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“What do you mean?” I asked, pretending not to notice that his gaze dipped for a split second down my body that was wrapped in nothing but my usual silk robe. My wet hair was dripping on my shoulders and chest, and I wondered if maybe the material was sticking to parts that I should have worried about being exposed.
“Well, getting physically shoved out of a woman’s workplace kind of sends a bit of a signal that you fucked up, right?” he asked, actually shuffling his feet a bit, and the move was so unexpectedly charming that I wanted to go toward him, to assure him that nothing was wrong.
But a vision flashed in front of my eyes. Of a man with dark eyes and threats against myself, Vega, and Cesare.
“Gotta admit, I’m a little out of my depths here, sweetheart,” he said, exhaling hard. “I’ve never had to work at this before,” he added.
“Work at… what?” I asked, thinking I knew what he meant, but my insecurity made me want to hear him say it.
“This,” he said, waving an arm out. “Trying to get a woman to give me the time of day,” he added, shaking his head as he looked down at his feet for a second.
Sure, it could have been an act.
Hot guy puts on an insecure front to get under a woman’s defenses.
But something about how embarrassed he seemed to admit those words had me believing he was being genuine.
“Why?” I asked.
“Why what?”
“Why… me, I guess,” I said, watching his dark gaze inspect my face for a moment.
“I don’t know,” he admitted, and my heart crushed a little in my chest. “Sure, you’re gorgeous and you’re interesting, but… I don’t know. There’s just something. Can’t get you out of my fucking head for some reason,” he admitted.
Of course.
Of course when I finally found a guy who was interested in me, I couldn’t be with him.
Not without risking us.
And Vega.
Too much was at stake.
“Did Vega let you in?” I asked, looking around, pretending to ignore the flash of hurt in his eyes.
Cesare didn’t strike me as the kind of man who showed vulnerability easily. And there he was, showing me some, only to have me completely ignore it.
“Yeah. She saw the flowers, then decided to head out to give us some time to talk.”
“Where did she go?” I asked, tone too sharp, voice just a shade too hysterical.
I didn’t want her out of my sight. Especially at night. When she had no idea of the risks all around.
“She said she was going to do some shopping, and then hit the pizza place,” he told me, brows drawing together as he watched me.
I was sure it was all playing across my face right then.
The way I was working through the details. Like Vega wouldn’t be doing any kind of shopping in Balm Harbour. Most places closed too early in the off-season. So she would be heading to the next bigger town, full of big box stores that I knew she could browse endlessly, buying more lay-around-the-house clothes, stocking up on snacks, and perusing the books.
There would be lights and other people and security cameras.
She was safe there.
The pizza place was in Balm Harbour, but she knew everyone there too. Well enough that they let her use the employee side lot. Where there was also a camera.
So as long as she just went in and out of those places, there wasn’t really a chance for anyone to grab her. Even if they knew that Cesare was at my apartment building.
“Are you… afraid to be alone with me?” Cesare asked, tone careful, but I could hear the concern underneath.
“No,” I rushed to say, not wanting to hurt him any more. “No, of course not,” I added, tone more firm. “Did you ever get in touch with Dennis?” I asked, hoping that my boss’s reappearance might help me with these unknown men.
To that, his posture dipped a little as he let out an exhale. “No. We were supposed to meet up, but he didn’t show. His place is all cleaned up now, but his car isn’t there. Dunno what the fuck is going on. You haven’t heard from him still?”
“No.” I wish I had.
“You’re sure he hasn’t been by the shop?”
“I mean, not when I was there, no. Anything is possible if I wasn’t. There… there aren’t any cameras,” I said, realizing for the first time how unusual that was. Everyone had a camera in town. At least one.
But of course the shop didn’t.
When they were bringing in who-knew-what in the boxes that the flowers came in.
They couldn’t exactly have all that caught on camera, could they?
But it also meant that there was no proof of the man who’d threatened me, even if I’d wanted to go to the police.
“What’s wrong?” Cesare said, making me snap out of my swirling thoughts, finding that he’d moved several steps closer to me without me noticing.
