Page 21 of Till Death Do Us Part

“You know him?” Elsa stuck a thumb at Felice.

“Somewhat.” I sighed.

Felice offered her his hand. “John Maggio.”

“John,” she repeated. It was breathy. Elsa took his offered hand and gave him her first name.

“Ms. Lang,” he said, “Roma is having lunch with me today. Celso—” he nodded toward the guy in the suit, holding the bag, waiting by the door “—will walk you back.”

“I don’t need him to—”

“I insist.”

She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and her cheeks flushed pink. “Oh. Okay. Thank you.” She smiled at me. “See you after lunch, Roma.”

Felice pulled out a chair for me, and I huffed as I sat down. Elsa had melted for him, and he wasn’t even being all that warm. When he’d said, “I insist,” it sounded more like, “End of conversation.” He was used to being the boss, and it was clear.

He took a seat across from me and watched as I prepared my Mediterranean salad. After I took out the toasted pita bread from its sleeve and set it on the side of the bowl, I stabbed some lettuce, took a bite, then met his eyes.

“What are you doing here?” I asked after the bite had gone down.

“I came to see you.”

“Are you sure?” I asked sarcastically. “I thought maybe you came to see Elsa.”

He took a napkin and dabbed at my chin. Then he opened his mouth. Did he want me to feed him? Seemed like it. I couldn’t resist, so I did. He nodded in approval, then stood and went back to the counter. He came back with two waters. He opened mine and handed it to me.

I took a sip, hoping it would help my parched mouth. His eyes were intense, and they felt like heat against my skin.

“Get used to seeing me, Roma.” He reached across the table, taking my free hand in his. “I’m not going anywhere.”

Like it did at the warehouse, his hand engulfed mine. I hadn’t been imagining it. His fingers fiddled with the bangles and watch on my wrist. Butterflies rushed my stomach, dancing all around the lettuce.

“If your interest in me is more than platonic…my marriage has already been arranged, or it will be.”

“You refuse to break the rules, Dino?”

“When it comes to that?” I set the pita down. “Yes. I don’t want to lose my family over what’s right anyway.”

“What’s right anyway,” he murmured.

“Ben,” I said, hoping the name would be explanation enough. “But he was wrong.”

He stared at me long enough that I turned my eyes from his. I concentrated on eating my salad. Getting through this lunch with my sanity intact. This man made me feel exposed, and I refused to lose my heart to someone I couldn’t have. It was bad enough he kept me up at night. I couldn’t spend time with him and be safe from him.

“You’re a vegetarian?”

The question surprised me. I looked up, and he caught a stray piece of lettuce before it fell out of my mouth. He fed it to me, then wiped my bottom lip with his finger. He rubbed the finger back and forth against his lips, like he was tasting the best olive oil money could buy.

“Yes,” I whispered, or he might have heard the stuttering of my heart through my mouth.

“My little herbivore.” He didn’t grin or smile. His eyes grew more intense.

My little herbivore.My heart stopped completely and fainted.

“You don’t like meat?”

He was talking to me again. I had to force myself to answer.

---