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“I guess I must be.” He reaches out and grabs my arm, pretending to eat my hand. Getting out of his seat, he moves around and snorts at Alicia’s neck. “Yum. Super tasty. The best food is Alicia’s food.”
“You can’t eat me, Daddy. I’m not food.”
“Aren’t you?”
She giggles. “No, silly. Sit down and be sensible.” She sits bolt upright. “We have a guest.”
“So we do. Alicia, this is Bex Fox.”
“I know that. I already met her upstairs. She’s my new friend, aren’t you?” She grins at me. “Say you’re my friend, please.”
“Of course, I’m your friend.”
The door opposite me opens, and Jeremy comes in with a woman in her seventies. The two carry covered trays, which they set in front of us without a word. As they leave again, Alicia lifts the cover off her tray to reveal a mountain of bacon and eggs. She picks a piece of bacon up and crams it straight in her mouth, beaming at me as she chews. “So good,” she says.
“Knife and fork,” Hunter says, using the cold voice I’ve heard him use before, only this time, he’s smiling at his daughter as he talks.
She picks up her cutlery and digs in. I lift up the lid of my tray to reveal the Insalata Caprese I had at Giuseppe and Antonio’s. Hunter nods at me. “Had them flown in for you.”
“You’re kidding me?”
He grins and winks. “I can make things happen.”
“Stop lying,” Alicia says. “Jeremy studied at their restaurant. Daddy asked him to make them for you seeing as you enjoyed them so much when we were in Rome. He told me when I woke him up this morning and gave me a message to send to the kitchen. I’m his messenger, and I’m super fast. You should see me move.”
I take a bite as Hunter starts talking to Alicia about her choice of socks. How he acts with her is so different from how I’ve seen him before. He’s a whole other person. His eyes light up as they discuss things, a smile never far from his lips. He moves his body more, like everything she says is the most exciting thing he’s ever heard. I watch silently, eating slowly, wanting to hate him but finding it impossible.
Is this the criminal I vowed not to fall for? The man with a thumping noise coming from the trunk of his car? The same man who attacked Oswald. Didn’t just attack him. Kept me safe from him. Continues to keep me safe from him. The man who locked me in my room last night. Kept me here so Oswald couldn’t get me.
I shudder to think what might have happened if Oswald had gotten into my apartment. Maybe I am safer here.
Orange juice is poured out for the three of us while they discuss the trolls trying to get back into the garden. I take a sip and tell myself I mustn’t get drawn into this. I can’t promise Alicia anything. I’m only supposed to take the ten thousand for being here today. Going to join Ursula at the hotel by tonight.
I look at Hunter and think about what he told me last night. We are getting married.
A formality. That’s what he said. I look at the way he talks to his daughter, and I get an inkling of what life with him could be like. He called himself a businessman. Could I let myself believe that’s all he is? He’s undoubtedly rich. He’s got a gorgeous house. He clearly dotes on his daughter.
“I’m done,” Alicia says, pushing her plate away. “I’ve got to get ready for school.”
She gets down, kissing me before running out of the room. The sound of her footsteps fades as she sprints upstairs.
“Does she not get sick running so soon after eating?” I ask.
“I gave up telling her not to run,” Hunter says, rolling his eyes. “Everything’s top speed with her.”
“I guess you have to pick your battles.”
“Exactly. Well, this morning didn’t pan out as I hoped, but you’ve met her. Are you willing to look after her?”
“Do I get a choice?”
“Of course you do.”
“Didn’t feel that way last night when you locked me in my room.”
“Look, I’m sorry if I came across as rude. I got some bad news last night. I may have taken it out on you. It was uncivilized. I won’t let it happen again.”
“What kind of bad news?”
