His Juliet: An Age Gap Hurt Comfort Mafia Romance (Empire of Royals Book 2)

Christmas Day had been quiet for me since my father died and my mom moved to Italy. Matteo, Sienna, and I usually got Chinese takeout and watched shitty movies. But this year was different now that Matteo was married. Sofiya had never had a happy family Christmas, either, so she’d enlisted us to make today a big celebration. There was food, games, and hideous sweaters she’d made for us.

It should have been a perfect day with my family, but my heart was aching with Juliet’s absence. I’d texted her Merry Christmas a couple of hours ago, and she hadn’t responded. The sun set as we finished dinner, and Sienna had convinced us to play poker. I was losing yet another game because I was too distracted checking my phone. All my excuses for staying away from Juliet, for not even asking what she was doing for Christmas, felt flimsy and idiotic. I didn’t even know if she had anyone to spend the day with. Surely she did? How could someone like Juliet be alone on Christmas?

I pulled up the camera feeds to her building for the hundredth time. She hadn’t left her apartment, and no one had entered. My insistence that this was casual, that I couldn’t let myself get too involved, was biting me in the ass. A sick feeling was rising in my stomach as I realized I’d never heard Juliet talking about having anyone in her life.

“Show your cards,” Sofiya said, and I jolted back to reality.

I didn’t even care that I’d lost again.

We cleared the game off the table and went to the kitchen to grab the desserts Sofiya had made. I returned to the living room in time to hear Matteo swearing loudly as he looked at his phone.

Sofiya was perched on his lap. “What’s wrong?” she asked.

“Franco just messaged me. The Butcher was spotted in Albania.”

I rounded the table to look at Matteo’s phone.

There he was. The picture was a grainy black and white from a surveillance camera, but it was clearly him. The stronzo who had haunted us the past few months was gone.

My heart raced. We’d driven the Butcher from the city, which meant there wasn’t a threat to Juliet anymore. “I need to run an errand.” I was already on my way to the door.

Everyone turned to look at me with confusion.

“An errand?” Sienna asked, eyebrow arched.

I nodded. “It’s been a great Christmas. Thanks, Sofiya, for hosting. I’ll see you all later.”

They shouted after me, but I was already through the front door and into the elevator. I grabbed one of the armored cars from the garage and pulled onto the street. I wove in and out of traffic on my way downtown. There were way too many people out on the road today, and they were all keeping me from Juliet.

I parked in front of her apartment, not caring about the tow sign, and took the stairs two at a time until I was outside her door. It was only then that I realized I hadn’t brought her a gift. Fucking hell. What was wrong with me? Should I leave, get her something, and come back? That might take a while and it was already eight p.m.

The image of her sitting alone on Christmas was too much.

I knocked.

There was a rustle inside. I shifted impatiently as I waited for the door to open. It finally did, revealing a tired-looking Juliet wearing baggy sweatpants and a green sweatshirt with the bookstore’s name. Her red-rimmed eyes widened as she took me in.

“Merry Christmas,” I said.

She opened her mouth and then shut it again before finally speaking. “That’s quite the sweater.”

I looked down, realizing I was still wearing the hideous Christmas sweater Sofiya made me. It was dark green with tinsel glued onto it.

“Just getting into the Christmas spirit.”

She grinned, but her smile fell quickly. “Umm, how are you here? How did you know which apartment was mine? There’s like a hundred units in this building.”

Shit. SHIT.

My mind went blank as I tried to think of a good excuse.

“The phonebook,” I blurted out.

Juliet stayed silent for several excruciating seconds. “They still make those?”

I nodded vigorously.

“Riiight. So… did you need something?”

I ran my fingers through my hair. How was it I could keep my cool in front of deadly syndicate leaders, but one minute in Juliet’s presence turned me into a bumbling idiot?

“I was in the neighborhood.” I gestured at her hallway as if to demonstrate what in the neighborhood meant. “And I was thinking of you and wondering how you were celebrating Christmas.” When she didn’t say anything, I added, “I texted you but didn’t hear back.”

Juliet bit her lip and I was sure she was going to tell me to fuck off, but then she opened the door a bit wider. “Do you want to come in?”

I let out a relieved breath. “Yes.” I pushed inside and closed the door before she could change her mind. Of course I’d been in this apartment before, but Juliet didn’t know that.

“Nice place.” It was not nice. Water stains and years of caked paint lined the walls, which were so thin I could hear her neighbor moving around in the next apartment.

