THE CALLAHANS (A Mafia Romance): The Complete 5 Books Series Read Online Free Page B

realized he was just a charmer, a man who knew what to do and what to say to get a woman to do what he wanted. I was just a naive child who fell for his schemes.
    I wasn’t that child any more.
    “He made a mistake, letting you go.”
    I shifted in my chair, really not interested in letting the conversation go in that direction despite what I’d been told to do. The waiter came then—thank God!—and took our order, clearly familiar with Brian and the complicated, off-menu order he made.
    When the waiter was gone, Brian’s eyes fell to me again. It was complicated, the way it made me feel. He’d looked at me that way the first time we met, and I was putty in his hands from that moment forward. But that, of course, was before I knew he was married.
    “You look confused,” he’d said to me that late fall afternoon as I stood shivering under a huge oak tree.
    “Not confused. I just forgot how long it takes the bus to get here.”
    “Yeah, buses around here run on their own schedules. You have somewhere you need to be?”
    “I have a class in fifteen minutes. If I’m late again, the professor’s going to give me an F for my participation grade.”
    “Let me give you a ride,” he said, gesturing to a Camaro parked not far down the block.
    “I shouldn’t. I don’t want to put you out.”
    Then came the look. He cocked his eyebrow and studied my face, his eyes slowly traveling down the length of me, taking in everything from my slim-fitted jeans to my long, heavy pea coat. And then his eyes touched mine again.
    “I won’t bite.”
    Add that charming smile and I was gone.
    “What brings you back to Boston?”
    I shrugged. “I wanted a new start. Boston seemed like as good a place as any.”
    “Where’re you staying?”
    “I have a little room downtown.”
    “And you’re working?”
    I shook my head. “Haven’t found anything yet.”
    “What are you looking for?”
    I picked up my water glass and ran my finger around the rim, trying not to seem too anxious. I didn’t want to frighten him off, but I didn’t want to seem uninterested, either. I was never much of an actress, and I was so afraid he would see right through me. So I stared at the water glass for a moment, wetting my finger because my hand was shaking and I couldn’t quite hold it still.
    “I was an office manager for an insurance company back in Austin,” I said. “And before that, I worked at a school as a secretary.”
    “I thought you were studying for a medical degree.”
    I set the glass down carefully without ever having lifted it to my lips. “Things changed.” Especially when you found yourself running home with your tail between your legs, desperate for some sort of income to prove you could make your own way in the world.
    “It just so happens that I’m looking for a personal assistant,” Brian said with a slow smile.
    “Is that right?”
    “I’d be thrilled if you’d consider the position. Most of the young ladies who’ve interviewed for it so far have been woefully unprepared to do things the way I do them. I guess I’m still a little behind the times as far as technology goes. They’re all talking about iPads and Snapchat, and I’m still wrapping my mind around text messages and email.”
    I smiled. “I could explain Snapchat to you if you want.”
    He shook his head. “My kids have tried to explain all that: Snapchat and Vine and YouTube and whatever else. I just don’t see the point.”
    “How many kids do you have?”
    His eyes brightened. “Six. Sean, Killian, Ian, Kyle, Stacy and Kevin.”
    “Wow. Poor Abigail.”
    He laughed. “Only the two oldest are ours. The rest are kids she took in through her job as a social worker. We adopted them.”
    “That’s noble.”
    “She was the noble one. I just went along for the ride.”
    That was a side of Brian Callahan I’d never seen before. I thought that kind of humility might be there, somewhere, but I never saw it. I was a little impressed.
    “Are you