wouldn’t engage in a discussion. Instead of acting out, he remained calm and smiled in a gentle nonthreatening manner. “That’s okay, tesoro. You don’t have to eat if you don’t want to. Like I’ve said, you can just keep me company. Besides, I’m sure you wouldn’t refuse a cup of freshly brewed coffee. It’s one of your morning rituals, isn’t it?”
I gaped at him in total bewilderment. I couldn’t understand his behavior and it made me beyond uncomfortable. “Why are you doing this?” I couldn’t help asking.
He shrugged. “No specific reason. I woke up this morning and thought we could spend some time together.”
I exhaled a long shuddering breath. This didn’t feel right…this didn’t feel right at all. This had to have been some kind of game that would eventually culminate into something terrible. I just couldn’t figure out what had set him off. I couldn’t think of a single thing I’d done that might have made him upset. For heaven’s sake, I hadn’t seen him in days. Then it occurred to me. What if he knew something? What if he was onto us? An even more terrifying thought attacked my mind. What if he somehow found out about the baby? I glanced at the door and actually contemplated racing toward it, but I had no choice. I had to play along in order to pacify the monster. Hold on for just a while longer. Soon, it will be over.
Alessandro strolled to the other end of the room and carried a small white puffer chair to the desk. He patted the velvet material, inviting me to join him. I tiptoed to the chair and lowered myself into the seat, trying my hardest not to stare at that birthday card and give myself away. Taking his own seat, Alessandro poured me a cup of coffee and smiled yet again. I had no idea what was happening…he was acting crazy.
“It’s decaf…just the kind you like,” he commented in a soft tone.
“Thanks.” I accepted the cup filled with black steamy liquid, and gazed in utter disbelief.
He snatched two plates from the tray and placed one of them in front of me. Then, he pointed to a round platter with a bunch of blueberry muffins. “Are you sure you don’t want anything to eat? I was told these were your favorites.”
I cast a glance at those muffins and then slowly brought my gaze to Alessandro’s. The last time I had them for breakfast, I was still living with my parents. How did he know? I remembered he visited my house and read my journal, so he had plenty of sources to gather that information. I just didn’t understand why it suddenly mattered. Just play along with the charade… “Yes. Of course,” I tried to sound pleasant to the best of my ability and reached for a muffin. The sweet scent of crumbles on top infiltrated my nostrils and my stomach turned. Nevertheless, I forced myself to take a small bite. The creamy dough melted in my mouth and tasted delicious, but when swallowing, I made a slight grimace in instinctive fear it would make me nauseous.
Alessandro ogled me with undivided interest as though intrigued by my reaction to the food. Deciding it would be wiser not to eat in front of him, I set my plate back on the desk and reached for my coffee.
“Do you have any plans for today?” he inquired in a conversational tone, snatching a piece of his own muffin and moaning in delight.
What was going on? What the hell was he doing? He knew something…I was sure of it.
A nervous chill ran down my spine and I stiffened. “No. Why?”
He arched his eyebrows and took a sip of his coffee. “I came across your bodyguard on my way up here. He seemed to be in quite a rush. Actually, he just stormed down the hallway without exchanging a single word with me. I thought you two were up to something.”
My throat constricted and I almost spit my coffee back into the mug. “Why would you think that?” I demanded in a baffled whisper.
Alessandro gave me a long, hard look, then smirked. “I don’t know…possibly because the only time he leaves the house is when he’s on duty…meaning in your company,” he assessed in a joking manner, but I caught the flash of danger in his eyes.
“He’s my bodyguard,” I pointed out defensively. “That’s his job.”
Alessandro sneered. “I didn’t say he was overstepping boundaries, did I, tesoro?” His voice was