Mafia Lord's Mute Sweetheart

Chapter 43: Chapter 43 You know sign language?

Alessio watched her hands, his expression unchanged. He waited until she finished before he spoke.

"Don’t worry," he said. "I can guide you. Just follow my lead."

Daisy’s eyes widened as she stared at him, her hands freezing mid-gesture. He understood her. He had understood everything she signed, even the parts where her fingers had stumbled and her gestures had been unclear. She gestured again, her movements quick and excited, her whole face lighting up.

You know sign language?

Alessio nodded, his green eyes steady on hers. "After meeting you, I have learned some in my free time."

His voice was flat, like he was talking about the weather or a business report, like learning a language for someone he had only met a few times was a completely normal thing to do.

Daisy’s heart swelled as she looked at him. His cold green eyes. His lips pressed into that thin line that never seemed to curve into a smile. The sharp lines of his face, the hard set of his jaw. He had learned sign language for her, in his free time, when he could have been doing anything else.

She thought about all the people who refused to learn, who looked at her phone screen with impatience, who walked away when she took too long to type, who called her a burden because she could not speak. Her own husband had never once tried to learn. And this man, this stranger had learned after meeting her twice.

It could only remain her wish that everyone understood the pain of mute and deaf people, how hard it was to communicate every day. She wished everyone would learn this language, but she knew that was just a dream.

Daisy smiled, her eyes glistening with tears she refused to let fall, because she wanted to say thank you but thank you felt too small and weak, so she just smiled and hoped he understood what she could not say.

Alessio extended his hand, palm up, his long fingers open and waiting. "May I have the honor of dancing with you, beautiful lady?"

Daisy looked at his large veined powerful hand, at the way the light caught the silver watch on his wrist, at the faint scars on his knuckles. Then she placed her hand in his without hesitation.

His fingers closed around hers, warm and firm.

He led her to the dance floor where the music was slow and a woman’s voice drifted through the speakers singing about love and loss and the ache of missing someone. The lights were dim and golden and soft, the other couples fading into the background.

Alessio placed one hand on her waist, his fingers spreading across the small of her back, warm and firm, while his other hand held hers with their fingers intertwined. Daisy placed her free hand on his shoulder, tilting her head back to see his face because he was much taller than her. His green eyes looked down at her, unreadable as always.

They began to move, slow and gentle, him leading and her following. He stepped back and she stepped forward. He turned and she turned with him. His hand on her waist guided her like she weighed nothing, and because Daisy knew the basics of dance—her parents taught her when she was young—she moved perfectly with him.

After a while, she lifted her hands from his shoulder and waist to make a small gesture near her chest, her fingers touching her heart before moving toward him.

Can we be friends?

Alessio watched her hands with his brow furrowed slightly. He did not understand. He had only learned some basics, not everything, so he could not understand every gesture she made. His green eyes focused on her fingers, trying to decipher the meaning.

Daisy tried again, slower this time, pointing at herself and then at him before pressing her palm to her heart and moving it toward him in a gentle arc.

Me and you. Friends.

Alessio stared at her face, then at her hands, then back at her face. "Lovers?" he asked.

Daisy’s eyes shot wide open, and her whole face turned red, the blush spreading from her cheeks down her neck. She shook her head so hard her caramel hair flew across her shoulders, and her hands flew up and flapped in front of her like startled birds.

No no no no no.

Then she slapped his shoulder.

It was not hard, just a quick smack, a reflex, the kind of slap you give a friend who has said something ridiculous. Her palm connected with the fabric of his suit jacket with a soft thump.

Alessio froze, his green eyes widening just a fraction, and Daisy saw it, that tiny crack in his cold expression.

No one had ever slapped Alessio Ricci. Not once, not ever. He was the most powerful mafia lord in the country, a man who made other men tremble when he walked into a room, a man who gave orders that ended lives, a man whose name was spoken in whispers. And this small mute woman just smacked his shoulder like he was a naughty child caught stealing cookies.

He looked at her with shock flickering across his face, his lips parting slightly.

Daisy realized what she had done, and her eyes widened again, her hands flying to her mouth as she looked at his shoulder, then at his face, then at his shoulder again. She gestured frantically, her fingers stumbling over each other in her panic.

I am sorry. I am so sorry. I did not mean to hit you. You surprised me. Friends. I meant friends. Not lovers. Just friends. Please don’t be angry. Please don’t hurt me.

Alessio said nothing. He just stared at her, his green eyes unreadable.

Daisy swallowed and lowered her hands, giving him a small nervous smile before gesturing again, slower this time, more careful. She pointed at him, then at herself, then linked her index fingers together, holding them up for him to see.

Friend?

Alessio watched her hands. "Friend," he said.

Daisy pointed at his chest with a trembling finger and nodded vigorously, her eyes shining with relief.

Yes. You are correct.

Then she smiled, bright and happy and relieved, the tension draining from her shoulders. Her whole face lit up like someone had turned on a light inside her.

Alessio looked at her smile, her shining eyes, and the way her cheeks were still flushed pink from embarrassment. He did not smile back but his hand on her waist tightened, pulling her just a fraction of an inch closer.