Bound To My Mafia Stepuncles novel Chapter 17

Aria’s POV

Ugh. Monday. Monday morning. The worst. I pulled into the vet clinic parking lot, the gravel crunching under my tires. It had been a whole week. A whole week since…that. The car. Dante. Enzo. Matteo. I shuddered, trying to shake the memory

off like a wet dog.

The clinic was my safe place. My happy place. The smell of antiseptic mixed with wet dog fur, usually gross, was kinda comforting today. I unlocked the door, the metal key scraping against the lock.

Inside, it was quiet. Too quiet. Just the hum of the fluorescent lights. I walked through the waiting room, past the empty chairs and the dusty fish tank. I could still feel the phantom touch of Dante’s fingers, even through my stupid panties. He hadn’t even…you know. But still. It was like he’d branded me.

I sighed. I’d been ignoring their texts. All of them. I needed space. I needed boundaries. I needed to not feel like a hot mess every time I thought about them.

But they didn’t stop. Every day, roses. One rose. Two roses. Three. No note. Just roses. Like they were taunting me. Or… something. I face palmed. Why was I even thinking about them?

I snapped back to reality. The giant bags of dog food were still sitting outside. Ugh. I sighed, rolling my eyes. I hauled the first bag, the plastic crinkling loudly, and dragged it to the back room. The smell of kibble filled my nose.

When I came back out, Cassandra was there. Beaming. Like she was auditioning for a toothpaste commercial. Not good. I was not in the mood for Cassandra’s drama today.

“Hi!” she chirped, her voice high–pitched and annoying.

“Hey,” I mumbled, trying to sound polite.

“What are you doing here? You never come here,” I asked, trying to keep the annoyance out of my voice. “Remember? You

hate animals.”

“I came to see you, silly!” she said, her eyes all sparkly.

Yeah, right. I knew there was something else. Cassandra never did anything without a reason.

“Okay, Cassie,” I said, trying to cut to the chase.

I walked over to the cages, where a little Labrador puppy was whining. He was so cute, with big brown eyes and floppy ears. I opened the cage, scooped him up, and held him close. His fur was soft and warm.

Cassandra was still blabbing about something, but I wasn’t really listening. The puppy was so much more interesting.

“Are you even listening?” Cassandra’s yoice, even higher now, broke through my puppy–induced haze.

“Sorry, I got distracted,” I said, petting the puppy’s head.

“Well, okay, I said the Morettis have invited us to their ranch for horseback riding this weekend!” she announced, like it

was the best news ever.

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Chapter 17

Oh no. Not them. Not again.

They have a ranch?” I asked, trying to sound casual.

“Well, more like a whole big–ass estate with a ranch on It,” she said, her eyes wide. “I heard they have the finest horses over there. They’re filthy rich, you know.”

“Hmm, well that’s nice,” I mumbled, still petting the puppy.

“Yeah, it is! I don’t have any riding clothes, so I was wondering if I could borrow yours,” she said, her eyes all hopeful.

That was weird. Cassandra always bought new clothes for everything. Why would she want to borrow mine?

“Well, okay,” I said, deciding to just get it over with. “Come to my place this evening. You can pick out what you like.”

“You’re the best!” she squealed, clapping her hands. “See you this evening!”

She turned and walked out, her heels clicking on the tile floor. I watched her get into her shiny red car and drive off.

The Morettis? Inviting us? After ignoring us for months? That was fishy.

I definitely wasn’t going. I wasn’t going to put myself in that situation again.

I put the puppy back in his cage and went to check on the other animals. I was trying to focus on work, but my mind kept wandering back to the car. To Dante’s touch. To Enzo’s whispers. To Matteo’s smirk.

I felt a wave of shame wash over me. I shouldn’t have liked it. I shouldn’t have wanted it. They were technically my step-

uncles. It was wrong.

But it had felt…good. Too good. And Dante hadn’t even…you know. He’d barely touched me.

I face palmed again. Stop it, Aria!

I went back to the waiting room, grabbing a broom and sweeping the floor. The bristles swished against the tile, making a scratchy sound.

I was determined to forget about them. I was going to focus on work. I was going to set boundaries.

I swept harder, trying to sweep away the memories. But they were stubborn. They clung to me like burrs.

I sighed, leaning against the broom handle. I was a mess. A hot, confused mess.

I needed to get a grip. I needed to stop thinking about them.

I went back to the back room, grabbing another bag of dog food. I hauled it out to the waiting room, stacking it against

the wall.

The smell of kibble was starting to make me hungry. I wondered what I was going to have for lunch.

I checked my watch. It was almost noon. Time for a break.

I went to the break room, grabbing a yogurt from the fridge. I sat down at the table, staring at the wall.

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