The Hitman's Secret

Ch 26: A Last First Date

VALENTINA

"I expect you to be home by curfew, young lady," Allison cooed, leaning her shoulder against the townhouse door frame. She leveled a wicked grin at Val, who stood on the stoop.

"Will you be sitting on the front porch with a shotgun if I'm not?" Val retorted, readjusting the strap of her purse on her shoulder.

Allison chuckled, cocking a brow. "You think I won't?"

It was six in the evening, and they'd spent the last hour sorting through a dozen outfits. It took heavy deliberation from all of the women living in the townhouse, but Val finally settled on a mid-length mauve skirt and a cropped white tank top.

Classy but flirty enough to capture a man's attention. That's what Bae said when Val emerged from Allison's bathroom wearing it, which had been good enough for her. She'd thrown on a pair of platform sandals and forbid herself from changing outfits again.

This was her first real date. She wanted to look perfect.

Val had told her father that she was going to the townhouse for a movie night with the girls, and he'd barely glanced in her direction to mumble a distracted, 'Have a good evening, bella.' In reality, Matteo had promised to pick her up at six.

Luca drove her to the townhouse. Although they hadn't actually spoken about it, he seemed to have silently accepted that something was going on between her and Matteo. Val couldn't decide if his silence denoted approval or disapproval...

"Here comes your date now. Right on time," Allison lowered her voice, nodding toward the quiet road in front of the townhouse.

Val's heart picked up its pace as she glanced over her shoulder toward Matteo's Alfa Romeo, which rumbled to a halt by the mailbox. She pressed her palms, suddenly disgustingly clammy, against the fabric of her skirt.

She shouldn't have been this nervous. She'd spent countless hours in the hitman's company and never batted an eye. And yet, this felt different. For the first time, they'd both accepted their feelings for one another. They would no longer be hampered by the boundaries that previously ruled their every encounter.

The driver's door opened, and she held her breath as Matteo rose to his full height. His crown of dark waves, pushed back away from his brow, gleamed in the late-summer sun. He wore a white henley that stretched tight against this prominent chest, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows to expose rich olive forearms. Blue jeans hugged his thighs, and Val caught her gaze snagging on the apex of his long legs, her mind immediately conjuring memories of how he'd looked and felt in her hand.

She blinked, heat surging up her neck. Dio, what the hell was wrong with her?

He wore sunglasses, concealing his injured eye, but a crooked smile played on his lips as he leaned against the passenger door, lifting one hand to wave at Allison.

"Alright, I guess I better go." Val chewed on the inside of her cheek, praying that her flushed skin could be attributed to the evening heat.

"Have fun, babe." Allison grinned but, before Val could make it more than a handful of steps on the walkway, called out again. "Oh, and Val? I know I joked about a curfew, but, in all seriousness, I will be very disappointed if you come home any time before seven A.M. Got it?"

Allison's words didn't help the blush fuming on Val's cheeks, and she hoped that Matteo hadn't heard the suggestive words. It had taken Matteo so long to confess his true feelings for her, Val didn't want to scare him away with thoughts of spending the night together on the first date.