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I drop my gaze to the menu. I haven’t decided, so, “I’ll have the same. But hold the garlic bread.”
“You sure?” Giancarlo raises his eyebrows. “Our garlic bread is perfection.”
“Yeah, you love garlic bread, Sav,” Gert says.
She’s right. I do love garlic bread.
But if I go back to the hospital tonight…and I see Falcon Bellamy…
Damn. I can’t do it. Maybe garlic bread will keep me from kissing him.
“You know? I will have the garlic bread.” I close my menu and hand it to Giancarlo.
“Perfect.” He takes my menu, scribbles on his pad, and then takes the menus from Gert and Jordan. “This shouldn’t be long, ladies.”
“What’s with the no garlic bread?” Gert asks.
“I’m getting garlic bread.”
“You know what I mean.” She glances toward Giancarlo. “You do like him.”
“If I did, would I be getting garlic bread?”
“He probably eats garlic at every meal,” Gert says. “He’s Italian.”
“He doesn’t have an accent.”
“So he grew up here. His name is Giancarlo.”
“He’s blond and blue-eyed.”
“He’s northern Italian,” Jordan says.
Man, these two have an answer for everything. I take a sip of my Chianti. I love Chianti. It’s always good and doesn’t require a lot of contemplation.
“Great wine,” Gert says.
“Yeah,” I agree.
Though Gert cracks me up. She knows nothing about wine. Not that I know much more than she does. Falcon taught me something at the bar the other night—order a blend when all the options are cheap wine.
“So…let’s get his number.” Jordan sips her mineral water and gazes at Giancarlo, who’s taking another table’s order.
“Go for it,” I say, “but Austin’s quite a long commute for a date.”
“I mean for you, silly.” Jordan giggles. “He hasn’t given Gert or me a look.”
He hasn’t, which is odd in itself. Jordan’s cleavage is on full display, and Gert is… Well, she’s Gert.
Giancarlo returns with our dinners ten minutes later, and Jordan is in full Jordan mode.
“You live around here, Giancarlo?”
“Yeah. You?”
“Gert and I live in Austin, but Sav here”—she gestures to me—“lives close by.”
“I thought you looked familiar,” Giancarlo says to me. “Have we met?”
Ah, so that’s it. I look familiar to him, which is why he was looking at me in the first place. “I don’t think so. I just moved here literally days ago.”
He rubs his jaw. “I could swear I’ve seen you before.”
“We were at a dive bar on the outskirts of town a couple nights ago,” Gert offers.
“I wasn’t there.” Giancarlo shakes his head. “I guess it’s a mystery.”
I smile. Giancarlo returns my smile but then turns and leaves, which is fine with me. He has other tables, after all.
“See?” I say. “He just thinks I look familiar.”
“Still,” Gert says, “you could do a lot worse. He’s gorgeous, and he lives here.”
“And he’s not the least bit interested,” I retort.
“Who says?” Jordan asks. “You can get him interested.”
I twirl my spaghetti around on my fork. “Maybe I’m the one who’s not interested.”
“Why the heck not?” Gert demands.
“I just moved here. I have a new position that requires a lot of time and effort. A guy doesn’t fit into the picture right now.”
Jordan giggles. “Sav, a guy always fits into the picture.”
“For you, Jordy. Why don’t you go for it?”
“Maybe I will.” She wipes her mouth on her napkin, grabs a mirror out of her purse, and checks her makeup. Then she rises. “Wish me luck.”
“Good luck,” Gert and I say in unison.
“I think you’re giving up gold,” Gert says.
“I’m not interested, Gert. I swear I’m not.”
“Why the hell not?”
“Because—”
I drop my jaw.
Because…
The reason for my disinterest in Giancarlo just walked into the restaurant.
20
FALCON
“May I help you?” the hostess at Mario and Luigi’s asks me.
“Yeah. I called in a takeout order. Bellamy.”
“Yeah, just a sec.” She turns to a shelf behind her where several brown bags sit. “Wow. These are all for you.”
“I have a big family.”
“I know.” She blushes. “I know who you are, Mr. Bellamy.”
“Most people do.” Though she looks like she was about three when I went to prison.
Crazy shit.
She pulls the bags off the shelf one by one. “This is all paid.”
“Yep, I know.”
“Can I ask how Raven is doing?”
Damn. Being away I forgot about how things operate in a small town. Everyone knows everyone else’s business. They all know I pleaded guilty to manslaughter, and they all think I’m guilty. Why the hell else would I allow myself to be sent away?
Myriad reasons, none of which will ever see the light of day.
“She’s good so far.” I don’t offer any other information. The fact that I gave her my bone marrow is no one’s business but hers and mine.
“I’m glad to hear it. You want some help with these bags?”
“I can handle it, but thanks.” I grab two of the bags and glance around the restaurant.
Damn.
Savannah Gallo.
Savannah Gallo in a low V-neck that shows her cleavage and the tops of those luscious tits.
