Lorenzo
I had managed to put off the celebratory dinner for an entire week, citing the fact that I was tired and I had some things to take care of. Matteo was far too understanding, and it only made me even more paranoid that he knew my secret. But I had held off long enough, and it was time to leave for the restaurant.
“Are you about ready?” I asked as I rapped my knuckles against the bedroom door. I’d been forced to give her my room, since the guest bedroom had my gun vault and numerous other weapons hidden in it. I’d put alarms on the window and the door, just in case, but I knew she wasn’t going anywhere. There was something about the way she looked at me that let me know she had surrendered to trusting me, at least for the time being. As for me, I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about what she must look like all alone in that big bed of mine.
“Pretty much.” She swung open the door. “I just don’t know if this outfit is right for me.” She stood uncertainly in the doorway in gray dress trousers that hugged her hips and flared out slightly above her black heels. Her cream-colored top and the short, teal blazer that she wore over the top of it were a nice effect.
“You seemed to like it just fine at the store.” I had hesitated on taking her out shopping, but she couldn’t wear pasties and glittery stripper shoes to a meeting with Matteo. Everyone would know her secret—and mine—in an instant. I had considered just ordering some new clothing for her online, but I realized that taking her out in public would actually be a good idea. If anyone was watching us, they would see us out as a couple, with me buying anything she liked and taking her out to lunch. It was also a good test of her acting skills. If she treated me as her jailer at the department store, then there would be no way she would be able to handle dinner with the Morettis. To her credit, Alexis had passed with flying colors.
“It’s always different when you try it on at the store,” she insisted. “The lighting is different, and I was a little excited to get some new clothes.” Her cheeks flushed.
I looked at my watch to avoid looking at her face. “We need to get going soon.” She was hot, but when she stood there embarrassed over her outfit it made her adorable, too. I couldn’t think like that. I had to remember that I was acting, too, and that she wasn’t my girlfriend. But the things I would have done to her if she was …
“Maybe I just need that necklace.” She retreated from the doorway and stepped across the room to the dresser to fish through a small shopping bag. I admired her backside freely; Vettoria would no doubt congratulate me on such a catch. “There, is that better?” she asked when she turned back around. She had added a pendant necklace that hovered just above her cleavage.
“That’s fine. Let’s go.” I shooed her down the hallway.
Alexis picked up the small, black purse she had chosen at the store from the table in the hall and turned back to look at me. “I’m nervous about this. I don’t know if I can do it.”
“You can,” I corrected her. “And you will. It’s either that or die, so there’s not much choice in the matter. Besides, you did fine when we went shopping.”
“That was different,” she insisted. “Nobody was watching us.”
I didn’t bother telling her that it was quite possible that someone was. It wouldn’t have helped any. Instead, I guided her out the door and to the elevator. We didn’t speak as we descended toward the parking garage, where my Lexus was waiting for us. Keeping up appearances, I opened the door for her before I went around to get behind the wheel.
I had to admit that she looked amazing in that outfit. Sure, she was hot in her stripper clothes, but seeing her in normal attire made her a completely different person. Those pants hugged her hips in just the right way, and the shirt gave just the tiniest peek of her cleavage. It was enough to make me wish I could pull over and have my way with her. It had been so hard having her in my apartment for the past week, knowing that she was just on the other side of the wall, changing clothes or taking a shower. I wanted her, and I wondered if she wanted me too.
“Why didn’t you just shoot me?” Alexis blurted as I turned onto the highway, interrupting my fantasy. She sat hunched down in the seat, clutching her purse to her stomach. “It would have been easier.”
I looked at her for a moment before returning my gaze to the road in front of us. “Well, if you act like that when we get to the restaurant, you’ll get your wish and Matteo will have both of us dead in our spaghetti.” Why did she have to be so difficult? She only seemed interested in preserving her own skin about half the time. The rest was split between pouting over her situation or fussing over her clothes. Although, I had to admit, she was cute when she stuck her lips out a little.
“I’m serious. This is just ridiculous. Why go to such lengths to save my life? It doesn’t make any sense.” She wouldn’t look at me, staring out the passenger window instead.
What could I say? How could I possibly explain it when I didn’t quite understand myself? I ignored the question and steered the conversation toward more important matters. “You remember everything about our story, right?”
Alexis nodded, but didn’t answer, no doubt still thinking about her ridiculous question.
“We found each other again when we met up at the 57th Street Bar. You had just come into town to get away from your boyfriend, and you needed a place to stay. We easily slipped back into our old feelings for each other, and you moved in.” I had rehearsed it over and over in my head, worried that one of us would get it wrong. This had to go off without a hitch.
“Yes, I remember,” she snapped. “But have you thought about how you’re going to introduce him? Even if he does own the restaurant, I doubt he has a business card that says, ‘Matteo Moretti – Crime Boss.’ What’s the cover story there?”
“I have thought about that, actually.” There was no reason to doubt me, but I knew she was scared. Her blue eyes were just a little bit wider than usual and she fidgeted constantly with the strap of her purse. “Anytime Moretti is out in the public, he’s an investor. Since he really does invest a lot of money, it’s not much of a stretch.”
Alexis shook her head. “No, not at all. You’re just leaving out the part about him having people knocked off on a regular basis.”
“You aren’t making this any easier,” I argued. “Just play it cool and it will all be over with before you know it.” I pulled into the parking lot of the restaurant.