“Who’s Lou?” Kara asked.
“Lou Malnati’s pizzeria is the best in the city, at least in my opinion,” Angelo answered with all the amusing arrogance of a true chef.
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 andcovered 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 thepizza 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 somedetails,” 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 immediatelyand 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,yearningunnamed 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.
