Total pages in book: 36
Estimated words: 35676 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 178(@200wpm)___ 143(@250wpm)___ 119(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 35676 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 178(@200wpm)___ 143(@250wpm)___ 119(@300wpm)
“Because I’m taking her out, and I told you this last night.”
Silence met his answer.
“Oh,” Jessica said.
“Yes, oh. Now take over feeding your son. Start looking for a new nanny in order to replace Tessa when the need is there. I don’t want him going without because of me.”
They both entered, and Tessa quickly scooped up some banana and fed it to a waiting Caesar.
“Tessa, my office now. We’re having breakfast before we go.”
“I don’t mind—”
“Now!”
She quickly passed the bowl to Jessica and followed behind Alonzo.
He didn’t take no for an answer and she hated being yelled at, so she followed him. It was hard not to burst into tears, but by the time she got to his office, she had her emotions under control.
His office always reminded her of something out of the fifties. The shelves were laden with books that didn’t look used. The desk, wooden and large, filled most of the space in front of the window with a large leather chair behind it.
Alonzo didn’t go toward the chair though.
There was a small coffee table in front of two sofas. Taking a seat that Alonzo pointed out, she stared at the food. Lots of different fruits were out on the table, along with toasts, jams, and spreads. There were some mini boxes of cereal as well, which she found so utterly cute.
“Take what you like.”
“There’s a lot here to choose from.”
Alonzo had already taken a slice of toast and spread some jam over it thickly. Picking up a piece of orange, she took a bite, moaning as the sweet fruit filled her mouth. The taste was amazing. She normally had a couple of slices of toast for breakfast.
Neither of them spoke as Alonzo poured them both some coffee. She accepted hers black. Every now and then she found herself drawn to him as he read the newspaper.
“Did everything go okay last night?” She’d been worried about him.
“As well as could be expected. Tell me, Tessa, did you miss me?”
“I was worried about you.”
“You were?”
“Yes.”
“I don’t suppose you happen to enjoy our time together?”
Biting her lip, she couldn’t look away. His gaze held her locked in place with no way of escaping.
“I … do.” He made her afraid at times, but she’d come to enjoy listening to him talk, answering his never-ending questions. She loved seeing him smile. He didn’t do it often enough.
There were times he reminded her of her father. He’d spent a great deal of time sad, alone, miserable.
This kind of work couldn’t have been easy.
She wasn’t under any illusions about the kind of work he did or what the mafia were. It was a kill-or-be-killed world out there. When she learned the truth, she’d found it hard to deal, to think of her father as a killer.
Her mother had told her that there was so much bad stuff going on in this world. She couldn’t help the man she fell in love with, but she wasn’t going to hold his life against him. If given the choice between her husband killing or being killed, she would have him do the killing.
Tessa glanced at Alonzo, who stared back at her.
Would she be able to handle him killing, anyone killing?
Pushing those thoughts to the back of her mind, she offered him a smile.
“You look petrified.”
“Shopping is not something I’ve ever enjoyed.”
“Now this is a new experience for me. I’ve never met a woman who hasn’t enjoyed spending my money.”
“Oh, I don’t want to spend your money.”
“I wouldn’t expect you to spend your own, Tessa. Now, come. I intend to get you out of this house. You’ve been looking way too pale lately.”
****
The mall was the last place Alonzo wanted to be. However, he wished to spoil Tessa and to do it with her. They’d already entered five designer shops, and none of them held any appeal to her. She’d walked through the rows, looking at shirts or jeans. None of the dresses had even been glanced at.
When she saw the price tag, she’d drop it and move on to the next one.
By the time lunch came around, he sat at the table with Cole and Demetri. Tessa had excused herself to use the bathroom. She begged to go alone, and he didn’t see a problem with it. He’d never been this stuck with women, not during his entire adult life.
“You know, you could pick out clothes for her,” Cole said.
“I don’t need your advice.”
“Clearly, you do. We get that to the outside world we’re not your friends. We’re your guards. Come on, we know what Tessa means to you. She’s also being really difficult and stubborn,” Demetri said.
“I don’t think she’s stubborn,” Cole said. He took a long sip of his milkshake. “I don’t think she’s used to having this kind of attention. I remember her dad. He hated going shopping with her because he’d always moan about how she was a pain in the ass. More of a boy than a girl.” Cole laughed. “Honestly, he’d rather face twenty-four hours of torture than take her shopping.”