Hidden Heart (42 page)

“
We aren’t,” Cristian said
and waved at Victor.

“
Why not?” Eva said, her
brows drawn together. “After all the hard work?”

“
Because, Dina will take
the box to her house and place it in the safe. She’ll count and use
the money as she sees fit. There are many bills that need immediate
payment, I’m sure she knows best what to do with it,” Tessa
replied. She saw Victor and Dina saying goodbye to a couple, and
then walking towards them. “Here, Dina, this is for the shelter.
Victor, the box is too heavy for Dina, would you mind carrying it
for her?”

Victor took the box and
made a grimace. “We don’t work together anymore, yet she still
bosses me around. Unbelievable.”

Dina rolled her eyes and
smiled. “Oh, dear, here we go again.” She waved a hand and turning
to Tessa, she said, “I can’t thank you enough for what you’ve done
for me and the women in the shelter. Your hard work and dedication
have helped us tremendously. Thank you, Tessa.”

“
Actually, I need to thank
you, Dina,” Tessa said, her eyes filling up with tears. “For being
there for me when I hurt the most, for opening your heart and your
house to me and for…” Tessa pulled Dina into a hug and whispered
into her ear, “For giving me my father back.”

Dina smiled and left with
Victor and Eva.

“
I’ll take you home,”
Cristian said holding Tessa’s elbow.

They walked outside the
restaurant. An elderly couple came closer to shake her hand one
more time before they left in the next available cab. While
waiting, Tessa pulled her cell out of her purse and checked for
messages. She heard a familiar voice to her left. Her heart made a
somersault. A few meters away, Alessandro looked at her, then
straight ahead. She saw the valet dropping the keys in Alessandro’s
hand the same moment Cristian held the door to the cab for her. She
raised her hand and waved at Alessandro. He inclined his head, got
into his car and drove off with squealing tires.

“
It’s
him
, isn’t it?” Cristian broke the
silence, minutes later.

“
Hmm?”

“
The guy you saw…you once
told me your heart belonged to someone else. By the way you two
looked at each other…it must be him. He watched you the whole
night,” Cristian said.

“
How do you know he was
looking at me?”

“
Because I saw
him.”

“
Oh,” Tessa said, her voice
shaken. She sighed and looked out the cab’s window. “That’s
him
…Too bad I didn’t
realize until too late what he meant to me.”

“
Have you told him
that?”

Tessa turned towards her
brother, completely confused. “Talk to him? About what? Hey, by the
way, I still have feelings for you, I changed my mind, I want you
back?”

“
Nice monkey-like
imitation, by the way,” Cristian said, chuckling. He put an arm
around her shoulders, pulling her to him. He kissed the top of her
head and said, “Sometimes all we need is an honest talk.” He took
her cell out of her lap and handed it to her. “You still have his
number, don’t you?”

Chapter 23

Tessa
got out of the cab resisting the temptation to call
Alessandro, even though for the remainder of the drive Cristian
teased her constantly. She promised herself to call him the next
day. She hurried to get inside the house. All she wanted was to be
alone, Alessandro’s face still too fresh in her mind.

She undressed, took a quick
shower and made herself a cup of tea. It was after midnight when
she went to bed. Falling asleep almost instantly, she was soon
awakened by the pounding on the front door. She waited for a while,
holding her breath and hoping maybe she imagined it. But the
pounding returned, more aggressive than before, and she knew
someone was at the door. Scared, she got up, snatched her robe,
grabbed the pepper spray and went tiptoeing to the door.

“
Open the door, Tessa, I
know you are home!” Alessandro’s voice sounded muffled.

Tessa opened the door, her
pulse quickening, all her senses alert. “What the hell are you
doing here?”

Alessandro held onto both
sides of the door as if crucified, his head bowed. He looked
disheveled; his hair falling on his face, his shirt half tucked-in,
his bowtie hanging loose. He looked at her with glassy eyes, and
pushing his hair back, he leaned on the doorframe.

“
I guess you just moved on,
didn’t you,
bella mia
? Should I congratulate you for how quickly you got yourself
another man? What happened to all that bullshit you told me that
you couldn’t have a man in your life because you had to find
yourself first? What happened with wanting to be alone for a period
of time? Is that time over? Because, if that’s the case, I might
want the chance to win you back,” Alessandro rambled on, trying to
focus his eyes on her.

Tessa remembered the time
when a drunken Daniel entered her home and destroyed her life. A
chill went down her spine, but she forced herself to remain calm.
This was
Alessandro
, the man she wanted back in her life more than anything. She
gripped the pepper spray tighter and held onto her robe with the
other hand.

“
I am not going to talk to
you at all tonight. You are too drunk. Return tomorrow and we can
talk.”

“
Really? And what are you
going to tell me tomorrow that you can’t tell me tonight? That you
didn’t give two cents about me, about our baby? I don’t have to
come tomorrow; I’ll just sleep here at your door.” He wobbled on
his feet and Tessa feared he’d fall sooner rather than
later.

“
You can’t sleep at my
door; what are my neighbors going to say in the morning?” Tessa
pleaded terrified.

“
That you got yourself a
dog?”

She shook her head. She
squeezed under his armpit, offering him support, an arm around his
waist, the other on his chest, kicked the door closed and guided
him into one of the bedrooms. A warm feeling nestled in her belly
at the touch—a longed touch she didn’t think she’d ever feel again.
He slumped on the bed and holding his head between his palms he
said, “God, I only wish to stop loving you; it’s killing
me…”

“
Come on, sleep, we’ll talk
tomorrow.” She arranged the pillows underneath his head and removed
his shoes. She covered him with a blanket, turned off the lights
and left the room.

