Breaking the Heartless Capo

The Ice Cream Cure

"Oh, is that your brother?" the lady asked with a warm, genuine smile.

"Yeah, he is," Syrene replied, watching Chris proudly as he eagerly eyed the booths.

"It's really nice seeing you two get along so well."

"Not every day," Syrene said with a light laugh. "He's my only family. I've been taking care of him myself for six years now, so we're pretty close."

"Oh, I'm so sorry if I pried," the woman stammered, looking slightly flustered.

"No, no, not at all! We're lucky we have each other."

"Very true," she said, setting the first overflowing waffle bowl down on the polished counter. "He's lucky to have a sister taking such good care of him. You look so young yourself... it probably wasn't easy for you to take on that kind of responsibility."

"You're absolutely right, Valerie," Syrene said, glancing down at the woman's silver nametag. "I was sixteen, and he was only seven. But I fought tooth and nail with child welfare and did whatever I had to do. Somehow, I proved I was fit to keep him in my care. And I'm thankful every single day." Syrene offered a bright, genuine smile. "My name is Syrene, by the way."

Valerie placed the second bowl on the counter, her eyes soft with admiration. Syrene pulled out Roman's sleek black card to pay, making sure to leave Valerie a generous tip for her kindness.

"It was so nice talking to you, Syrene. I hope to see you again soon!"

"You too, Valerie!" Syrene called out as she picked up the two bowls and walked toward the front booth.

She slid into the booth across from Chris, and the two of them sat there chatting happily about everything and nothing at all, devouring their hot fudge sundaes. Just as Syrene was finishing her last bite, her phone screen lit up with an incoming call.

"Oh, it's Sally. I better answer this," Syrene murmured.

"Is everything okay, sis?" Chris asked around a mouthful of ice cream.

"Give me a quick minute, Chris," Syrene said softly, pushing out of the booth. "I'll be right back."

She walked quickly toward the hallway leading to the restrooms to get a bit of privacy. Tapping the screen, she brought the phone to her ear. "Hello, Sally. How are you?"

"I'm fine, but what on earth is going on?" Sally burst out over the line. "I swung by your apartment to say hi, and it looks like you're moving! When were you planning on telling me, hmmm?"

Syrene leaned against the tile wall near the sinks, keeping her voice low. "Remember that client I got the other night? Well, he booked me again last night through the agency and paid triple."

"What?! Wow, you must have some unbelievable moves," Sally teased.

"Anyway... he asked me to be exclusively his for an entire year. He's covering all my living expenses, shopping, everything. And he's moving me and Chris into a rent-free penthouse. Sally... he gave me a black card. And he is drop-dead gorgeous. The s*x? He actually gave me multiple orgasms. He is a f*****g god, I swear."

"What the f**k, Syrene?!" Sally squealed into the phone. "Are you joking right now? How f*****g lucky are you? I think I actually hate you a little bit!"

Syrene let out a dry laugh. "Yeah, but guess who he is..."

"Tell me! Who is he?"

"Roman Morelli," Syrene whispered into the receiver.

A heavy, dead silence fell over the line. For several agonizing seconds, all Syrene could hear was Sally's ragged breathing before her friend let out a long, terrified sigh.

"Syrene... you need to be extremely careful," Sally warned, her voice dropping all playfulness. "He is dangerous. What are you thinking, signing a contract with a man like him? f**k, Syrene. And you're exclusive to him... but is he exclusive to you?"

"That's the part that was confusing me," Syrene admitted, twirling a loose strand of dark hair around her finger. "That was the very first question I asked him, and he point-blank said no, he didn't have to be. So I looked him right in the eyes and said, 'Well, that's a dealbreaker for me,' and refused his offer right then and there."

Sally gasped sharply through the speaker. "You didn't."

"I did! He was pissed, asking me if I even knew who he was. I played completely dumb and said, 'Yeah, your name is Roman, so what?'"

"You didn't!" Sally practically shrieked.

"I really did. I said I didn't remember him ever giving me his last name. He instantly commanded me to pull his c**k out and suck it. After we had this mind-blowing, intense s*x, he grabbed the pen and literally added a fresh line to the contract stating that he would be exclusive to me for the entire year, too."

"Shut the f**k up, Syrene! I don't believe you," Sally gasped, sounding utterly bewildered. "There is no way in hell a man like Roman Morelli gave into you like that. I am in total shock!"

"I'm dead serious," Syrene smiled, her heart doing a little flutter at the memory. "So I signed the contract right after him. Then he led me out of the club with his arm wrapped around me, brought me home, and told me movers would be at my place at eight in the morning to handle everything. He even had a private car waiting for me and Chris."

"Okay, I desperately want to hear every single detail," Sally said reluctantly, "but my next client just walked in. Love you, babe! Be careful!"

"Love you too, Sal," Syrene replied softly, tapping the screen to end the call.

Sighing heavily, she smoothed down her dress, checked her reflection in the mirror, and stepped out of the restroom.

Syrene walked back to the booth where her brother was sitting, he was scraping the last bits of melted chocolate from his waffle bowl, she slid in across from him. "All good with Sally?" Chris asked, wiping his sticky chin with a napkin.

"All good, buddy," Syrene smiled softly, reaching across the table to ruffle his hair.

"Ready to go, buddy?"

"Sure, I'm full. Thank you for the ice cream, Syrene—it always makes me feel better," Chris said, giving her a small, grateful smile.

"You know what else would make you feel better? Talking to your sister about what's bothering you," she replied gently, offering him a warm look.

"Yeah... let's go," he muttered, deftly dodging the subject as he slid out of the seat.

They were heading toward the exit when Syrene froze. Standing right at the counter, chatting casually with Valerie, was Roman.

Is he already breaking the contract? she thought, a sudden spike of annoyance flaring in her chest.

She decided to walk straight past him, but before she could reach the glass doors, Roman turned around. His dark, piercing eyes locked onto hers before sweeping down to evaluate her brother, then returning to her face.

"Syrene," Roman acknowledged, his deep voice carrying easily over the background music. "You came for the famous ice cream?"

Syrene forced a polite smile, keeping her composure intact. "I didn't know it was famous, but it was definitely delicious."

Chris spoke up from beside her. "Yeah... and now my belly hurts from having too much."

Roman let out a low chuckle, though he never once broke eye contact with Syrene.

"Well, we should get going," Syrene said quickly. She turned toward the counter, giving Valerie a warm wave. "Thanks for the chat and the ice cream, Valerie! See you again soon."

Looking back at Roman, she kept her tone perfectly neutral. "Enjoy your ice cream, Roman."

She turned on her heel and walked out the door, her heart hammering against her ribs. He makes me so nervous, and I don't even know why. Fuck... he looked so hot standing there.