What did it matter?
She turned, prepared to show her pride in her home, and found him frozen in front of the framed picture collage above her TV stand. Twelve pictures documented various key stages of Lucca’s life so far, from his scrunched-up hours-old face to his first Easter egg hunt two months ago.
Romeo stared at each one with an intensity that bordered on the fanatic. Then he reached out and traced his fingers over Lucca’s first picture, the tremor in his hand hard to miss.
‘I have digital copies...if you’d like them,’ she ventured.
He turned. The naked emotion in his eyes momentarily stopped her breath.
‘Grazie, but I don’t think that would be necessary.’
Her heart stopped as the fear she hadn’t wanted to fully explore bloomed before her eyes. ‘What does that mean?’ she asked, although she risked him further exploiting the rejection he’d just handed her.
‘It means there are more important things to discuss than which pictures of my son I would like copies of.’
Lucca chose that moment to announce his hunger.
Maisie glanced at Romeo, questions warring with anger inside her.
She didn’t want to leave her son now that she knew Romeo was preparing to back away. Especially since there was also the outside threat evidenced by the bodyguards in the SUV that had crawled behind them as they’d walked back. He travelled with too much security for a garden-variety billionaire.
That knowledge struck fear into her heart that she couldn’t dismiss.
‘Go and make his meal, Maisie,’ Romeo said.
The taut command in his voice jerked her spine straight.
‘I’d rather take him into the kitchen with me.’
‘Is that your normal routine?’ he queried with narrowed eyes.
‘No, normally he likes to watch his favourite children’s TV show while I cook.’
Romeo gave a brisk nod. ‘Go, then. I’ll find a way of entertaining him,’ he replied.
‘What do you know about entertaining children?’ she demanded fiercely.
His jaw clenched. ‘Even rocket science has been mastered. Besides, you’ll be in the next room. What could go wrong?’
Everything.
The word blasted through her head. She opened her mouth to say as much but saw Lucca staring with keen interest at them. The last thing she wanted was for her son to pick up the dangerous undercurrents in the room.
Romeo watched her for a minute, clench-jawed. ‘Are there any other exits in the flat, besides the front door?’
Maisie frowned. ‘There’s a fire escape outside my bedroom.’
‘Is it locked?’
‘Yes.’
‘Okay.’ He strode out and she followed him into the hallway. She watched him lock and take out the key and return to her. ‘Now you can be assured that I won’t run off with him while your back is turned. I’ll also keep conversation to a minimum so I don’t inadvertently verbally abuse him. Are you satisfied?’
Her fingers curled around the key, and she refused to be intimidated. ‘That works. I won’t be long. The meatballs are already done... I just need to cook the pasta.’
Romeo nodded and looked to where Lucca knelt on the floor surrounded by a sea of Lego. He shrugged off his overcoat and draped it over the sofa. Maisie watched him advance towards Lucca, his steps slow and non-threatening, to crouch next to him.
Lucca looked up, smiled and immediately scooped up a handful of Lego and held it out to him.
Maisie backed out, fighting the tearing emotions rampaging through her. Admonishing herself to get her emotions under control, she rushed into the kitchen and set about boiling water for the spaghetti, all the while trying to dissect what the presence of the bodyguards meant.
Surely if Romeo was in some sort of trouble the Internet search would’ve picked it out? Or was she blowing things out of proportion? Was she wrong about billionaires travelling with that much security? She frowned at the total excess of it. And what about Romeo’s explanation that his business associates had found Lucca? From her time as a lawyer, Maisie knew deep background checks had become par for the course during business deals, but from Romeo’s expression in the park, she couldn’t help feeling there was more.
Her heart hammered as horrific possibilities tumbled through her mind. The world was a dangerous place. Even in a picturesque haven like Ranelagh, she couldn’t guarantee that she would always be able to keep Lucca safe.
She froze at the sink. Had she invited danger in by letting Romeo Brunetti through her front door? Or had he been right when he’d told her she’d instinctively trusted him in Palermo or she’d never have gone up to his suite that day?