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The woman turned to face Mr. Ricci. His daughter. I tilted my head to the side as I watched her. Her gaze lowered but remained focused on her dad. I could sense she didn’t like him apologizing for her, but she wasn’t going to say anything in front of me to him. She had respect for the people around her. Interesting.
“It’s okay. Don’t let me get in your way.” I leaned against the counter, crossed one leg at the ankle, and clasped the counter behind me. My attention didn’t move off the woman as she entered and placed the box of groceries on the kitchen table. She stared at me out of the side of her eyes, a frown appearing on her face as she spotted me staring. Again though, she didn’t say anything.
Mr. Ricci exited, probably going to get more of the delivery. I expected the woman to scamper after him, but she didn’t. She unpacked the box and sauntered around the kitchen, placing the items in what I was assuming were the correct place.
“You do this often?” I asked her, feeling like my voice was too loud for the room and her ears. I was to the point, but maybe she wasn’t used to that. My wheels were turning, and for some reason, I didn’t want to scare her off. She was the first woman I’d seen over the last week that had me wondering what else there was to her. The problem was that she wasn’t brought to me. Instead, she’d stumbled upon me. Accident? Fate? Coincidence?
“Who? Me?” The woman opened another cabinet but paused to look at me.
“Yeah. You.” I raised a brow, waiting for some kind of comeback, but there wasn’t one. Her gaze veered down to my white shirt, and her eyes widened slightly, just enough for me to know she could see the blood splatter on the material. I wasn’t sure how I was expecting her to react. Maybe she’d clam up and get out of here as fast as she could, or maybe she’d—
“Mrs. Beretta likes her things put away properly.”
I blinked, and she shrugged as if that was enough of an explanation for me. She didn’t mention the blood or acknowledge who I was. It intrigued me. She intrigued me.
She closed the cabinet, swiped her hand down her jean-covered thighs, and for the first time, I got a good lo
ok at her body. She was short, but I didn’t mind it on her. The curve of her hips was begging for my hands, and the dip in her waist called for my arm to wrap...
Huh.
I blinked several times. Maybe she could become an option.
“That was the last one,” Mr. Ricci announced, standing in the doorway to the side of the kitchen. It led out into the driveway that nobody knew was there, a secret spot used for deliveries. He blinked rapidly. He’d clearly seen the blood on my clothes and didn’t want to get any closer. Where his daughter was as cool as a cucumber, I could practically see his hands shaking from here.
“Let’s go, Aida.”
Aida. Her name was Aida.
She lifted her hand in a wave, and without saying another word, she exited, her dad following. I couldn’t help my feet moving toward the open door. My gaze refused to move from her, my brain wanting to know more.
Her ass swayed as she walked toward Mr. Ricci’s truck, but it wasn’t something that she put on. It was natural, just like her. And fuck if it didn’t draw me to her even more.
“What are you looking at?” Christian asked, his footsteps nearing as Mr. Ricci started the engine. I crossed my arms over my chest as Mr. Ricci pulled away and slowly made his way down the driveway. The farther they moved away, the more I knew. She was it. She was the answer to my problem. “Lorenzo?” Christian asked again.
I turned to face him, lifted my lips on one side, and simply stated, “My future wife.”
CHAPTER 3
AIDA
My stomach dipped, my nerves running rampant the closer to the restaurant we got. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d gone on a date. Maybe that was why I was so nervous? Brad hadn’t told me where we were going, so I’d had a stressful few hours deciding what to wear. In the end, I let Vida choose. At least that way, I’d look pretty enough.
She’d paired my high-waisted, wide-legged pants with a simple white sleeveless top. To finish the look, I’d gone with a pair of heels, then shoved some flats into my bag. I was prepared for any situation—that was what I kept telling myself anyway. The reality was, I wasn’t ready for this. I wasn’t ready to be alone with Brad when I felt like I barely knew him.
He pulled to a stop outside a steakhouse, and I didn’t wait for him as I got out. I was on edge—more on edge than usual—and I wasn’t sure if it was the good kind or the bad kind. There was something in the back of my mind telling me to be aware of everything going on around me, but I didn’t know why. It was probably because this was the first date I’d been on in so long, or maybe my spidey sense had kicked in and was trying to warn me. Either way, when Brad took my hand to lead me inside the restaurant, I jumped out of my skin.
“Sorry.” I laughed, trying to sound easy, but I knew I was anything but that.
“No worries,” Brad said, his lips pulled up on one side in that smile I’d seen him use so often. It was the kind that I knew people melted at, but for me, it made me even more nervous.
What would happen after this? Would he expect anything of me? I wasn’t a virgin by any stretch of the imagination, but I also didn’t do this kind of thing often. I hadn’t had a man hold my hand since…well, damn, I couldn’t even remember since when.
Had it really been that long?
I rolled my shoulders back and tried to give myself a pep talk as we were shown to our table. It wasn’t long until our orders were taken, and then Brad started talking about himself. I listened intently, not wanting to miss any of what he was saying, and as soon as he paused, I opened my mouth, about to volunteer something about me, but before I even got the chance, he was back to talking about himself and what his plans for the future were.
By the time we’d finished eating, and the bill was placed on the table, I knew his entire life story, but he knew absolutely nothing about me. I bet he didn’t even know what my last name was. In some ways, I was glad he’d done all the talking because that prickly feeling I’d had since I got out of his truck hadn’t gone away, but I also knew there was no way I could go on another date with him.