Juliet crinkled her nose. “Thanks.” She crossed her arms and my eyes immediately went to her boobs. Her sweatshirt was oversized but if I had to guess, she wasn’t wearing a bra. I forced my eyes away. Must focus.

“Can I get you something?” she asked.

“Oh, no.”

Awkward silence descended upon us as we stood, staring at each other. Literal torture wasn’t as bad as this—standing uselessly in front of Juliet, who definitely looked like she was crying, in her shitty apartment. I cast my eyes around for something to say. Her apartment was a studio—just one large room with a small bed in the corner, a worn loveseat, a folding card table with a microwave balanced on it, a single chair, and a kitchenette. My brow furrowed when I realized there was no TV.

“What do you do for fun? There’s no TV.”

She shrugged. “I mostly read.”noveldrama

“Doesn’t that get boring?”

Her jaw dropped. “You did not just say reading is boring.”

My lips twitched at her sass. “Who would say such a thing? But you need some variety in your life.” A plan was quickly forming, something I could do to make things better for Juliet. I whipped out my phone and shot off a text.

“Have you eaten dinner?”

“I… Romeo, what are you doing here? I appreciate you wanting to wish me a Merry Christmas, but I’m sure you have better places to be.”

I swallowed hard around the lump in my throat. “No, stellina. I don’t have anywhere better to be. I want to spend the rest of my Christmas with you, if you’ll have me.”

Her cheeks turned pink and she hugged herself tighter. “Oh. Okay,” she whispered.

“Now, what should we order for dinner?”

“It’s Christmas. Everything’s closed.”

I grinned. “It’s New York City. Things are always open.”

I headed over to the loveseat and sat down, patting the cushion next to me. Juliet shuffled over in her pink fuzzy socks and gingerly sat beside me.

“Do you like Chinese food?”

She nodded, and I showed her my phone screen. “Add what you like, angel.”

She took my phone like it was a loaded bomb and added a single dish to the cart before handing it back. I huffed and added six more things before placing the order.

“Great, that should be here pretty soon.” There was barely enough space for both of us on the loveseat, and I took pleasure in stretching out so my thigh was pressed against hers and my arm lay against the back of the couch, inches from her shoulder. “What have you been up to today?” My fingers twirled the ends of her pink hair.

“Just this, I guess.” There was something vulnerable in her voice, in the way her shoulders hunched.

“Do you not celebrate Christmas? Or do you celebrate another day?”

Juliet’s fingers twisted in the sleeves of her sweatshirt. “I don’t have anyone to celebrate with.”

“What do you mean, baby?”

She cleared her throat and gave me a strained smile. “I didn’t mean for that to sound quite so pathetic. The closest person I have to family is Arturo. But he lives in New Jersey now and is spending Christmas with his grandchildren.” She took a deep breath. “But it’s not a big deal. It’s just a normal day for me.” There was a false brightness to her voice that I fucking hated.

For the first time, I resented my life. I hated that this thing with Juliet would always be temporary. Hated that I couldn’t just invite her over to spend Christmas with my friends because it would put her life at risk. Even with the Butcher gone, my Mafia life would never be safe for her. I’d been operating on instinct when I came over today, but it would have been better for her if I had continued staying away. The thought made my chest feel so tight it was hard to breathe.

“What have you been doing?” she asked.

“It’s been pretty quiet,” I hedged, guilt filling me. “Had some food with friends.”

“That’s really nice.”

“I missed you.” The words were out of my mouth before I could stop them, but the way Juliet’s cheeks turned pink with pleasure made it worth it.

I was saved from saying anything else by a knock on the door.

“Is that our food? That was fast,” she said, pushing up from the couch. I did, too, moving in front of her so I would be the one to open the door. The urge to shield her from everything and everyone was strong.

I looked through the peephole and then swung the door open.

“Well, that’s not food,” she said.

“I really don’t need a TV or fancy gaming system.” Juliet fretted as the installation guys finished up.

I slung my arm around her shoulder. “That’s where you’re wrong. This is absolutely essential.”

There was a knock on the door. “That will be the food,” I said.

I grabbed the bags of Chinese from the delivery person, handing them a couple hundred dollars in cash as a tip. I did the same for the TV installation guys as they shuffled out.

“Romeo.” Juliet was looking around her place like she barely recognized it. I needed to get her a new couch and a bed. Pillows. Shelves for her books.

“Let’s choose a game to play while we eat. If you haven’t played before, Mario Kart is a good one to start with.”

When she didn’t move, I made her a plate overflowing with food, nudged her to the loveseat, and placed it on her lap.