Page 8 of The Al Dente Diet
“Yes, but that doesn’t explain?—”
“Did she give you her number?” Cat asks, pulling out her phone.
“No,” I lie.
“Is this her?” She shows me a picture of her, Gabriella, two older women, and Andrea.
“Yes, but?—”
“She asked you out. You’re here… without her.” She turns and narrows her eyes at me. “No one says no to Andrea. What’s your deal?”
I shrug. “No deal. I just asked for the best pasta in town and she gave me this restaurant.”
“And her number.”
“And her number,” I concede with a chuckle.
“My cousin’s beautiful. I don’t remember the last time someonesaid no to her.”
It makes a lot more sense why Andrea would suggest this place, since her family owns it. “You’re beautiful, does that mean I shouldn’t say no to you.”
Fuck! Why did I just say that?
Cat lets out a full cackle. “I like you, Richard. Eat up, we open in twenty minutes. If you’re still here, I’ll put you to work.”
We finish our plates quickly and I offer to take hers back to the kitchen for her. It feels like the gentlemanly thing to do, seeing as this felt more like a shared meal, instead of a dinner out. She doesn’t let me, which doesn’t surprise me. There’s something about this woman that I can’t put my finger on.
When she returns, she lifts a piece of paper between her middle and forefinger. “Tomorrow, 7:30pm, Trattoria Ballaro. Don’t bring Andrea, and don’t be early.” She stuffs it in my front pocket, turns on her heel and walks back into the kitchen. This time, I shamelessly appreciate her curves as she walks away.
I take out 40 euros, unsure of how much the pasta and wine costs since I never saw a menu, and leave it on the bar. I’ve been in Verona for less than a day and have had the best pastries, the best wine, the best pesto, and have met one of the most stunning and intriguing women in my life.
Seems Cat was wrong though, I don’t know how to say no to a beautiful woman—I’ll be there tomorrow night.
CATARINA
Sitting at the bar waiting for Luca, I order my second gin and tonic, sans gin, and ask the bartender to leave my glass now containing only ice and limes. The goal is to make Luca think that I’ve had a few drinks so that I’ll be an easier target for him.
I’ll just wait until that cute, dopey American shows up.
“Bella,” Luca whispers into my ear as his hand grazes along the bare skin of my upper back. Goosebumps trickle down my spine, but they aren’t the good kind. Waving down the bartender, he looks at my drink before saying, “I’ll have whatever she’s having.”
“It’s a double.” I give the bartender a knowing glance and he proceeds to pour an actual gin and tonic for Luca. My gaze follows behind the bartender in the mirror as he takes the stool next to me. I watch his bodyguards sit several stools away where they’ll have a good view of us. They’re both giant brutes, likely all brawn and no brain.
Or so I hope.
“Are you sure they don’t want to join us?” I question, reminding him that he didn’t exactly follow my rules.
“I thought you didn’t like to share.” He cocks a brow as his eyes travel to my cleavage well-accentuated by the low-cut dress.
“I said I didn’t like to share, not that I don’t enjoy being shared.” I smirk and take a long sip of my drink. “But no matter how well this date goes, I have zero intentions of fucking either of your friends over there.”
The corner of his mouth tilts up at my insinuation he could be balls deep in me later.
One of us will be deep inside the other before the end of the night.
Sipping another faux gin and tonic, I’m realizing that I don’t get paid enough to listen to forty-five minutes of this man talk about himself. Every word out of his mouth makes it increasingly difficult to feign my interest in him. Why can’t he be more like the sweet American? At least he was tolerable.
Lifting my clutch from the bar, I slide my fingers along the underside of Luca’s jacket lapel as I stand. I lean toward him and pull his hand between my legs. Slowly sliding it up my thigh and cupping my cunt, before I whisper into his ear, “What do you think about a little teaser? Let me know if you’re worth going home with.”