The men left Angela's apartment at nearly ten in the evening. Gael expressed his reluctance in leaving by lingering at the door. He kept his hands in his pockets, afraid that if he touched her, he'd end up staying behind and staying the night again.

As much as he wanted never to leave her side, he couldn't impose and push her too hard, too fast. They already had something good between them, and he might screw it up if he overstayed his welcome.

"Thank you for helping me out today. I know I already said that a couple of times earlier, but I feel like a thank you just isn't enough. I don't think I'd be able to finish even half of them today if I did it alone—what with my clumsiness." She wiggled her fingers and softly chuckled. "You guys are sent from heaven."

He smiled. "And like I said, it's not a big deal. I'm sure they enjoyed today as well. We do charity work too, so this was a pleasure for us to donate our time and effort."

"Right...your mobile 'soup kitchen' starts tomorrow."

The reminder made it easier for him to address the subject, recalling how she reacted earlier when Giovanni invited her to go with them. He glanced at the far end of the hallway where his men and his uncle were waiting by the elevator and asked her, "Do you wanna come?"

"Hm?"

"To New York...with me...us?" He paused, feeling like an idiot teenager who's asking his crush to prom and doing so bad at it. He sighed. "Do you wanna come to New York with me tomorrow?"

Her lips parted, and she looked slightly stunned at his invitation. And damn if he didn't want to kiss her torridly so she'd snap out of it and say yes.

A few seconds went by, and she was still unable to respond. "Angel?" he probed.

Angela blinked and darted her eyes from side to side before a hesitant smile cast her face. "You want me to fly to New York with you...and...invade your family's tradition?"

"Well, you wouldn't be invading if I invite you to join us."

"Do you want me to come?"

Gael was such a sick fûck for thinking about something else at a time like this because of her question. He was tempted to make a sexy comment and tell her he'd want her to 'come', and he'd definitely want to be the one to make her 'come'.

"Of course. It would be an honor," he said, and he meant both.

She chewed her bottom lip as she contemplated. The little action made him hard, and he cursed himself for suddenly feeling hot. The flushing of her cheeks didn't help.

Every passing second made him more nervous. Was he making a mistake by inviting her? He didn't give the tradition much attention and thought of it more like a chore he needed to do. Of course, he wanted to help the less fortunate, and he'd do it willingly, but it became a routine over the years, so it didn't feel as special as the first time he did it with his family.

However, seeing Angela's reaction when she heard about it during dinner, he suddenly wanted to show her what they did every Christmas. Her eyes sparkled like they were diamonds under a chandelier, and her lips curled into a smile. He wanted to see that reaction again...wanted to be the cause that she'd shine like that again.

Gael wondered why she declined when Giovanni offered, so he probed, "Do you want to? It's okay if you don't. I don't want you to feel pressured or anything... It's just that, you seemed like you wanted to when Gio asked but changed your mind when you looked at me..."

"Well... I did think it would be really good to be part of it. I want to help too. But your uncle was the one who asked...not you...so...I didn't know if you wanted me to. I didn't want to put you in a difficult situation where you'd have to refuse me from going with you if you didn't, or that you'd be forced to bring me because I said yes."

He exhaled a sigh. This woman... This lovely woman who always put everyone else before herself. She'd even considered that and was afraid to put him in a difficult spot? How could he not melt? Shît. That's too mushy for him. 'Melting? What are you? A candle?' he thought.

"Also..." she hesitated. "Honestly, I'm not sure how to feel about being the outsider. I'm only comfortable with your guards here because I somewhat have known them for a while now. But there...you have more people in your...organization. They might not be comfortable with me around. Wouldn't I only be a hindrance? And...would that be...safe—after what happened a few months ago?"

Gael felt like his heart was being squeezed. That crossed his mind too. It was one of the reasons why he had waited until the last minute to invite her because he was also a bit scared of the possibility that the drive-by would happen again. He didn't want to put her in danger. But the thought of leaving her here in Mayne City with the possibility of her ex showing up also bothered him a lot, even if he was only to leave for a day. He'd already planned to put several guards near her while he wasn't around, but the only way he'd really feel at ease was if she was by his side.

But he didn't tell her that, wanting to give her the right to choose and not feel like she's being forced to do something she didn't want.

"I would never let anything bad happen to you. I give you my word." He couldn't help but reach out and cup her cheek, his thumb brushing against her skin. "I would love for you to be there with me. I'd want you to be next to me whenever possible, Angel. But I'm not forcing you. I want the decision to come from you. After all, it's in another state and also a last-minute invitation."

Then he added, "As for the others, I can assure you that they'd welcome anyone I have on my side. If ever they have problems, they wouldn't dare to cross me. Besides, it's a family activity—like a big cookout for the neighborhood. I don't think they would be against someone who just wanted to help out. Don't you think so?" He smiled.

Angela chuckled. "I guess you're right."

Lowering his hand to his side, Gael took a deep breath, glanced down the hall, and saw Giovanni's 'hurry up' stare. He ignored him and turned back to her.

"I'll have to be at the airport at 6:30 a.m., and my plane will leave at 7. You can think about it until then and call me if you want to come with me. Okay?" When she nodded, he inched closer and kissed her cheek. Her lips were tempting, but he didn't want to push it. "Make sure to lock the door behind me. Good night, Angel."

…

"You look like you're about to go hit someone in the face. What are you thinking about?" Giovanni asked Gael when they arrived home. The latter had been subconsciously sighing on the way, and it must have bothered the other.

"She's worried about another drive-by. I shouldn't have asked her to come. I don't want to put her in danger...but I can't leave her here either."

"Boy, you're really pussy-whipped. Can't even leave her for a day, huh?" Giovanni joked, but Gael didn't retort. "Don't worry about it. The security's tighter this time. I won't let anything like last time happen again."

That night, Gael wasn't able to sleep right away; his mind kept drifting towards Angela. They had sent each other goodnights through texts, but she hadn't told him of her decision.

Sometime around midnight, he fell asleep and woke up at five the next day. The first thing he did was check his phone but got disappointed when there were no texts from her. He told himself not to expect her to come. Maybe meeting his family was also a huge thing for her.

But Gael couldn't stay still because a part of him hoped that she'd call. God, how did he end up getting wrapped around her finger? He could totally force her to come and drag her with him, but he wouldn't do that. He needed to give her space.

Which was why at 5:50 a.m., he parked his car right outside her building and stared up at her floor like a fûcking stalker. "Fûck space," he bit out.

He'd debated with himself several times whether he should go up and knock on her door or not, and every time, he'd grip the wheels tighter to stop himself from leaving his car.

Thirty minutes later—at 6:20 a.m., he was just about to leave when his phone rang. Gael answered as soon as he saw her name flash.

Angela was heavily panting when she asked, "Am I too late? Do you still have room for me?"