Page 35 of Roses are Royal

“Thank you for the ride.” Rose breaks the silence as she opens the door of the car and starts to get out. This is the first thing she has said to me since we left the diner. I can tell she’s upset, but I’m trying to gauge what exactly she is upset about so I know how best to proceed. Was it something Luca said? Was it me showing up to the diner? Was it that I missed the dinner we had discussed last night?

“Of course,” I say in response, not wanting to make the situation worse. Clearing my throat, I quickly ask, “Nightcap?” Maybe I can salvage this night with a drink and find out what’s bothering her.

“No, thank you. I’m going to call it a night.” Rose brushes off my invitation and starts up the stairs but pauses and adds, “See you tomorrow, if you’re around.” She turns and continues up the stairs without another glance. I hear the soft click of the guest room door closing and the lock being engaged.

So she is upset that I missed dinner, or at a minimum that I wasn’t around today. Why does that give me some perverse pleasure, knowing she is mad I missed plans we had only loosely made? I mean, I could have told her I was going to be out of the house and running late, but I didn’t think the meeting in the city would take so long. Angelo, my boss, has gotten worse, quicker than we could’ve predicted, and I’ve been on edge all evening, knowing there isn’t anything I can do to help him. Our meeting left me unsettled, and I haven’t had time to process everything we discussed with the drama with Rose.

I’m not used to having to take others into account when making decisions, but something about her reaction makes me want to make it up to her somehow. Maybe I can make dinner for her tomorrow night, and we can talk. Angelo was adamant that he wanted to be the one to talk with her first, but I don’t know how much longer I can pretend I’m actually going to bring her to him.

Maybe if she knew the danger she is in, she’d be willing to leave the country with me. We can start over somewhere else and leave all of this behind us. But why would she trust anything I say at this point? Even though I know everything there is to know about her, all she really knows about me is the curated narrative I have fabricated.

Tomorrow, I’ll start to layer in some truths among the lies, and we can go from there. I still have time to figure out a new solution. I wish I never would’ve agreed to this job. Well, that’s not entirely true. I would accept this job every time if it meant I got to be with Rose in the end.

39

ROSE

Coffee. That is all I can think about right now as I peel my eyes open. I almost feel hungover even though I didn’t have a drop of alcohol last night, and I have a weird pain in the back of my neck.

In hindsight, I should’ve washed my face before curling up in bed and crying myself to sleep, and now I have to face Dante this morning. I haven’t cried myself to sleep in years, but at least before, I knew I was crying because I missed Luc. Now, I just feel numb and alone. I need to finish this job and maybe go on a vacation somewhere to clear my head.

I feel like a zombie as I go through the motions of showering and getting ready this morning. I spend a few extra minutes in the steaming shower, hoping it will help the puffiness the tears left in my eyes. I pull on a black power suit, something I used to hate wearing when I was with Franklin & Sons because I felt like it muted my personality, but today, it feels like it fits my somber mood and properly conveys I’m not to be messed with.

Head held high, I confidently march down the stairs and into the kitchen, fully prepared to come face-to-face with Dante, but instead, I’m met with silence and a fresh latte on the kitchen island next to a folded piece of paper. I let the falsely confident mask drop from my face as I cautiously approach the latte and paper. There is still steam rising from the liquid in the cup, so it must be very fresh, but Dante is nowhere in sight. I guess he didn’t feel like facing me this morning, which is just fine with me. I have a lot of work to get done today with several more deliveries to sort out. After a moment of indecision, I pick up the paper and slowly unfold it like a snake is going to jump out of it or something, but instead it’s just neat handwriting in black ink.

Rose,

I have to go into the city today for a meeting, so I will be out all day. I will return in time for dinner. If you are available, I’d like for you to join me this evening. Call or text if you need anything.

- Dante

He actually asked me to join him for dinner, and it wasn't communicated like his usual demands are. I’m so stunned that my first mental response is to say yes. Instead, I take a sip of the latte he left for me, savoring the delicious caramel flavors, and decide I will take a few hours to think. I don’t have to respond right away.

Luckily, I have a lot of work to keep me busy. Sipping on the latte he made me, I grab my tablet, start making notes for the day, and pull up tracking for all my deliveries.

40

DANTE

Ididn’t expect Rose to text me a response about dinner immediately this morning when she saw my note, but I also didn’t expect no response at all. I have been meeting with Angelo most of the day, updating him on the progress with Rose, as well as discussing other changes we are enacting within the organization so everything is in place before I leave.

I have held back on calling or texting Rose to ask about dinner and have only checked the cameras once this morning to ensure she got my note and then only the exterior cameras when I was alerted of vehicles entering. All vehicles matched the deliveries Rose has scheduled in her planner, so I wasn’t concerned about leaving her at the house unattended.

Now that I have wrapped up with Angelo and the others, I am anxious to get on the road and back to the house to spend time with Rose this evening. I decided to pick up takeout from her favorite Indian restaurant instead of cooking because today’s meeting ran longer than expected, and I don’t want to waste time shopping and cooking once I get home. I’d rather spend the time with Rose so we can get on better footing with each other. Selfishly, I also want to pry into the rekindling of things with Luca. Is he still just a friend, or is he angling for more with her? He would be a fool not to, considering she is the best woman I have ever met, but he isn’t right for her. He already had his chance to be with her and messed it up. I will not be making the same mistake.

After a quick check of her tracker and a double-check on the cameras, I confirm that Rose is at the house and working on placing the finishing touches on my sitting room. Knowing she is a perfectionist, she will likely be in there until I get home. With that confirmation, I slide into the driver’s seat of my blacked-out Porsche 911, takeout secured in a brown paper bag on the passenger seat, and I am on the road, heading back to my girl.

41

ROSE

I’m lost in my work as I finalize all the pieces in the sitting room, which is why I almost jump out of my skin when there is a soft knock on the door.

“Jesus! You scared me!” My hand is clutching my chest, and I can feel my heart beating wildly as I turn to see Dante standing in the doorway. “I didn’t realize you’d be home early.”

“It’s almost seven o’clock. I was just seeing if you were hungry. I grabbed some takeout in the city before I headed back.”

“Oh, oh my god, I am so sorry, Dante. I meant to text you about dinner and must’ve lost track of time.” Scrambling, I grab my phone to verify that it is, in fact, almost seven o’clock. Shit, I can’t believe I forgot to respond to him. He doesn’t seem upset, though, so maybe he was already planning on grabbing food for himself.