The Mafia Boss’s Dog Chose the Plus-Size Woman Everyone Ignored—Then Refused to Leave Her Side

Chapter 5

“Ruby introduced him as Dr. Marcus Hale, her closest friend and Harbor Light’s consulting veterinarian,” Luca noted later, though no one had asked.

“Dr. Marcus Hale,” Marcus repeated, offering his hand. “I’ve heard about Caesar.”

Luca accepted the hand after a pause that lasted exactly too long. “Only Caesar.”

Marcus glanced at Ruby. “Mostly.”

Caesar lifted his head, looked from Marcus to Luca, and placed one paw over the pink pig.

Marcus sat beside Ruby and opened the bag. He had brought her favorite sandwich, and he had remembered to remove the onions. Luca watched him hand over half without being asked. Ruby laughed at something Marcus whispered, and Luca’s jaw tightened almost invisibly.

When Marcus leaned closer to show her a photograph on his phone, Luca looked down at Caesar and said, “We’re leaving.”

Caesar did not move. Luca repeated the command. The dog rolled onto his back and pushed his paws toward Ruby, who began rubbing his stomach.

“He appears unavailable,” Ruby said.

Luca remained for another fifteen minutes, silently studying the cheap sandwiches and paper cups on the desk as if they were evidence of a crime.

The following day, three uniformed servers arrived at Harbor Light carrying silver trays from the most expensive hotel in the city. Roasted duck. Seafood. Truffle pasta. Imported fruit. A row of tiny desserts decorated with gold flakes. Ruby stared at the feast consuming her reception desk, her treatment table, even the cabinet where she kept medical files.

“What is this?” she asked.

Luca removed his gloves. “Lunch. For how many people?”

He glanced toward the door just as Marcus entered, carrying two ordinary coffees.

“Everyone,” Luca said.

Caesar sat beside him with the pink pig in his mouth, looking extremely pleased with himself.

Ruby looked at the banquet, then at Luca’s carefully neutral expression, and finally understood. The dog was getting better. His owner had developed a completely different problem.

She picked up a cake no larger than a dog biscuit. “This probably costs more than my monthly electricity bill.”

“Then your electricity bill is reasonable,” Luca said, pouring himself water.

Marcus set his two coffees beside the feast and looked around. “Did someone accidentally deliver a wedding?”

“It is lunch,” Luca said.

Caesar crawled beneath the table and waited for something expensive to fall. Ruby forced both men to sit, refusing to let the food go to waste. Marcus took the chair on her left, so Luca immediately chose the one on her right. The result was the most uncomfortable meal Ruby Hart had ever eaten.

Marcus talked easily, making her laugh with stories from the clinic. Luca said almost nothing and moved every dish she liked closer to her. When Ruby reached for a chocolate pastry, Luca had already placed it on her plate. When Marcus offered her a bite of his pasta, Luca pushed an entire tray toward her. Ruby finally put down her fork.

“Are you two feeding me, or preparing me for winter?”

Marcus laughed. Luca said, “You skipped breakfast.”

“How do you know that?”

Luca glanced at the empty cracker wrapper in her trash. “You ate crackers at ten in the morning.”

His attention should have felt intrusive. The quiet concern behind it made her chest unexpectedly warm.

The competition did not end with lunch. When Marcus repaired a loose shelf, Luca sent two workers who repaired the entire wall. When Marcus brought Ruby a small plant for the front desk, Luca delivered an indoor tree so large that its branches nearly touched the ceiling. Ruby stood beneath it with both hands on her wide hips.

“This is not a plant. This is a forest.”

“The room needed something peaceful,” Luca said.

Caesar lifted one leg beside the enormous ceramic pot. Ruby rushed forward to stop him, caught her shoe on a mat, and pitched sideways. Luca caught her before she hit the floor, one arm closing firmly around her soft waist. For a moment neither of them moved. Ruby’s round body pressed against his chest, her hands gripping the front of his expensive shirt. He looked down at her flushed cheeks, and his eyes briefly lost their usual coldness.

“You can release me now,” Ruby said.

He did not move. “Are you certain you can stand?”

“No. But falling independently is very important to me.”

A faint smile touched his mouth before he helped her upright. Across the room, Marcus quietly turned away. Caesar sat beside the tree, looking deeply disappointed that he had failed to complete his business.

Ruby studied the man who had caught her — who was still standing close enough that she could feel the warmth of him through his coat, close enough that she could have leaned in without taking a step. His hand had not moved from her waist, and neither had hers from his shirt. For a moment the entire room seemed to be holding its breath, the enormous tree casting a green shadow across both of them.

“The tree stays,” Ruby said finally, her voice slightly uneven. “The dog’s aim, on the other hand, we are going to have to work on.”

Luca’s mouth curved, the barest ghost of a smile. “I’ll have the floors treated.”

“You’ll have the floors treated,” Ruby repeated, and something in her chest did a slow, dangerous turn. “Luca Marchetti, offering to treat the floors of an animal clinic so his dog can mark the forest you had delivered.”

He looked at her for a long moment. “You’re worth it.”

The words landed like a stone in still water, and Ruby had no idea what to do with them. She laughed — a short, startled sound — and stepped back before he could see her face change.