Page 30 of Lily

Eventually, Roselia eased back into the cushions, kicked off her shoes, and pulled her legs up so she could hug her knees.

Stefano sat next to her a few minutes later, propping his laptop on his thighs. “The owner said we can place a grocery order, and the local store in town will deliver. We can even use cash. I told him my credit card was recently stolen, and the new one hasn’t come yet.”

Her stomach grumbled. “I guess I’m hungry.”

“I should have stopped and picked up fast food. I’m sorry. I was singularly focused on getting here.” He tucked a lock of hair behind her ear.

“It’s okay. I’m not complaining. I won’t starve. Lord knows I’ve gone without food before.” She looked away to stare at the floor, shuddering at the number of times she’d gone without eating in her life.

Stefano clicked away on the screen. “Okay, help me out here, sweetheart. Tell me what you like.”

“I’m not picky,” she whispered before she looked at him. “Please don’t get oatmeal.”

“Okay, no oatmeal. Eggs? Bacon? Ham? Sausage?”

Her mouth watered. “Yes, please.”

“Bread and lunchmeat and cheese for sandwiches?”

“Sounds like heaven.”

He released the computer to stroke her cheek again. “I’ll just order a bunch of stuff. We can always do it again if we need to.”

She tipped her head into his palm. “Thank you. I can’t think about specific foods right now. I don’t even care. I’m still finding it hard to believe I’m here.”

“Understood.” He returned his focus to the computer for several minutes before declaring, “Done. It will be here in two hours. I know you’re hungry. I’ll fix us some breakfast as soon as it arrives.”

“I’ll be fine.” It wasn’t even seven in the morning yet. She was used to being up at five and doing a lot of work before she ate breakfast, which usually consisted of whatever her Master hadn’t eaten from the dishes she’d served him.

“There’s complimentary coffee in the kitchen. How about if I make a couple of cups?”

She looked at him and slowly nodded.

He frowned. “Rose… You better not be nodding acceptance if you don’t even like coffee.”

“I’ve never tried it,” she admitted. “My mother drank tea. We never had coffee in the house. And then… Well, I wasn’t ever allowed to drink it after that.”

He grabbed her hand. “Let’s go make some then. You can try it. If you don’t like it, I bet there’s tea. I wasn’t sure how you might take your coffee, so I ordered a few flavored creamers with the groceries.”

She rose quickly. “I can do it for you.”

He tugged her hand, pulling her back, stopping her. “You’re not my maid. You’re not my slave. Did you do all the cooking and cleaning for that asshole?”

“Yes.”

“Then you’re done cooking and cleaning. I bet you’ve been cooking and cleaning your entire life. You worked long hours doing so for Santo, too. No more.”

She gasped.

He chuckled. “You can supervise and tell me if I’m doing shit wrong.” He nodded toward the kitchen area.

She followed him with her fingers gripping his. “It’s all I know, Stefano.”

“That’s not true.” He grabbed her hips and lifted her onto the counter next to the coffee pot, surprising her. “I know you’re a huge reader. Every time you were on a break, you had your head in a book. Your apartment was filled with books. Mostly non-fiction. I bet you know more about some subjects than people with college degrees.”

She certainly didn’t know as much as he was giving her credit for, and she looked around the room, wondering if there were any books. None. Her shoulders dropped. She hadn’t read a book since she’d been abducted. Vanderbilt had put books on her shelf, but none of them had interested her; besides, she’d been too tired at night to care about reading.

He followed her gaze and then smiled. “I have a surprise for you.”

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