Chapter 8 #2
Francesca snorted. “Lou’s was too far away in this weather. Now sit down before you fall down.” His mother ordered and Kara bit her lip to hide a smile.
She instinctively reached for his arm, curling her fingers around his bicep as she leaned into him. He reached up and covered her hands with one of his own and met her gaze with a soft, heated one that turned her heart over.
“Where do you want to sit?” Kara asked him.
“The couch I think,” he said. She guided him to the couch, but he wasn’t really leaning on her anymore.
“Are you sure you’re okay? I can take more of your weight, you know,” she reminded him.
“Do not tempt me, tesoro mio, I would love to put my weight on you… when we’re alone, in my bed,” his voice was a hot, dangerous whisper that sent a thrill through her.
“But I must behave in front of my family.” His lips were parted as his eyes dropped to her mouth as if he was imagining something completely sinful.
He was teasing her, she was sure of that, but in that moment, she couldn’t deny she was insanely attracted to him.
If she hadn’t been on the run from the Irish mob, if she’d had a different life, she might be begging to be under him, experiencing what those brown eyes of his promised because it looked so sinfully tempting.
Even now, she wasn’t immune to the raw sexuality that emanated from him.
A dizzying current of desire raced beneath her skin and she stepped back the moment he was near the couch and could brace on it as he sat down.
Kara kept hoping putting distance between them would clear her head, but all it did was make her want to go straight back to him, to let him drug her senses with his eyes, his hands, his laughter…
he was everything she could ever want in a man. Vitality, delight, passion.
“I’ll get you some water.” Kara left him to be pestered by his niece and nephew, who suddenly swarmed him in their attempt to show him all of their Christmas gifts.
Even though he was paying carefully attention to the children, she could still feel his gaze on her. Kara studied the pizza options on the table. Francesca handed her two plates and noticed her eyeing the choices.
“You know what kind you want?” Angelo’s mother asked.
“Cheese is fine for me, but Angelo…” She realized too late she didn’t know what kind of pizza her “fiancé” liked.
“He likes pepperoni with pineapples,” Francesca said with a wink.
“Right.” She hastily grabbed two slices of pepperoni and pineapples for Angelo. “He’s always cooked for me on our dates, so we’ve never ordered in pizza before.”
Francesca nodded, but Kara feared his mother was watching her more carefully now.
Kara sat down beside Angelo and handed him his plate.
He studied the pizza. “Thank you, it’s my favorite.” The words gave her an unexpected rush of pleasure.
She ate quickly while the kids gave Angelo his gifts and the family talked about the kids’ school and further plans for the holidays. After dinner was over, Alessia spoke the over the chatter of the children.
“We never got to hear the story of how you guys met.” Her gaze flicked eagerly between Angelo and Kara.
“At the soup kitchen,” Kara and Angela said in unison, almost as if they had practiced it. They had both agreed that how they met should be close enough to the truth, it would merely be the date of which they met which would be different.
“Yeah, I know, but give us some details,” Alessia said with a huge grin. “We’ve been waiting ages for Angelo to find someone.”
Dante put a hand on Alessia’s knee, giving his head a little shake, but she ignored him.
Kara and Angelo’s eyes locked and Kara prayed he had a good idea of what they should do, not because she didn’t have any ideas, but her idea involved leaving the room immediately and packing everything up and running. This was his family, so she let him choose what to do.
“I noticed her right away,” Angelo said, his voice soft and warm. His whole family leaned in, ready to hear every detail.
Kara would have laughed if she hadn’t been so nervous about what he was going to say next.
Angelo looked at her and smiled. “She was so beautiful, but what caught me was how she looked at the people she was helping. The kindness in her eyes and her soft, welcoming voice. She was mesmerizing. I watched her all night out of the corner of my eye. Then she finally spoke to me. I could barely believe it. It was like a wonderful dream.”
Kara couldn’t believe he’d just called her a wonderful dream.
Something about those words, and the way his eyes were soft and hot at the same time, filled her with a matching desire for that quiet, burning, yearning unnamed thing growing between them.
“When she left for the night, she accidentally left her scarf behind, so I chased after her to return it.”
