The Clumsy Baker and Her Secret Mafia Husband

CHAPTER FIVE

The very next morning, a beautiful, super bright sun finally broke through the big, gloomy gray clouds outside! A warm, golden light danced so cutely across the clean, white kitchen counters of Apartment 4B. It looked like a magical scene from a cartoon movie!

I woke up very, very early because my little heart was just so incredibly excited! Pound, pound, pound! I quickly jumped out of my bed, put on my absolute favorite bright pink cooking apron right over my simple yellow dress, and pushed my big, round glasses right up the bridge of my button nose. Then, I began to bake with a huge smile! To me, baking a delicious breakfast for my brand-new husband was completely the right thing to do. I wanted to show Gio with all my heart that I was a very good, super sweet, and hardworking fake wife!

Soon, the most delicious, mouth-watering, and sweet smell of warm vanilla pancakes and fresh hot coffee filled the whole wide apartment. Oh my gosh, it smelled like a total romantic dream! I was so happy that I did a little giggle-dance right by the stove!

Tap, tap, tap. Suddenly, I heard soft, heavy footsteps coming down the hallway. I quickly turned around with my big metal spatula, and my breath instantly caught right in my throat! Gasp! Oh my goodness. Giovanni walked right out of his dark bedroom. He wore a loose, oversized black sweater today, and his thick, dark hair was wonderfully, beautifully messy from sleeping. He looked so incredibly handsome, just like a sleepy prince from a fairytale storybook!

But because his black sweater was a little bit too big for his massive body, the collar slipped slightly off his left shoulder. I gasped very softly, my innocent brown eyes going wide behind my round glasses. For a tiny split second, I saw something dark and mysterious on his bare skin. It looked like a sharp, scary, and super cool black tattoo of a dragon’s tail! But before I could even blink my eyes, Gio quickly pulled his sweater back up, hiding his big shoulder completely. His beautiful gray eyes turned sharp and cold as freezing winter ice for one second, making my whole body freeze like a statue.

"G-Good morning, Gio!" I chirped quickly like a happy little bird, trying so hard to hide my sudden nervousness.

I forced a giant, bright, and super cute smile onto my face. "Look! I made a whole giant mountain of fluffy vanilla pancakes just for you! A quiet corporate accountant needs a lot of energy to do big, stressful math and numbers all day long, right?"

Giovanni stared at the mountain of steaming, golden pancakes, and then his eyes slowly moved to look at my face. The cold ice in his eyes melted away instantly, replaced by a deep, dark warmth that made my face feel so hot, like I was standing too close to a baking oven!

"You did all this for me, little bird?" he asked, his deep, beautiful voice vibrating right through the kitchen air.

"Of course, Gio!" I giggled, wiping my flour-stained hands on my pink apron. "We are partners now! You saved my bakery from that mean, scary landlord, so I am going to make sure you have the happiest belly in the whole city!"

He walked closer to me, his long, heavy steps feeling so dominant and powerful. He stopped right in front of me, completely blocking out the morning sun because he was so incredibly tall and wide. He reached his large, warm hand out and gently took the metal spatula from my shaking fingers. Our skin touched for just one second, and bzzzz! A giant jolt of pure electricity ran straight through my body!

"You have flour on your nose, Bella," he whispered softly, his gray eyes locking onto mine.

Before I could even puff out my cheeks in embarrassment, he leaned down. His handsome face was just inches away from mine! I held my breath, my poor little heart beating like a wild sports car. Thump-thump-thump! He used his big, slightly rough thumb to gently wipe the white powder from the tip of my nose. His touch was so tender, so incredibly sweet, that my knees instantly felt like melting vanilla jelly.

He didn't move away. He stayed right there, trapping me between his massive chest and the warm kitchen counter. I could smell him—he smelled like expensive cedarwood wood, fresh rain, and dark coffee. It was the most intoxicating smell in the universe.

Suddenly, a sharp, repetitive vibration broke the magical silence. Bzzzz. Bzzzz. Bzzzz.

It was coming from Giovanni’s sweater pocket. He let out a low, rough growl beneath his breath that sounded almost like a dangerous jungle beast. He stepped back with long steps, making the kitchen feel instantly freezing cold without his warmth. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a sleek, pitch-black smartphone.

I turned around to pour him a fresh mug of hot coffee, wanting to give him privacy for his important accountant work. But as I reached for the sugar bowl, I heard a strange, terrifying sound behind me.

Creeeeak. Twist.

I quickly turned around, my large glasses slipping down my nose. "Gio?"

My jaw dropped open in absolute shock. Giovanni was staring down intensely at his phone screen, which he held hidden beneath the edge of the kitchen table. But his face... oh my goodness, his face didn't look like a sleepy prince anymore. His jaw was clenched so hard that the muscles looked like solid stone. His gray eyes had flashed into an incredibly dark, deadly, and murderous shade of near-black!

And the most terrifying part? In his massive, muscular left fist, he was gripping one of our new silver breakfast forks. He was squeezing it so incredibly tightly that the strong metal was literally bending, twisting, and warping right before my eyes like it was made of soft clay!

Gasp! My hands started to tremble. Was he... was he having a corporate math emergency? Did someone accidentally delete a giant spreadsheet at the accounting firm? Did a mean billionaire company steal his numbers?

The entire atmosphere in Apartment 4B felt heavy and suffocating, like a giant thunderstorm was about to crash right through our kitchen window. The aura coming off my quiet husband was so dark and powerful that I felt like a tiny white bird hiding from a giant hawk.

"G-Gio?" I whispered softly, my voice shaking like a little green leaf. "Is... is everything okay? Is the spreadsheet broken?"

The very second my trembling voice cut through the air, Giovanni froze.

He blinked his eyes rapidly, and just like that, the scary monster face vanished into thin air. He looked up at me, and a soft, gentle smile appeared on his handsome lips, making me wonder if I had just imagined the whole thing. He casually dropped the completely ruined, twisted metal fork onto the table as if it were a piece of trash.

"Everything is perfectly fine, little bird," he said, his deep voice smooth, calm, and as comforting as a warm blanket. "Just a minor error at the office. A rival firm is trying to interfere with some of our accounts tonight. Don't worry your sweet head about it. I will take care of the math myself."

I puffed out my cheeks and let out a huge, happy sigh of relief. Yay! My sweet husband was just incredibly dedicated to his corporate numbers! I had absolutely no idea why a quiet accountant would need to crush a silver fork into a ball because of a math error, but I knew Gio was a good, hardworking man.

"Oh, thank goodness!" I chirped happily, placing the hot mug of coffee right in front of him. "Drink your coffee, Gio! You can destroy those mean rival numbers later. Together, we can handle anything!"

I smiled brightly at him, feeling so incredibly proud of my hardworking husband. I just knew that as long as I had my baking bowls, my delicious cupcakes, and my brilliant accountant husband by my side, Apartment 4B was going to be the happiest, sweetest home in the whole wide universe!