Alejandro's Sorceress(18)

Obeyed. Hah. Not Rose. He already knew that she was a woman who would do something only if she decided it was what she wanted to do. Stubborn, proud, and confident. It was incredibly hot.
She was incredibly hot. And funny, smart, and loyal to her family.
He was in trouble.
“It’s clear,” he called out. She appeared, framed in the doorway for an instant, and a fierce rush of longing swept through him. If only he could have someone like her. A woman whose life was summer and sunshine; gardens and family. A woman whose most serious problem was an infestation of lizard-chickens, or a no-talent actor.
No, he corrected himself, driven to brutal honesty by her smile. Not a woman.
This woman.
“It’s a short walk,” she said, shaking him out of his ridiculous fantasies of a peaceful life. “Right around the corner. One of the best geographical features of the neighborhood.”
“Pizza?”
“Pizza.”
The little restaurant was bustling, and as soon as Alejandro smelled the tomato-and-cheese-scented air, he knew why.
Rose caught him sniffing the air. “It smells wonderful in here, doesn’t it? Gianni and his family opened the restaurant more than a hundred years ago.”
The restaurant looked like all of the other Italian restaurants that Mac and his other fellow rookies had dragged him to, all candlelight and red-and-white-checked tablecloths, but he’d never smelled anything like it. He wanted to grab a knife and fork and dive into the aromas as an appetizer, even before they got to the actual food. His stomach suddenly rumbled, and Rose laughed.
“Guess you’re hungrier than you thought.”
The host, a short, middle-aged man wearing a dark suit and a welcoming smile, patted Rose’s cheek. “You bring Gianni a nice young man to inspect, my Rosa?”
Rose blushed, and Gianni turned his affable smile on Alejandro. “Welcome, welcome. Any friend of Rosa’s and all that.”
Alejandro nodded his thanks and started to follow Rose to the table, but Gianni’s hand shot out and he grabbed Alejandro’s arm in a punishing grip.
“I don’t know you, but I know trouble. You’ve seen it, and you’ve dealt it,” Gianni said in a low tone.
The man’s eyes flashed gold, and Alejandro tensed to reach for his gun, but Gianni only shook his head. “You might want to watch yourself. You’d be dead before you hit the floor,” the older man warned him. “I only want to tell you to have a nice dinner, and then get the hell away from Rosa. She’s too good for you.”
Alejandro laughed, but there was no amusement in it. “Don’t you think I know that?”
After that admission, he’d had enough of being polite. He broke Gianni’s hold with an ease that clearly surprised the man. “And you might want to watch yourself. Maybe I’d be dead, as you say, but I wouldn’t be the only one.”
Gianni nodded, and there was a hint of respect in it, but Alejandro wasn’t fooling himself that he’d made a friend. And he already had far too many enemies, so he’d be happy to count this one a draw. “I’m glad she has you in her corner.”#p#分页标题#e#
Alejandro made his way to their table, and he and Rose talked a little, about nothing much, until the food arrived. The pizza tasted even better than it smelled, and he devoured several slices before coming up for air. Rose, who’d eaten three slices herself, finally sighed and reluctantly put her napkin down.
“You were right. We needed food, and this was amazing,” he said.
She nodded, but he could tell her mind was elsewhere. Far away from him, maybe. He was surprised by how much he didn’t like that thought.
“Tell me about her,” she said quietly. “The woman who left you for your friend.”
Alejandro turned the question over in his mind as he studied her. The candlelight made her beautiful, but also different, in a less approachable way. Too beautiful. Too not-for-him.
He didn’t like that, either, and he didn’t understand why a woman he’d only met that morning was having such a strong impression on him.
“Maria,” he finally said. “She was young and beautiful, and I think she wanted me because she was afraid, and I made her feel safe. Not because she loved me.”
“I’m sorry. You must have loved her very much.”
“Is that what your gift tells you?” He regretted his harsh tone the second he saw the hurt shimmer in her eyes, but he’d never known how to make pretty words or gentle speeches, and he was probably too old to learn the art now.
“I’m from a tiny town in Guatemala you’ve never heard of, and vampires killed most of my family and friends before I was old enough to learn how to fight back,” he said flatly.