Then who? Who was in my room?
“I have to go,” I say and rush out, leaving her to her rant while my feet carry me out the cafe’s door and down the block before I register what’s happening. I’m walking aimlessly, without direction, but the tears rushing down my cheeks I feel. The tremor in my limbs makes this real. “No one else has a key. It’s impossible—”
“Miss Moore, what’s wrong?” a male voice calls out before a hand grips my elbow, pausing me in my tracks. The hold isn’t tight or painful, but I can’t help the terrified scream that rips from my throat as my breathing accelerates. All the calm from before the meeting is gone. All the hours of rest have amounted to nothing as my body sways and knees falter. “Hey. Hey. Please, look at me, Gabriella.” My eyes close instead, head shaking as this unadulterated fear sets in deep. “It’s me, Tero. Theodore’s assistant.”
“Theodore?” I manage to choke out, stumbling and falling a bit into him. For some reason I can’t explain nor have the capacity to question at the moment, I trust Theodore Astor and take in a deep breath. I’ve gone insane. “Where is he?”
Tero helps me stand upright, but stands close enough to catch me if I lose my balance again. “Can you look at me, please? I need to make sure you’re okay.” It takes me a minute, but I manage to meet his stare and force out a smile he isn’t buying. Tero’s near pastel-blue eyes watch me with concern. He waits until I nod to answer my earlier question. “He left for a meeting across town while I stayed back to pick up pastries from a bakery a few shops down.”
“I’m sorry to keep you. Please—”
“Hush, now.” Pulling his phone from his satchel, he slides a finger across the screen and then types out a quick message. The device pings a few seconds later and for a brief moment, I catch a sudden tilt of his head and the flaring of his nose while those unique eyes slide across the street and then down to the opposite end. “You’re safe. Understood?”
Had this been any other time, I would’ve thought the action was sweet, but my concern is ever present. Someone had been inside my room. Someone could’ve hurt me.
“I’ll be fine in a minute.”
“Liars never enter the kingdom of Heaven.” He raises a brow, expression a bit mocking but not in a disrespectful way—more like he’s trying to make me laugh, and he succeeds as a giggle slips through at the absurdity of it. “That’s more like it. No freaking out on me.”
“Sorry.”
“What scared you, Gabriella? Do you need help with something?”
“I think God will forgive me this one time,” is my answer instead. I’m deflecting, and we both know it.
“Would you rather I call Theodore?”
“No.”
“Then?” Another ping, and this time he shows me the message.
Get extra and bring her with you. ~Astor
“What is that supposed to mean? I’m not—”
“It means you are going to come with me and pick out an obscene amount of bakery treats and then take a ride with me across town. We have much to discuss, Miss Moore. Your fear being one of them.”
“And if I say no?” This is crazy. I’m even crazier for considering tagging along, especially with the butterflies that took flight at the text message his boss sent. “Then what?”
“Then I’ll let your blonde friend know you are with me. She’s just stepped out of the restaurant and is looking—”
“Deal.”
7
Gabriella
“H
ow do you pick?” I mutter under my breath, my eyes traveling from one edge of the glass display that holds my one true weakness: chocolate. In every style and degree of sweetness, this place is like the mecca for cocoa worshippers, and I’m left standing with parted lips. To some, it might seem a little obscene. I am near panting, but if you love this decadent food like I do, you get it. “There are just too many. I’m—”
“You don’t, Gabriella.” Tero is standing at another case to my right, this one holding nothing but fruit tarts and macarons. He eyes each, simply pointing at the ones he wants while an older lady boxes up the purchase with a smile. So far she’s put together three boxes of his chosen treats, the embossing glinting in gold after it’s closed. “Get what you want. No regrets.”
“No regrets?”
“No regrets. Go nuts.”
“If Mr. Astor gets mad, this is on you.” In front of me there’s another woman, a bit younger and just as excited to help. “I want one of everything in this case and the entire Millionaire’s Cake you have on the other stand.”
“I’ll get those packed, and I have a little something extra for you. It’s new and not on the shelf, but I think you’ll really enjoy it,” she says and gets back to work, diligently filling my order while customers wait behind us. The place is pretty full, all tables occupied except the booth at the back with people munching and sipping their coffees, while we’re in and out in minutes.
I also find myself following Tero to a black Audi parked not far from Hortencia’s Delights. “Give me one second,” he says, walking toward the back driver’s side door and after pressing a key on his fob, opens it and places our packages on the seat. My six to his three, and he didn’t bat a single eyelash at the price, nor was I allowed to pay for my purchases. Once he’s done, like a gentleman he comes to the door I’m standing in front of and opens it for me, ushering me inside. “We have a bit of a drive, and Mr. Astor is waiting on us.”
“Don’t I get a say in this?”
“Convince me once I’m behind the wheel.” He winks at me before coming to the driver’s side and slipping in behind the wheel, and it doesn’t come across creepy or lecherous. On the contrary, there’s something about him that puts me at complete ease. “Now, you have until we reach the end of this street before I have to make a turn to change my mind about dragging you out to a location my boss is looking to buy.”
“One, that sounds incredibly boring.” I tick off and then count the next before he can counter my honest answer. “And two, it’s my birthday, and I would rather be lazy and eat the chocolate in the back. Honestly, Tero. Let a girl live through the cocoa bean diet while Netflix and chilling.”
“Okay,” he chokes with a laugh, covering it quickly behind a cough, “that was compelling and even somewhat on a soul-moving level. Very solid arguments.”
“And?” I wave my hand in the air, no patience in me whatsoever after the weird morning I’ve had. Not to mention I’m also needing to change my locks before the day is through. “Do I win?”
“You do, but don’t make a habit of getting me in trouble.”
“I’d never.” The side eye he gives me lets me know he’s not buying the mock outrage, but it’s the sudden serious expression that makes me apprehensive. “What?”
“What scared you back there?” His voice is low, and yet to my ears, it’s as if someone shot a cannon. My reaction is automatic, and I shrink back, leaning heavily on the passenger side door while avoiding his gaze. The buildings in my line of sight begin to blur a bit after a minute of silence and the car jerks forward hard; Tero’s pressed down on the accelerator harder than needed. “Tell me. We can help you if you’re in trouble.”
“We?” I ask, still not turning to look over. The last thing I want is for Theodore to know he’s working with someone who is unstable. “Who is this we?”
“Mr. Astor—”
My head jerks toward his, my eyes narrowing. “You will not speak of this to him.”
Those pastel-blue eyes narrow, his head tilting in the same manner he did outside of the building where he found me. “What is the this I will not speak of?”
“Just a disagreement between friends.”
“Just a disagreement?” he parrots, his expression unbelieving. “You seemed scared, not angry, Gabriella.”
“She was angry and said something hurtful.” I shrug my shoulders, going for nonchalance, especially since I want to go home. Today has been eventful enough for me. “I’m probably overreacting to it and we’ll be fine by tonight.”
“If you say so.” His tone says he doesn’t believe me.
“I do.” Turning toward him again, I plaster a small grin on my face. “Now that you have an understanding of the inner workings to the female bonding insanity, how about you take me home? I’m itching to start the planning phase of my exhibit.”
