranges that filled the scene before him. The large, colorful trees lined the narrow road that led up to the gym.He took a quick right and moved more into the line of the forest, breathing in deeply and picking up his pace until he was running hard. Jake would kick his ass if he tried to talk the other man into something so aggressive, but for him... it was a walk in the park.Forcing himself forward, his heart began to race and as he turned the corner to move toward town, the large lake opened up beside him.Clarity was his for a minute as adrenaline pumped through him. Sicily was the woman he wanted beside him for the rest of his life. He didn't know much about her, but it was really irrelevant. He would find out any and everything simply because he wanted to be her rock, to understand her completely and be there for her, no mat
SicilyDrake's response had come hours after Sicily first sent the message, which left her afternoon and evening ruined. She mulled around the house a while before taking a hot bath and going to bed early. She could pack in the morning before going into the shop for a while. It would hopefully calm her nerves a little.After the fight with Drake, there was no telling how awkward the tension might be between the two of them for the long weekend. She hoped there was some way to push past it and find the budding heat that sparked between the two of them every time they were close.Sicily woke on Friday morning to the sound of Lisa and Kari arguing about something. Checking the clock on her nightstand, she realized she was running late."Oh hell." She got up quickly and pulled on a pair of jeans and a sweater before working her hair into a ponytail and applying a little bit of make-up. Her hurried movements were namely due to needing to get to the shop on time, but even more so to find ou
Sicily"You sure you don't want me to cook?" Violet laughed and rubbed her fingers over her face, smearing flour on her pretty complexion.Sicily laughed and finished replacing the cookies in the counter with the new ones she'd just pulled off the cooling rack."No, but thank you. You look like I've been forcing you to bake everything we have up here. Smart girl.""Thank you. I swear it takes more effort to look busy than to just be busy." Violet turned as the door opened and Drake walked in.His dark jeans hug low on his hips, the tight fitting black T-shirt only working to accentuate the thick muscles of his chest and abdomen."Girls..." He smiled at Violet and winked at Sicily. "You ready to head out?""Yeah. I just need to finish cleaning up in the back." Sicily let her eyes roam over him before returning to his face. She half expected the same cocky grin he had given her a hundred times before when he realized that she was checking him out.He nodded and turned to Violet, giving
DrakeDrake parked the truck at the airport and walked around, offering his hand to Sicily as she slipped out. The pretty little thing let out a soft yelp as she hit the ground. He reached out and slid his hands around her waist, pulling her flush against him as she glanced up."What are you doing?" A smile tugged at her mouth."Trying to figure out how to move us past what happened yesterday so that we can get back to working on whatever is happening between us." He leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to the side of her neck. "And hitting on you. Hard.""Yes. I see that." She laughed and pushed at his chest. "It will work itself out. Let's go and do what you need to do together.""Sounds good." He brushed a kiss by her ear. "Then I can hit on you?""Hit on me the whole time, please." She moved to the side of him and picked up her bag."Give me that, woman." He took the bag and laid it on top of his before locking the truck. He extended his hand to her. "Come on. I'll feel better when
DrakeDrake pulled back and rolled his shoulders. "We're going to have to stop or I'm going to find one of those family bathrooms and show you how badly I want to express my feelings for you."She laughed. "That sounds hot and yet not. Bathrooms are... eww."The announcement over the loud speaker called for their flight to begin boarding. Drake stood and chuckled at the expression on her pretty face."Come on. No bathroom unless it's in a hot shower." He took her hand and pulled her up, giving her another quick kiss before moving toward the gate."This is for first class, Drake.""I know, baby. My brother always goes in style. Should be fun.""Fun, yes, but insanely expensive." Sicily moved in front of him as the flight attendant took her ticket."I'm not paying for it. D did.""I need to pay him back for mine. I don't do freebies.""Yeah. Good luck with that." Drake handed the woman his ticket and moved to take Sicily's hand again. "He's the devil in an angel's disguise.""Sounds lik