Hidden Heart (13 page)

“
Dad, this is not the right
place,” Elena begged.

“
Why not? We’re among
friends and such news travels fast. Besides I’m very happy so if
you don’t tell her, I’ll tell!”

“
What’s going on?” Tessa
hugged first Elena, then Marcel.

“
He is going to be a
grandpa, this is what dad wanted me to tell you.” Elena blushed and
beamed with joy.

Tessa blinked quickly,
looked at the parents-to-be and forced a smile, “How wonderful,
when are you due?”

“
Due date is beginning of
December, so we still have to wait,” Marcel said. “Until then we’re
eating healthy, playing tennis and resting, right my
love?”

“
You two play tennis?”
Alessandro asked.

“
Yes, we love tennis and
the doctor said that as long as I don’t overdo it, I can continue
for a few more months. How about you, what is your favorite sport?”
Elena softly rubbed her tummy while her husband handed her a glass
of orange juice.

“
I am an avid tennis
player, unfortunately I haven’t found a place to play since I came
to Bucharest and I have no partner.”

“
Tessa, why didn’t you tell
him you play tennis, too?” Marcel said, then continued without
waiting for her answer, “She is an excellent player, but I guess my
father-in-law here keeps her working over hours, then she has no
time; she used to join us and we had such a blast.”

“
Well, then you found
tennis partners. There is a great place where we usually go, Tessa
will tell you. We should play teams, right Tessa?”

Up until then, Tessa’s mind
didn’t register much of the conversation. Elena’s news reminded her
of her own situation. A visit to the doctor confirmed her pregnancy
and she’d been through hell and back ever since. She tried to think
of the baby as positively as she could, yet she felt no connection,
no love, nothing for it. Then, she tormented herself with feelings
of guilt; how could she be a good mother when she didn’t want her
own baby? She felt horrible for being such a selfish person and
failed to convince herself that this miracle happened for a good
reason.

“
Yes, of course,” she said
casually.

“
Well, then we’re all set.
Let’s talk sometime next week and make it a floodlit
match.”

More guests showed up and
Victor dragged his daughter and son-in-law around to share the
news.

Tessa was left alone with
Alessandro.

She forced a smile and
rocked on her feet. She found herself sniffing him and realized her
sense of smell heightened due to the pregnancy. She loved his mixed
scent of lemongrass, warm spices and wood. Why did it arouse her so
much?

“
Would you like something
to drink, Ms. Cosma?”

Alessandro’s voice awakened
her. She jerked, but regained control right away.

“
How long are you going to
call me Ms. Cosma, Alessandro? We are not at work,
remember?”

“
I guess you are right, but
then again…it reminds me that we have to keep a distance.” To
emphasize his own words, he took a step back from her.

“
Fine then, suit
yourself.”

Anger choked her. Distance
he wanted, distance he’d get. He made it clear all he cared for was
a work relationship and nothing more. Not that she could or wanted
to get involved anyway, with all the craziness in her life, but
they had history; she’d shared his bed almost a year ago, how could
he pretend nothing had happened?

She turned on her heels and
walked to a nearby group of colleagues. She joked and laughed, then
moved to another group. She avoided Alessandro for the remainder of
the evening.

Alessandro seemed to enjoy
the party, too; he spent time with a particular young blonde, who
chirped and giggled too much. Tessa was surprised to feel the way
she felt; jealousy felt like the right term to define it, but then
she dismissed the thought as being silly.

At ten o’clock, she said
her goodbyes to everyone and walked to her car. A whole day in bed
was the only thing on her mind.

She untied her ponytail and
massaged her scalp. She shook her head and the hair spilled onto
her bare shoulders, down her back. It felt so good.

“
I’ll drive you home.” Out
of nowhere, Alessandro showed up behind her; he grabbed her elbow
moving her towards the passenger side. He opened the door, but she
didn’t get in the car.

She couldn’t figure out how
he knew when she came or went and how he could move around without
noise.

“
No thanks, I can handle it
alone.” Tessa stopped. She hoped her icy voice would freeze him at
once. His closeness radiated heat and the urge to touch him almost
blocked her senses. “I believe someone else is waiting for you to
take her home.” She bit her lower lip, regretting the words, but
she couldn’t take it back; she raised her chin in
defiance.

“
Jealous?” Alessandro’s
grin infuriated her even more.

She pulled her elbow away
and the motion made her breast brush his chest.

The air crackled with
sexual tension.

Alessandro stepped forward
and placed his feet between hers, pushing her back against the
car.

She held her breath, her
eyes locked on his.

Without any warning, he
took her head between his big palms and crushed her lips; his
tongue ravished her mouth and claimed obedience.

A sweet heat rose in her
belly and a quick rush of adrenaline invaded her starved body; she
couldn’t get enough of his embrace, his kiss.

“
Please, get in the car,”
he whispered in a husky voice, breaking the kiss and pushing her
gently into her seat. He walked around, stepped in, adjusted his
seat and drove away, tires screeching.

Tessa’s head still spun
from the hungry kiss they shared. She could no longer deny or
ignore the physical attraction.

No need for words on the
drive to her house.

Alessandro parked and
walked her to the front door, her palm nestling safe in
his.

A shadow moved around the
corner.

“
You, stupid bitch, don’t
have time to call me but you have time to whore around with this
clown,” Daniel screamed as he lunged to hit her.

Alessandro tried to block
the hit, but the blow came too fast; his lips began bleeding. He
shoved Daniel away.

