Page 133 of The Stalker

Sebastian was looking at the baby as well, and he sounded completely besotted as he said, “She really is.”

The two men fell silent, and Tatiana felt as though she was intruding on a special moment between them. She was quite used to being in her clients’ private domains, but there was something about Hayden and his life that kept her on edge. She longed to retreat to the entryway where they’d left Jesse, but she also needed to keep an eye on Hayden.

She assessed the space. It was a large open area with a pool table sitting in prime position by floor-to-ceiling windows. The room they were in had three possible entrances or exits, one of which she was standing by. She kept an eye on both of them as she watched the men sitting on the sofa.

“I’m going to try and transfer her. I’ll be back in a second,” Sebastian whispered.

He grabbed his phone before standing and carrying the baby out of the room. The sound of the white noise faded as he made his way down the hallway opposite her.

Hayden turned to look at her and he smiled. “Sorry. I’m meant to be sitting next to you, aren’t I?”

She was amused by his firm attendance to her rule about sitting next to her, but she clarified, “It’s not that literal. I’ll let you know if I ever need you to move. I would like a walkthrough of this apartment, if Sebastian is amenable, but I know that’s not possible every place we go.”

Jesse appeared at her elbow and asked, “Can I have the car keys? I’ll go get dinner while you guys are here.” Tatiana nodded and handed the keys over. Jesse smirked at her quickly and said under his breath, “Enjoy dinner.”

Tatiana chuckled as Jesse left and Sebastian reappeared. He was followed by a beautiful woman with long, dark hair, and Tatiana knew this was his fiancée, Lolita Ciccone.

“Hayden, it’s so good to see you,” she said as she approached him.

“Hi, Lita,” he stood from the sofa and hugged her.

“I hope you’re hungry. I’ve made gnocchi,” she told him.

“I’m starving.” He grinned at her, then looked over at Tatiana. “Lita, this is Tatiana Swanson, my security specialist. Tati, this is Lita. She’s Sebastian’s fiancée.”

Lita walked over to Tatiana and held out her hand to shake hers. “Nice to meet you. Hayden calls you Tati?”

Tatiana hated the heat that rushed to her cheeks. It was nothing special, and she offered it to all her clients.

“Yeah, I prefer it. Some clients call me Tatiana, and it makes me feel like I’m in trouble.”

Lita laughed and said, “I’m the same when people call me Lolita. Hayden also said you’re going to have dinner with us. Is that normal?”

Tatiana was surprised by the question and how blunt it was. Clearly, Lita had no qualms about ignoring social graces.

“Yes and no. Again, some clients prefer me to eat separately, which is fine. I just eat when I can in those cases so I can stay on hand for protection.”

“I wasn’t about to shoo Tati off to a corner while we sit and eat your delicious gnocchi, Lita,” Hayden laughed from where he was still standing by the sofa.

“Fair enough.” Lita grinned at him. “Well, follow me to the dinner table, Tati. Can you get the food, Seb?”

“Of course, princess,” he said, walking over to Lita and kissing her before he headed to the kitchen.

“Is there a chance I could do a walkthrough of your apartment?” Tatiana asked.

Lita frowned at her. “Um, I suppose so?”

Sebastian halted in his tracks, then turned to look at her and said in a cool tone, “I’d rather not have a stranger looking through my place, thanks.”

Lita looked between them, then said to him, “Non fare lo stronzo. Sta sola facendo il suo lavoro.” She turned back to Tatiana and said, “I can take you through while Seb gets the food.”

Tatiana smirked internally at Lita calling Sebastian an asshole in Italian, but kept a straight face, so as not to give away that she knew any of the language.

As she started to follow Lita, Tatiana told Hayden, “You’ll need to come along because Jesse’s not here. Sorry.”

“I don’t mind.” He shrugged his shoulders.

He moved over to stand near her, and she could smell his cologne again. Tatiana didn’t think she’d ever paid as much attention to the way a man smelled as she had over the last twenty-four hours with Hayden Vega.