Edge of Deception

CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE

But Tanya didn't let that deter her. She launched into her own deductions eagerly.

"You know what I think, Rio? I think that waitress told me something she wasn't supposed to. Because I distinctly saw her close her mouth after she saw something, or someone. She was going to tell me more."

Ilario took a long swing of his aperitivo. Presumably, all that shouting had made him thirsty.

"Tanya, listen to me. If I knew you were going to put yourself in this much danger, I'd never have involved you in anything."

She opened her mouth to protest, but he cut her off, "I don't understand what happened. You said you didn't want any part of this issue, then why did you go back there? That too, unsupervised?" He shook his head, his accent thickening noticeably. "It doesn't matter. Because I forbid you to go there again. Or to work on this project. Forget everything about it, capisci?"

She suppressed a huff of annoyance. Forbid? And thought better off it and grumbled, "I shouldn't have told you about it."

Ilario's eyes glittered, threatening to give away to that dangerous gleam again like when he was shouting. "You're not going to do anything foolish like that again, Tanya? Promise me."

She stuck her tongue out at him, and said nothing as she turned her head towards the canal.

A smile threatening to break his composure, Ilario lifted a finger to turn her face to him. She was like an angry kitten, and refused to look at him, but with a gentle pressure, she did.

"What?" Tanya was annoyed.

Ilario locked their gazes together, not giving her any chance to turn away again.

"Prometti?"

"Umm." She hesitated, but his intense gaze bored into her, holding her hostage until she acquiesced and gave in with an exasperated sigh, "Yes."

Tanya picked up her drink and took a sip, in an attempt to calm herself down. Truth be told, whenever he looked at her like that, staring into as if her very soul, her heart started fluttering. So much, that sometimes she was afraid that he'd hear it. It was mortifying, making her blush like an idiot.

"Tanya." He called her, softly, a slight infliction of something... mellow in his voice.

It took a few seconds to turn towards him. Pasting a smile on her face, she said, "Umm?"

"I know what I asked you to do, but my intention has never been to put you in danger. I know that the way I put it to you doesn't seem like it, but..." Uncharacteristically, Ilario swallowed, as if thinking better of saying out loud what he was going to say next. "I... I care about you."

There was no hiding it now, Tanya thought. She was sure anyone who'd walk by their table could hear the drumbeat of her heart. Why, oh why was she affected like this? Why Ilario?

"Tanya?" He prompted her to say... what? What did he want her to say?

Tanya cleared her throat. "Uh, I think the negroni has got to me. I need food." She said in an attempt to will away the red flags off her cheeks.

He too, seemed to take his cue from her, "Food, yes, we need food."

Suddenly all business like, he got up from his seat and extended a hand to her, "Let's go then."

"Huh, where? She asked, placing her palm in his. Darn it, why did she do that? Now how was she going to stop herself from enjoying the warm tingly feeling shooting across her hand, the feeling of his much larger palm holding hers in a very secure grasp?