Deadly Rose

chapter 4

I whipped around to where she was pointing, and sure enough, there was Leonardo. Just like she said—leaning against the wall, cigarette in hand—his eyes locked onto us. Or rather, lock onto me.

"Go on," Daliah urged, snapping me out of my daze.

"What?" I asked, playing dumb.

"Go say hi. It's not like you don't know him," she teased.

"Oh, trust me, I only know his name," I muttered, making my way to the door.

"Good luck, girl!" she called out, giggling. I shot her a playful middle finger as I swung the door open.

I crossed the street, watching as he casually snuffed out his cigarette with his shoe.

"I'm starting to think you're stalking me, Mr. Romano," I said, crossing my arms over my chest.

"And what if I am?" he replied, mimicking my stance, a hint of a smirk on his lips.

I raised an eyebrow at his response, trying to read the expression behind his cool demeanor. "Then I'd say you're doing a pretty good job of it," I replied, tilting my head slightly.

He chuckled softly, his eyes never leaving mine. "Maybe I just enjoy running into you."

"Is that so?" I asked, not entirely sure if I was teasing or genuinely curious.

He took a step closer, closing the distance between us. "You seem like someone worth getting to know."

His words hung in the air, leaving me unsure of how to respond. Part of me wanted to brush him off, but another part was undeniably drawn to him.

"Well, you don't make it easy to figure you out," I finally said, my voice a bit softer than I intended.

"Maybe that's the point," he said, a smirk playing at the corner of his lips.

"Sometimes, it's more interesting when things aren't easy."

I could feel the tension building between us, and it was both exciting and unsettling.

"Well, Mr. Romano, I'm not exactly looking for anything interesting right now."

"Maybe you should be," he said, his gaze intense.

I took a deep breath, trying to keep my composure. "We'll see about that."

Before he could say anything else, I turned and started walking back to the shop. As I reached the door, I glanced back over my shoulder. He was still standing there, watching me, with that same unreadable expression on his face.

Daliah was grinning when I walked back in. "Well?"

"Well, what?" I shrugged, trying to act nonchalant.

"Come on, spill! What did he say?"

"Nothing much," I said, brushing it off, though my mind was still replaying the entire encounter. "Just... the usual."

Daliah rolled her eyes, clearly not buying it. "You're not fooling anyone, Alexie."

I smiled slightly, knowing she was right. But for now, I wasn't sure what to make of Leonardo Romano. And that uncertainty was something I wasn't ready to dive into just yet.

When I looked back to see if he was still there, he had vanished. He simply vanished. The day continued with Daliah and me at the shop until 6 p.m., when we closed and headed home.

As we settled in, Daliah flipped through channels, looking for something to watch. "What do you think about going shopping tomorrow?" she asked, looking distracted.