Page 46 of The Woman with the Flowers (Costa Family)

Did that put Vega in more danger?

My mind was racing, making me feel immediately lightheaded as I all but shoved Cesare out onto the street, pretending to ignore not only the surprise and confusion on his handsome face, but something else just under the surface, something that made my heart ache at seeing.

Hurt.

He was hurt by my rejection.

And I had no way to tell him that I didn’t mean it, that I was being forced to say those things, to act that way.

Not unless I wanted to put Vega at risk.

I knew my cousin.

I knew how she would tell me to handle this.

To reassure the man, then do the exact opposite of what he was telling me to do. She would tell me not only to tell Cesare, but to go directly to the police.

But I wasn’t Vega.

I wasn’t that strong.

And there was no way I could live with myself if she got hurt or killed because I didn’t do exactly as I was told.

So, yeah, maybe I chose the coward’s way out.

But I slid that door lock into place, and walked back into the prep room, ready to reassure this man that I wasn’t going to say anything to anyone.

“That seemed… cozy,” the unknown man said, his brow quirked up slightly.

“What did?” I asked, feigning ignorance.

I wasn’t going to get Cesare in trouble because of some situation that had nothing to do with him. The poor man didn’t even live in the area. He only showed up because he was looking for Dennis.

This was Dennis’s problem. And, apparently, Rayna. And now mine.

Not Cesare’s.

“You and Costa,” he said, and something in his curious gaze told me that he didn’t know about Cesare being at my apartment the night before.

I was going to do everything in my power to keep it that way.

“I’ve only seen the man, like, three times,” I said, shrugging. He didn’t need to know what happened during those times when we’d seen each other.

“The less he’s around here, the better,” the man said.

“I can’t really control who comes into the store,” I reminded him.

“Guess not, but it would be in your best interest to make sure he doesn’t hang around for long. You know why,” he said, tapping his darkened phone.

“I understand,” I said, nodding in a solemn way.

Because I did understand the gravity of the situation.

But more so because I wanted him to go away, to leave me alone, to give me five minutes to freak out by myself.

“Good. I’ll see you on delivery days,” he told me, his words a dark threat.

Then he was turning and making his way out of the back door.

I didn’t bother to rush behind him to lock it.

It had been locked.

So he either picked it, or he had a key.

Either way, the lock was completely useless.

What I did do, though, was take myself into the bathroom, close and lock the door, then collapse back onto the wall. My entire body was racked with shivers as tears sprung to my eyes.

I’d never known true fear in my life, not really.

I’d been scared of things, sure. Speaking in front of a class. Having my car skid on black ice. Having a man follow me on a dark street when no one else was around.

Scary situations, all.

But they paled in comparison to this. An actual threat. Not only to my safety and life but that of Vega’s as well.

A cold sweat had broken out across my body, making me feel clammy and freezing even as I went to the sink, staring at my reflection in the mirror.

It was going to be okay.

Because I wasn’t going to say anything.

I wasn’t going to do anything that would put Vega at risk.

Or Cesare.

What was going to be hard was acting like nothing was wrong. I’d never been good at hiding my emotions. It was probably why the bullies at school had teased me so mercilessly. Because they could see just how much their words affected me. It was how Vega always knew when I needed her to give me some space, or back off when she was making me uncomfortable.

It was all right there on my face.

I needed to figure out how to change that.

In about… five hours.

I stared at myself, the flushed skin, the wide eyes, the tightness in my jaw.

Taking a deep breath, I told my reflection, “Shut it down.”

Then stared at myself as I relaxed the tension around my jaw and lips, as I eased the muscles around my eyes until they looked more normal.

I went beyond that, shaking the tension out of my shoulders. Relaxing my spine.

That was the version of myself that I needed to show to Vega. To Cesare. To any and every person I came in contact with from now until, well, forever, I guess.

Taking another steadying breath, I walked out into the shop, walking up to the front, and unlocking the door.

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