Alison relaxed into her seat and laughed. "Tell me that isn't their real names either."
"Of course not, I've nicknamed the whole lot of sentry guards. I have that kind of time, you know. So what's on the agenda today? Are we going to the apartment first or do you want to check on the café?"
Alison thought about it for a moment. "Apartment first. I'm not going to live there anymore. I can't, not knowing...what he did, you know? I'll have to buy out of my lease and pack up my stuff."
"Rome already suggested to Vane that we hire some men to do that for you. Why don't we do that? It'll save you the hassle of boxing up everything."
Everything that isn't broken. "Yeah, I guess that's fine, though I don't see why Rome had to step in like that."
Sarina turned onto the highway before arching a thin brow at Alison. "You don’t, do ya? Well, a little birdie told me that your little friend John was sent packing the other night and you spent the night with Rome."
Alison couldn't stop the blush that flushed her cheeks. She turned away to stare at the passing trees like she’d never see one before.
"Oh my God! You did! Holy hell, how was it? Tell me everything, spare no details. I mean, let's be honest, the man looks like a Viking gladiator or something. He seems to like you too."
Alison glared at her friend. "And how would you know that? And to set the record straight he doesn't 'like' me. He just helped me during my breeding cycle. Now that it's over everything will be fine."
Sarina snorted with laughter. "Do you actually hear yourself? He punched John in the face! He just helped me during my breeding cycle'," Sarina mimicked in a high-pitched voice. "Yeah, I'm sure he was just helping you to orgasm like crazy out of the kindness of his heart. I'm sure he was just sexing you up out of his sense of honor and duty. Alison, I saw the way he looked at you at my wedding and then the other day. The man has something going on for you. I haven't known him long enough to know for certain, but it's something." She pulled into the Crossroads apartment complex and parked the car.
Alison bit off the corner of her pinky nail, and tore it into a jagged crescent. "How would you know he made me orgasm like that?" she asked grumpily.
Sarina turned to give her a duh look. "Honey, he's Vane's brother. Vane can make me squeal with just his fingertips. I'm sure Rome has at least some of the same traits."
The guards in the back muttered something like Christ, not again and escaped the vehicle like it was on fire.
Sarina held out her hands at the guard's reaction, her jaw open and shook her head as if to say can you believe these guys?
They left the car and walked down the narrow sidewalk to the Leasing and Office building. Alison cringed at the sight of her balcony and what waited for her behind it.
"How do you he looks at me a certain way? How do you know he doesn't look at all women the same?" Alison glanced behind her quickly to see if the guard's were paying attention to their conversation. They both watched the environment like trained predators, if they heard her silly question then they pretended not to.
"I've met his fling Sandra before. Or was it Sandy...Cindy, hm, I don't know. I only met her a few days after the wedding, but I haven’t seen or heard about her since, so I figured he'd tossed her to the side." Alison couldn't hide her grimace before Sarina caught it. Her eyes opened in alarm. "Oh no, listen, I'm sure he's not still seeing her. I don't think he's a scumbag. Besides, that's what I was talking about. The way he looked at her wasn’t anything special. But the way he looks at you, it's like he's seeing something he wants, bad."
Alison nodded absently, her friend's words fading to the background. She went through the papers, signed the proper checks to the landlord, and even arranged for a packing and delivery company called Two Guys, One Truck to box and transport her stuff into storage.
As they drove to her café, Alison couldn't stop the sickening feeling deep in her gut. She felt like she'd eaten something bad, but she hadn't. She didn't know what it was.
Jealousy? Envy? Hate? What she did know though was that she couldn't trust Rome. At least she'd been right about that all along.
Being back in her café helped to lighten Alison's mood. She flipped on the lights then walked back into the kitchen and cranked up the burners and oven.
"What are you guys in the mood for?" she hollered through the partition where she'd slide the orders across to be served.
"Italian!" Sarina said, picking a seat at a table with square wooden chairs. When Teddy and Gerome agreed, Alison smiled and shot back into her kitchen. It felt better than good to be back here.
She tied on her pink apron and snatched pots and pans from her ceiling hanger. Her mind pushed all the worries, fears, and pain from the last few days aside and focused solely on cutting the potatoes into triangles and slicing the carrots with a fast flick of her wrist.
Food sizzled in the pot as she added a good portion of white wine to the mixture. She flattened chicken then breaded it and seared it in a skillet as her pot of water came to a boil. When the smell and taste of the creamy sauce wasn't one-hundred percent, she added a dash of parmesan, pepper, and heavy cream.
"Voila!" She plated the dinners, resting the breaded chicken gently on top then put a sprig of parsley on top and some grated cheese. She grabbed a bottle of wine from the back and set it counter to take out later. She set the plates on the large, black serving trailed, bent down, and shouldered the heavy tray up.
She bumped open the swinging kitchen door with her hip and swept into the dining room only to come to a dead stop. The dishes rattled, dangerously close to falling.
"What are you doing here?" She glared at his handsome face and wanted to throw a plate of pasta at it. He looked taken aback by her harsh words. His eyes narrowed suspiciously, he strolled forward and plucked the heavy tray from her hands as if it was a piece of lint on her clothes. "Give that back," she ordered, holding out her hand. He looked at her little hand, then at the big serving tray filled with four plates of food.
"I'm here for lunch. I took the rest of the day off when I heard you'd been running around town. You know, you really should be keeping a low profile, not visiting all the places he probably knows you go to."
"Whatever," she muttered and spun into the kitchen. She plastered herself back against the wall and tried to fight the ache in her chest. How he managed to make her heart race and hurt at the same time was a wonder. He must be a wizard. A devil wizard.
She uncorked the bottle of merlot to let it breathe and plated another portion of food. She couldn't help herself. The bastard most likely had another woman and slept with her—probably a hundred times—and yet she was going to feed him. She grabbed a twig of parsley and set it gently on top of the chicken, then thought better of it and took it off. The bastard didn't deserve parsley.
She turned around and screamed. "What do you want?" How did such a big man managed to keep so quiet? She growled, clutching the plate as if she might use it as a weapon.
One corner of his mouth kicked up. "I wanted to see how you’re doing. You're acting a little odd." He stepped close, invading her personal space and kissed her. Before she could even blink it was over, but the taste of him lingered on her bottom lip. She licked it delicately.
"I've just had a strange day, I guess. I signed off on my lease today and hired people to move my things to a storage unit." The words came so easily from her. She couldn't believe how comfortable she was talking to him. He cupped her cheek in his hands, it was a warm, reassuring gesture.