Fall For My Ex's Mafia Dad novel Chapter 85

Ivan laughs at me then, at my speechlessness, and I can’t help myself – I laugh too, putting my head in my hands.

“Yes,” I say, blushing terribly. “I have heard of you. And I have to say, it has not all been good things.”

“Oh, come on,” he says, still laughing a little. “It can’t have been all bad.”

I peek out from between my fingers and raise an eyebrow at him letting him know that, yeah. It’s all been bad.

“What,” he says, joking, “nobody told you about my striking good looks or my debonaire sense of style when they were telling you about my success in the drug trade?”

I shake my head slowly, finding myself laughing again. I can’t help it – he’s terribly charming.

“Well,” he says, giving me a sexy little half-smile. “Now you know.”

Ivan catches the eye of a waiter and holds up a hand. “Two shots of tequila,” he says, definitive. The waiter nods, walking the short distance to the little bar and interrupting the bar tender to get the order in right away.

“What –“ I say, my eyes following the waiter. “No, I can’t –“

“Oh, come on, Fay,” Ivan says, leaning back in his chair. “Relax. I can tell you’ve just had the surprise of your life. You need a little something to settle the nerves.”

The waiter comes back and Ivan takes the drinks from him, sliding him a folded bill and giving him a wink. I can tell by the waiter’s pleasure that it’s a gigantic tip.

I hesitate, but Ivan winks at me as well and holds the shot nearer to me.

So, I take it from his hand, shrugging. The truth was, I could use a little bit of a relaxant right now. If I’m the unwitting bachelorette in my father’s little setup, then I’m not sure I want to do it sober.

“Bottoms up,” I say, taking the lime off the edge of the glass and holding it up to toast Ivan. He does the same, and then watches me slowly lick the salt from the rim of the glass and toss my shot back before doing the same.