Scheming Heart (Available on Amazon Kindle)

Chapter 23

ALFONSO

Something woke me up from my dreamless sleep. I still don't know what madness possessed me to let myself fit onto this small sofa and spend the night in this apartment of Claudia. It was so not me. Even before I tried to move I was well aware that my muscles were already stiff.

I smelled freshly brewed coffee and when I opened my eyes I saw the woman who kept entering my mind lately despite my protest holding a cup of coffee in her hand while looking at me without a hint of expression on her face.

"Good morning," I mumbled, wincing in the process when I tried to sit on the sofa.

Claudia raised an eyebrow in my direction, there was a sarcastic smile playing on her lips. "Rough night?"

I was halfway from sipping the offered coffee when I stared at her for a moment. I gave a self-mocking smile before answering. She knew very well that this must be the most uncomfortable space I'd sleep in in my entire life. And she was rubbing it on my face. "You can say that."

She glanced back at the kitchen before focusing her gaze on me. "Anna is already cooking breakfast. Have your breakfast here before going home."

The corner of my mouth curved with a smile. "Excited to get rid of me, are you?"

Claudia shrugged nonchalantly. "You could say that. After all, suitors don't usually spend the night at the house of the woman they are courting..." she pointedly looked at me with her blue-green gaze. "...only you."

I couldn't help but chuckle while sipping my coffee. "You know very well that I am not like those other men. I am far more superior."

There was a slight smile playing on her lips. "More egoistic too."

"I beg to disagree, Claudia mia." I protested lightly. "I am just confident in what I do every time."

She rolled her eyes at me. "Goodness! I am having a hard time believing that. Because from the moment I have the misery to meet you, you never fail to impress me with your unnerving persona."

"Do you have any plans later this day?" I asked, completely changing the topic. The last thing I want was another insult from her or worse she would keep comparing me to her shady suitor named Dante.

She eyed me for a moment before answering my question. "I don't know yet. But I am planning to visit my parents in their home and maybe ask Papa to play golf with me."

"Cancel your plan," I announced without a heartbeat.

Claudia looked at me indecorously, her pretty eyes snapping with fire. "Who do you think you are for you to boss me around early this morning, Mr. Orsini?"

"My parents will host lunch today in their vineyard. I want you to come with me to the party."

The scowl deepened on her face. "No," she said firmly. "I don't want to come with you. I have a busy day ahead of me. Sorry."

I gave her a challenging look. "You don't have much of a choice, amore. Have you forgotten that you cancel our date last night just because your 'suitor' show up all of a sudden?"

She took a deep breath, clearly fighting the annoyance she was feeling right now while talking to me. Not that I blame her since I also felt the same way sometimes while dealing with her stubborn nature. "For the nth time," I heard her saying. "I told you that I didn't know that he will show up out of the blue. I knew that he will not be back in town for two more weeks."

"It doesn't matter now. I want you to come with me." I said loutishly. Using every tactic I knew so she would come with me to my parents' luncheon unscrupulous or not.