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“What are we doing here?” I asked, curious why he would bring me here.
He held out his arms, meaning I lost his hand and warmth. “This is where I come whenever I feel like the walls are closing in around me.” He led me to the back of the room, to the large windows.
There was a blanket on the ground, a picnic basket next to it. The gesture was so sweet and unlike him that a smile stole over my face. My anxiety faded to a dull throb that was unlikely to give me heart palpitations.
Lucius stepped closer and pointed at my mouth. “That smile right there made begging Mariana to pack a picnic and enduring Santino’s teasing worth it.”
The heat rising to my cheeks was instant. I mumbled an incoherent response and studied the polished concrete floor.
Why would he do this for me? It’s a gesture for a friend. Or lover. Not a prisoner.
There was no way he was interested in someone as boring as me. I’d done nothing exciting in my life. A good day to me included a visit to the ice cream parlor and a movie. I was small and currently scrawny. I didn’t wear makeup. My thick hair was a tangled mess thanks to the humidity and my lack of care factor.
But none of that seemed to matter to him.
Lucius pointed at the pillows stacked on one side of the blanket. “Do you want to sit down?”
This was feeling more and more like a date—a thought I squashed immediately. He was only doing this to get me back on track. None of this meant anything.
I sat down and he followed, facing me. “I hope you’re hungry, because Mariana made enough to feed ten people.”
I laughed, feeling better than I had in a while. He didn’t have to go through all this trouble to cheer me up. Despite his questionable occupation, he was a good man.
I peeked inside the basket. “I’ll try everything, then.”
Lucius pulled out containers of food, the basket seemingly bottomless. He chuckled, lifting a small container. “There are even strawberries and dipping chocolate in here.”
My eyes lit up at the mention of chocolate. I couldn’t remember the last time I had any.
He placed the container that held the precious treat in front of me. “You look like you’re about to attack me to get to the chocolate.”
I grinned at him, hoping my addiction wouldn’t put him off. “You don’t know how much I missed chocolate.” I didn’t waste any time taking the lid off and cradling the container to my chest.
Lucius left me to worship the chocolate, foregoing the strawberries. I ate with abandon, barely swallowing before shoving more in. I’d never thought I’d miss small things like my books, chocolate, and my daily dose of television as much as I did. I’d taken it all for granted. And never would again.
By the time I had cleaned out the container, Lucius had set out all the food. There was everything from cut fruit to sandwiches to empanadas and cupcakes. Heaven on a blanket.
I selected a sandwich and enjoyed the homemade hot sauce Mariana added to it. Lucius was watching me, and I bit my lip, unsure how to respond to his intense study of me. “Aren’t you going to eat something?”
If I didn’t know better, I’d say that was redness creeping into his cheeks from getting caught staring at me. But that was impossible. Someone like Lucius didn’t blush.
I hadn’t had a chance to talk to him since my jump off the cliff, but Santino told me in as few words as possible that Lucius had been the one to follow me into the water and drag me out. I owed him my life.
Done with the sandwich, I looked up at him. “I haven’t thanked you yet for saving me. If you hadn’t jumped in, I would have drowned.”
“I would have never let you drown.” His declaration was fierce and spoken as if there had never been another option.
I hung my head. “Well, thank you anyway. Even though I thought death was better than the alternative, I changed my mind as soon as my feet left the ground.”
Lucius sat up, setting his food on the blanket. “Death should never be an option. Youwillmake it out of here and get your life back.” He hesitated but then took my hand. “Trust me? Please?”
He would help me get out of here?
The crazy part of it was I believed him. Nodding, I found myself putting my trust into my captor.
He studied my face, clearly satisfied with what he saw because he continued eating.
We spent the rest of the meal getting to know each other. And despite Lucius not being incredibly forthcoming, he eventually told me about his mother who’d died when he was young and that he moved to the States when he turned eighteen.