“
You little scum! Don’t you
ever hit a woman!” He cornered Daniel against the wall and hovered
over him, his hands holding firm on Daniel’s collar.

“
Who the hell do you think
you are? She is
my
woman and you have no right to tell me what to do!” Daniel
spat in Alessandro’s face, as he tried to escape.

“
She is not
your
woman; she made it
clear. Are you stupid or deaf?”

Tessa interposed herself
between the two men then faced Daniel. “If you show up here one
more time, I’ll call the police and have you arrested. Leave me
alone.”

His breath reeked of
alcohol; it made her nauseated, but she controlled the urge to
vomit.

Daniel withdrew a few
steps. “I’ll be back when he is not around and then you’ll talk to
me. You’ll pay for it.” He disappeared in the darkness.

Tessa turned to Alessandro
and searched his face. “You okay?”

She saw his rage; his fists
clenched, his nostrils flaring, his eyes shooting
flames.

“
You need to solve this
problem before it escalates. He is dangerous.” Alessandro’s lower
lip bled and a few blood drops stained his shirt.

She frantically searched
her purse for the cell phone.

“
No need to call the
police, I am okay,” Alessandro put a hand over hers and the other
against his lip.

“
Come upstairs, I’ll get
you some ice.” Tessa hurried to open the building’s door. Once
inside the apartment she rushed to the fridge and grabbed an ice
pack.

Alessandro waited in the
small hall entry.

“
I don’t think I should
come in…”

“
Don’t be silly.” She
grabbed his hand, pulling him into the apartment, forcing him to
sit on the sofa in the living room. She knelt between his legs and
held the ice pack on his bleeding lip.

“
I am so sorry,” Tessa
said. “I never thought he would turn this way. It’s
embarrassing…”

“
You need to do something
about it. I think you are in danger.” Alessandro pressed his hand
over hers. “You should move away for a while.”

“
Where should I go? This is
my home; I can’t go live somewhere else until he decides he has
better things to do than to harass me.”

She got up and went to the
kitchen.

When she returned,
Alessandro stood in front of the painting above the sofa. He took
the glass of ice tea from her and said, “It must’ve cost a small
fortune; horses are my favorite animals, and whoever painted this
one, did an incredible job.” He turned to look at Tessa, then
looked around the room and said, “You have a very nice home; chic
and alive.”

“
Thanks. Unfortunately I
don’t spend enough time here. I feel like I’m always on the run.”
She left his side and walked to the sofa, sat and drank her ice
tea. The episode with Daniel made her nervous on top of the tension
already created by Alessandro’s kiss earlier that
evening.

“
What happened?” Alessandro
asked, sitting next to her.

She took a sip, then
shrugged.

“
We’ve been together on and
off since high school… lived together for a couple of years…then we
broke up and got back again…giving it another shot. The day you
told me about the fraud, I came home and found him with his lady
friend naked in my bed. I never thought he’d be such a pest or that
he is a violent person. I guess you never know a person, even
though you think you do…”

“
Sorry to hear that. He
didn’t deserve you,” Alessandro said and she felt he really meant
it.

“
Thanks.” She pushed her
shoulder against his, like good buddies do.

The touch sent a shock
through them. Alessandro stood immediately, handed her the ice pack
and glass and went straight for the door.

“
I better go
now.”

Tessa hurried in front
of him, slamming the door even as he pulled it open.

“
You wait a minute
here, partner! What’s the matter with you? One minute you want to
keep the distance, then you kiss me, the next you act like you
care, then you chicken out and run away. Can you just make up your
freaking mind?”

Alessandro sighed and
grabbed the door’s handle. He shifted his weight from one foot to
the other.

“
Please, don’t make it
harder than it is. I just can’t… it’s better this way… your ex
saved us from making a huge mistake.”

She felt as if he’d
hit her below the belt. She put a hand to her heart, sliding it up
her throat. Something strangled her.

“
Is that what you
think, it would’ve been a huge mistake?”

“
No, yes, God, Tessa,
please be reasonable. It’s wrong, all wrong. Good
night!”

She didn’t stop him
this time. She walked mechanically back to the sofa, slumped on it
and hugged her knees.

I just offered myself
and he refused me… I let him toy with me, yet he doesn’t want me…
he doesn’t want me… is there a rock I can crawl under and not come
out ever again?

***

“
I sure hope that
there is a good explanation for this!” Tessa stormed in
Alessandro’s office and tossed on his desk several
papers.

“
Good morning would’ve
been a pleasant way to start our conversation or a knock on my door
would’ve been even nicer. What can I do for you?” he leaned back in
his chair and interlaced his fingers as his elbows rested on the
chair’s arms.

“
This is not funny,
Mister
Santinelli, but let’s see. I stopped this morning
to get gas and tried to pay with my card and I can’t, because guess
what? My account has been blocked. And then, I call my bank and
they tell me that no withdrawal can be made until further notice. I
am thinking, it must be a mistake, so they get me the supervisor on
the phone and when she tells me the same story, I demand to talk to
the director and he tells me he is sorry for the inconvenience, but
they received a note requesting my bank activity for the past six
months to look for
illegal
transactions. Do you have any idea what
embarrassment, what pain you have caused me? How am I supposed to
live without money?”

She paced his office,
one hand on her hip, the other on her forehead. She didn’t see him
closing the door and stopping in the middle of the room while she
walked right by him.

Alessandro waited for
her to stop pacing. He held her papers.

Face to face, they
stared at each other for a while. She threw her hands in the air
and then slapped her thighs.