So far, everything he’d said was true. That was what happened. He looked away as if suddenly shy at his admission, but kept that soft smile which illuminated his face in a way that stole her heart.
Before she realized it, Kara had joined in.
“When I first saw him, I thought he was gorgeous. Then I found out he was the one who donated all the food to our kitchen. Honestly, he seemed too good to be true. I asked my friend Mabel if he was an arrogant jerk, because he had to be, right? Nobody could look that good and not be full of themselves. Mabel, of course, said he was a complete gentleman. I assumed she was lying.”
Everyone laughed at the joke event Angelo. He was still watching her with that same intensity he had before he’d pulled her into him for a kiss at the hospital.
“But when he gave me back my scarf… I just knew he was different.”
Because he’d stepped between her and danger without hesitation.
How could a stranger do that for her? Feel so strongly about her that he’d risked his life and would do it again in a heartbeat?
The world once more seemed to shrink down to the space between her and Angelo, a quiet universe that held only the beating of their hearts and their locked gazes.
Alessia put her hand to her heart and sighed dreamily. “You guys are so romantic,” she said and then cut her gaze to her husband. “You should be more romantic, Dante.”
Dante chuckled and pulled Alessia toward him for a quick, passionate kiss.
“All right, all right,” Matteo laughed. “We should get home and let these two rest. It’s been a rough few days for everyone.”
“Thanks dad,” Angelo said. His father nodded back in understanding. Kara helped the kids pack their presents, and she and Angelo said their goodbyes to everyone.
When the door closed behind Angelo’s family, Kara’s shoulders sagged with relief.
Then she turned around to find Angelo watching her and realized that they were entirely alone in his home now.
Just the two of them. Yet somehow this was more exciting—and more frightening—than anything else in her life.
It was hard to explain to herself, but she felt an invisible thread tying her and Angelo together, something that had started that night in the soup kitchen.
Yet she could feel that thread pulling her toward Angelo with undeniable force.
It was terrifying because of how much she wanted it, wanted more of it, and how that wanting was so very dangerous.
Something must have flashed in her eyes because he came over and put his hands on her shoulders.
“You’re safe with me, you know that right?” he said. “Nothing will happen between us unless you want it to.”
Could something happen between them? Could she trust herself to open herself up to this man when she knew he wouldn’t vanish in the night like the others had?
She was perhaps the only person in the universe who viewed a man staying as dangerous.
But it was. If either of them developed true, deep feelings…
it was going to hurt so very much when she had to leave.
But she wanted to know what it’s like to be with him, to be held in his arms. To know the taste of his kiss, the feel of their tangled limbs in bed.
The yearning she felt was so deep that she feared the ache would never leave her, that it would always be there like a quiet cavern in the depths of her heart that could never be filled.
She lifted her gaze to his. “Do you want something to happen between us?”
The corners of his eyes crinkled as he smiled.
“Kara, you’re beautiful and intelligent.
You’re not just a survivor, you are kind and fascinating, I would be mad not to want to get to know you better.
But it’s up to you to decide how far whatever this is”—he waved a hand between them—“goes.” He let his hands drop away, and she found herself stepping involuntarily closer, hoping he would touch her again.
“I—I don’t know what I want,” she finally admitted.
That was a lie. She knew exactly what she wanted. She wanted him.
Rather than pull back from her, he smiled and brushed his fingertips over her cheek. “When you know what you want, I’ll be ready. Whatever it is. Now, I’m going to take a much-needed shower. If you get hungry or thirsty, help yourself to anything in the kitchen.”
“Do you need help?” she asked, glancing down at his abdomen.
“Showering? No, I think I’ll manage.” He walked away, leaving her standing by the front door alone. Alone in the most cheerful, happy part of his home, wishing she had the courage to call him back to her.
Angelo winced as the hot water hit his body.
He was still sore from the surgery, so he angled himself to shield his lower abdomen as much as he could.
The nurses had given him bunch of spare island bandages, so he could put a new one on after he showered.
Then he had to try to sleep a little. As much as he hated feeling weak, he needed to rest if he was going to heal.
At least he didn’t have to worry about the restaurant.
Luigi had everything well in hand, so Angelo could actually sit back and relax.