Chapter 20

Maria slowly woke to the feeling of being rocked back and forth. She frowned, buried her face in a nice fluffy pillow and prepared to drift back to sleep.

"Are you kidding me right now? How are you still asleep?"

The voice, combined with the weird bed rocking sensation, registered in Maria's brain and slowly filtered through her processing centre until she came up with the conclusion that someone was trying to wake her up.

"Are you dead?"

Maria rolled over onto her back, bunched a pillow in her fist and threw it at the offender. Cassandra, who was standing on her bed, grabbed the pillow and collapsed into a sitting position. "It's 10am. You missed breakfast completely and everyone is asking about you."

"Have you ever heard of boundaries?" Maria asked impatiently, then shook her head. There was a fortyish-year-old woman jumping on her bed. The most elegant woman Maria had ever seen in her life. The whole concept just didn't compute.

"No," Cassandra replied happily.

Maria sighed and sat up, leaning back against the headboard. She eyed Cassandra like she was a coiled snake languishing on the end of Maria's bed. The other woman was smiling too brightly, looking extra lovely in a tank top and shorts with her long sandy blond hair tied back in a chic knot. She wore a pair of those giant oversized sunglasses on her head.

"Who's been asking about me?" Maria asked, shoving blankets aside and preparing to stand. Now that she was awake her bladder was also waking up and making itself known.

Cassandra shrugged and slid off the bed too. "Nic, Yara... me."

"Nic's looking for me?" Maria asked sharply, forgetting that she had to pee.

Cassandra glanced away. "Well, I think what he actually said was that you could sleep in for as long as you wanted and that Yara was to hold your breakfast until you got up."

"You think," Maria said sarcastically, turning and heading for the bathroom.

Cassandra followed close behind and when she tried to step over the threshold, Maria slammed the door in her face. This woman had some serious boundary issues!

As she sat on the toilet to do her business, Cassandra's voice filtered through the door. "We should go swimming this morning. It's so beautiful out. We can have Yara bring some lunch and drinks out to the pool for us. It'll be fun!"

"Just like a lobotomy sounds like fun," Maria muttered.

"Did you say something?" Cassandra's voice sounded further away, like it was coming from Maria's closet. Maria frowned, flushed and washed her hands before leaving the bathroom to find out what Cassandra was up to.

She was digging through the racks of clothes, obviously searching for something. "Ah, found it!" she said brightly and threw something red at Maria.

Maria blinked and snatched the fabric as it sailed toward her head. Looking down, she realized she was holding a swimsuit. A red one that, from the looks of it, didn't leave anything to the imagination.

There was so much going through her head she didn't even know what to say first. Why are you being so nice to me? Do you have any friends? Is there a reason you're force-friending me? Could we possibly find a bathing suit that covers more real estate?

Before Maria could say anything, Cassandra interrupted. "Meet me on the pool deck in ten minutes. Trust me, it'll be just what you need. A relaxing swim after a tough few days."

Maria opened her mouth to respond with, yes, it has been a tough kidnapping, but the other woman was out the door and down the hallway before Maria could say a word. "Jesus," she whispered to herself. "This place is a madhouse."

Ultimately Maria decided a swim wasn't a bad idea. She could cool off and wake up at the same time. Could try to work out a plan while sipping on cocktails. Yeah, that seemed like a good idea. Now that she knew her brother was okay, at least for now, she could relax and work out her next steps. Certainly, remaining in the mansion as the mistress of a powerful mafia boss wasn't going to be her first option. And though Nic could be lying about Ruiz, Maria didn't think he was. Though dark and terrifying, there was a kind of integrity to the man.

She changed out of her sleep shirt and panties and into the red bathing suit. She took a good look at herself in the mirror. Okay, she made that bathing suit look good. Voluptuous curves encased in a skin-tight suit, cut low in the front and high on the thighs didn't leave much to the imagination. But damn, she looked hot. Whoever picked out her new wardrobe seemed to know what they were doing.

She brushed her teeth and hair, and put some sunscreen, sunglasses and a hair clip in a beach bag. She found pretty much everything she needed, and then some, in her well stocked closet and bathroom. She barely had to search, everything was at her fingertips.

She slid on a pair of flipflops and a robe that she left loose in the front and headed down the stairs to the pool. She wasn't quite sure where she was going and somehow ended up in the kitchen. Maria was about to quietly leave and do another search when an older woman with dark hair with a lovely silver streak through the front saw her.

She smiled, wiped her hands on her apron and walked toward Maria with her hands held out. Maria backed away. The woman grabbed her and pulled her further into the kitchen.

"Ah, you must be Maria, I was told to expect you." She waved Maria into a high stool next to the kitchen island. Maria slid onto it, not really sure she could flee without being chased down. "I'm Yara, the housekeeper and cook for Mr. DeLuca's household."

Maria was deeply confused about why everyone was being so nice to her. Did they not realize she was just the mistress? Or about to become the mistress? Shouldn't they be treating her like a dirty secret instead of a valued member of the household?

"You must be hungry," Yara said, putting on a pair of oven mitts and reaching into a hot oven. She pulled a plate piled high with breakfast food out and set it on the placemat in front of Maria. "I wasn't sure what you liked so I made a little of everything. You just eat until you're full and we'll save the rest for a snack. There are enough men around here that someone will eat it. Lord knows, nobody ate much last night."

Yara made a disapproving sound. Maria didn't know what to say so she remained silent, picked up her fork and started eating. On the plate was a selection of pancakes, bacon, sausage, scrambled eggs, eggs over easy, toast, hash browns and a muffin. As she ate Yara placed a bowl of fruit and yogurt next to her elbow.

Maria had a healthy appetite, but this was ridiculous. How could she possibly eat all this?