ESPRESSO
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- Parts 12
"Tell me to leave," he said, his voice a low, dangerous whisper that sent shivers cascading down my spine.
My breath hitched as I met his piercing gaze, my heart racing in my chest. "And if I don't?"
His lips curled into a slow, wicked smile, his eyes dark and consuming, laced with something that made my pulse quicken. He leaned closer, his voice dropping even further. "Then don't blame me for what happens next."
"You're playing a very dangerous game, Leo," I managed to say, though my voice trembled as my eyes flicked to his lips.
"Am I?" he murmured, his tone soft yet devastating. "Because from where I'm standing, you're the one pulling the strings." His smirk was ever-present, and the amusement dancing in his eyes told me he was thoroughly enjoying this-and it was dangerous for both of us.
~~~~
They were both hiding, but neither expected to be found.
Calista Carlisle, Hollywood's sweetheart, escapes to the sleepy town of Mendocino after a public breakup turns her life into tabloid fodder. She's traded red carpets for creaky coffee shop chairs, hoping to stay invisible. But nothing stays quiet for long-not when Leo Donovan, the maddeningly smug owner of the café, keeps finding ways to break through her defenses.
Leo isn't just any barista. Billionaire by birth, recluse by choice, he's traded boardrooms for espresso machines, running his late mother's café chain under the radar. He's done with the high-stakes world of fame and fortune-until Calista waltzes into his café and flips his carefully curated life upside down.
Their connection is magnetic, but the secrets they're running from might pull them apart. In a town too small for pasts as messy as theirs, one thing becomes clear: they're either each other's safe haven-or their ultimate undoing.
"They were supposed to be each other's escape-until they became each other's greatest temptation."
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𝐋𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐚'𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧 𝐮𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐡𝐞'𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐨 𝐑𝐮𝐬𝐬𝐨, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐮𝐩 𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐝𝐚𝐝. I'm in love with him but he's in love with my younger sister and has made that painfully clear to me. "Who are you in love with?" I ask softly, my voice barely above a whisper. "I'm in love with Isabella, your sister. She's the only woman I truly care about," he admits, revealing his feelings for my younger sister after we had just gotten married, it hasn't even been twenty-four hours. "I'll fulfill my role as your husband, but don't expect any love or affection. This marriage is just an agreement between our families, nothing more. Do you understand?" His words are cold, piercing through me like arrows. I fight back the tears threatening to fall and manage to reply, "I understand." But my pain would not last long, not until I meet Mr. Russo, Marcello's father who was that head of the Mafia, a dangerous and powerful man who stole my heart.Complete
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(The full version of this book is available on Webnovel!) "Do you see this?" I held up a card between my fingers. Jason looked at the card, then back at me, confusion clear as day in his eyes. "What is this?" "A wild card, obviously," he shrugged, looking like he was about to tell me to get to the point. All in due time. "Obviously," my smile probably looked sarcastic, like I was making fun of him. Jason had no business being fussy with the position he was in. "Take a look at your surroundings, my love. The situation you find yourself in is less than ideal, and I'm the only one who can save you," I was done being the hurt one. The one who was always left behind. "Now tell me again. What is this?" "A wild card." "This is what I am to you right now," I put the card down on the table and slid it towards him. "And whether it wins or loses the game for you is your move." ~°~°~°~°~°~ An accidental marriage. A drunken mistake, or a premeditated plan for revenge? Amaria doesn't know what to make of her new situation, and due to unforeseen circumstances, she is trapped. Forced to accept her fate until the time is right, a typically reserved executive finds herself at a crossroad between following logic, and giving in to her bleeding heart. The man she calls her husband does not make it easy for her either, but however she decides to look at it, she reaches the same conclusion. You can't change a player. As for him? Well, it's up to him to decide what he'll do with this new mess he's stuck in.
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