Tessa lay in bed awake,
tossing and turning. She heard Alessandro snoring, something he
never did before when they slept together…she turned onto the other
side, holding a pillow over her ear. Just as she finally dozed off,
words from Alessandro’s earlier outburst came back to her mind,
hitting her so hard, she had to sit up straight.
He said he loves me? He knows about the baby? Who
told him? Why does he think it was his?
A
wave of heat rushed through her veins. Sweat covered her body. She
needed answers, but the only person able to give her those answers
was drunk and asleep in the next room.

She stood and walked to the
window, opening it completely. The summer air, hot and humid
wrapped around her, making her gown stick to her body. She closed
the window and returned to bed. She cried herself to sleep, feeling
lonely and lost.

Tessa heard a noise
somewhere in the house. At first she forgot about Alessandro being
there and didn’t want to fully wake up. But almost instantly her
mind screamed his name. She jumped out of her bed and ran to the
front door exactly as he opened it.

“
Wait, you can’t leave!”
she cried out.

Alessandro avoided looking
directly at her. “Sorry… I didn’t want to wake you up.”

She came closer and put a
hand on his arm. “We need to talk.”

He pressed his forehead
against the door’s edge, closing his eyes. He pushed a hand through
his hair, closed the door behind him and followed Tessa into the
kitchen.

“
Wait here.” She ran back
to her room, changed into a t-shirt and jeans and returned to see
Alessandro standing in the middle of the kitchen, both hands shoved
in his pockets.

“
Please, have a seat,”
Tessa said, smiling while she twisted her hair into a ponytail. She
started the coffee machine, pulled plates and silverware from the
cabinet and placed the teapot on the stove.

“
You don’t have to do
this,” he murmured, brushing a hand through his hair. “I am sorry
for inconveniencing you, if you don’t mind I’d rather
leave.”

“
I’d rather have you
stay…just to talk.” She looked at him and smiled
reassuring.

Alessandro sighed, pushed a
hand through his hair again and, shrugging, sat at the
table.

Tessa prepared breakfast
and joined Alessandro at the table once the water boiled and the
coffee’s aroma filled up the room. She brought a few aspirin and a
cup of water and placed them on his side of the table.

Alessandro held his arms
crossed over his chest looking ready to bolt at any moment. Tessa
ate slowly, munching on a slice of toasted bread, stealing short
looks at him, and fiddling with her tea mug. He finally buttered a
piece of bread, added peach jam and took a bite of it. Silence
filled the space between them, the air ready to explode with
tension.

Together under the same
roof after so long. It reminded Tessa of the times he’d wake up
early and prepare breakfast for her, singing and making her laugh.
It reminded her of the times he’d come home and scoop her up in his
arms and make love to her. The times she could drown in the
intensity of his eyes, in the power of his embrace, in the love in
his kiss. She wanted all of that back.

“
Look, Tessa. I remember
very little from last night and I am so sorry about everything. Too
much wine, I guess, but that is not an excuse. You must’ve been
scared out of your mind seeing me so drunk and barging into your
house,” he said letting out a long breath, still not looking at
her.

“
Actually you were quite
funny trying to stand up,” Tessa noted, smiling.

“
Yeah, I bet. I managed to
make a fool of myself—again,” Alessandro replied, his voice bitter.
He took another sip of his coffee and looked into his cup rather
than at her. “I got carried away. You have every right to be with
anybody you want and live the life you want.”

“
What makes you think I’m
seeing someone?”

“
I’m not blind or stupid.
Last night you and that guy of yours were inseparable.” He finally
looked up, his eyes piercing her. Those eyes that burned into hers
like coals, ravaging her soul, burning her heart.

“
You were there the whole
night? Why didn’t you come say hello?”

“
It doesn’t matter anymore.
I have no rights to you; I hope you are happy. It’s unfortunate
what happened between us, but it’s time to move on.” He stood and
walked towards the door.

“
Interesting; it bothered
you seeing me with someone, but who was the first to move on?”
Tessa said not looking his way, taking another sip of her
tea.

Alessandro stopped and
turned around. “What are you talking about?”

“
Who was at the furniture
store with a gorgeous Italian woman? Who went toy shopping for a
little girl while mom, the
same
gorgeous Italian, followed close by?” At the
stunned look on his face, Tessa smiled, a feeling of triumph in her
heart. “That’s right. I saw you coming out of the store with them,
so don’t come here pretending you’re hurt over me being with
another man, when the one that made a promise and didn’t keep it
is
you
!” Her voice
seemed to break against the walls. She stood, piled the plates and
mugs and marched to the sink. She turned on the faucet and began
scrubbing the plates, splashing water everywhere.

Alessandro came up behind
her and, despite the water running and her back at him she felt his
presence.

“
Jealous?” He reached
around her arm and turned off the water, then grabbed her elbows
and forced her to face him, bowing his head towards her
face.

“
Last time you asked that
question you ended up with a fat lip.” Tessa bit her lower lip,
regretting instantly mentioning that horrible night Daniel hit
him.

Alessandro chuckled and
raised his eyebrows, tilting his head slightly, “The gorgeous
Italian you saw me with is…
my
sister
, one of them. Remember, I have four?
And the little sweet girl you saw is her daughter, my niece. They
came to visit me. There, mystery solved.” He looked chesty as a
peacock, and letting go of her elbows, he walked away.

“
Your sister? Why didn’t
you say something, why didn’t you introduce us in the store?” Tessa
yelled, grabbed a kitchen towel to dry her hands off, crumpled it
and threw it at him. She placed both hands on her hips, ready to
fight. She felt the blood draining from her head, a slight
dizziness taking over her, but she stood her ground, her face on
fire, her fury escalating.