Love in the City, an erotic romance novel (9 page)

“Yes, well, that wasn’t one of my more glamorous moments,” she said, lacing her fingers together on the table. “So you’re attracted to strange women who spill drinks on you? Have you considered therapy?” She gave him a pretend frown.

He laughed. “It was quite a memorable moment. Life has too few memorable moments, the kind that catch you off
guard, by surprise.” He leaned forward as well. “You know that was an interesting day even before you bumped into me and doused me with hot liquid. Twice.”

She giggled.
“How so?” she asked, intrigued.

“I hadn’t been able to sleep the night before.” He shook his head, his dark waves moving slightly. “I couldn’t figure out why. I just felt alert all night. I figured it was stress due to work or something. I’m normally in the office earlier than that, but I kept laying in bed that morning, hitting the snooze alarm.”

“Hmmm, and I just happened to go out of my way that morning to stop at the bodega before work…maybe it’s fate,” she said, playfully winking at him.

“I
think it was,” he said as he reached out and brushed his finger against her hand.

She felt an immediate warm response to his touch. She was so attracted to him.

The waiter came by to take their order.

Anabelle was disappointed at the timing
, but she tried not to show it.

They both ordered
one of the homemade pasta dishes with side salads. Then, the waiter lit the candle on their table and left.

Anabelle watched it flicker for a moment in its amber-colored crystal candleholder, thinking of how similar her own feelings were for the man across the table from her. A small flame flickering to life, hot to the touch.

“Penny for your thoughts?” Giorgio asked, looking at her curiously.

She blushed. “I was just…” she scrambled for an answer, “thinking of how nice this all is.”

“I agree,” he said, reaching his hand back out to touch hers. He once again took her hand in his and kissed it. His lips felt soft and warm and tender on her skin.

Her heart raced. “That feels nice,” she said, her voice slightly breathless. It was as if he knew exactly how to push her buttons.

“I seem to be compelled to kiss you,” he said, giving her a suggestive look. “There’s just something about you that makes me want to press my lips against your skin.”

She stopped breathing. She felt herself blush furiously. She couldn’t think of a response. At least not one that wasn’t R- or X-rated.

Dinner came and Giorgio ordered a second bottle of wine.

Anabelle was already feeling lightheaded and very amorous. A second bottle was going to be dangerous.

“So, I have to admit something to you,” she said, as they started in on their salads and pasta.

“Oh?”

“My best friend, Sarah, and I Googled you,” she said, looking up at him to catch his reaction.

“Hoo boy, here we go,” he said, placing his hand over his eyes.

“Yup. Mr. Top 10 Eligible Bachelor,” she teased him.

He shook his head, clearly embarrassed. “I will never live that down. I swear they’re still going to be making fun of me for that at my funeral.”

“You must have gotten a lot of mileage out of that,” she pressed.

He looked at her, scanning her expression. “I see where this is going.” He set his fork down and
tilted his head. “What I got was hounded and teased mercilessly by friends and family and then pestered half to death by all kinds of crazy people. Nutty women just coming out of the woodwork for nearly a year after that. It was a curse. And I was talked into it by a journalist friend of my sister-in-law’s.”

The waiter brought their second bottle of wine and topped up their glasses.

They thanked him. “My friend Sarah is a journalist, too. She writes for the NY Indie Voice.”

“Cool paper,” he said.

“It is,” Anabelle nodded. She then turned the conversation back to topic at hand. “You must have had some good dates come out of it.”

He he
sitated to answer. He sat up and leaned against the wall. “I meant what I said when I called it a curse. I met my ex-fiancée, Erin, through that silly list.”

“I read about that, too,” Anabelle admitted.

He pursed his lips and looked down at his wine glass, fingering the stem. “I’m sure you did. It was in all the society pages. ‘New York’s wedding of the year’ they predicted. It was horrible. Not me at all. I prefer things more low-key and intimate. I’m a private guy.”

“Who allows himself to be on the bachelor’s list,” she teased.

He looked up and gave her a half-smile. “I know, one of the worst decisions of my life. I was pressured relentlessly for that. She said I’d be doing her friend a huge favor. I still can’t believe I agreed to it.” He shook his head. “I gave my brother, Nikolas, heck for that for months, even though it wasn’t actually his fault. He gamely took the blame for his wife.”

“It’s ok
ay,” Anabelle said, reaching out to touch his forearm. “Sarah and I thought it was pretty funny. It is flattering, too, you know. It means you’re a good catch,” she said, winking at him.

He tilted his head down for a moment, then looked up at her shyly through those dark lashes
of his. “Why, thank you, m’lady.” He sighed and stared into the candlelight for a moment.

“What is it?” she asked.

He shrugged his shoulders. “It’s just that I ended up being caught by the wrong person.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

He hesitated to answer. He took another bite of pasta. He had a serious expression on his face. “Do you want to hear about it?” he finally asked.

“Sure,” she said, “I’d like to get to know you better. This is just part of it. I’m fine with that.”

“Have you ever been engaged?” he asked, needing to switch the focus for a minute.

She shook her head. “No, I never got to that point with anyone.” She felt her insecurities start to swell.

“When was your last serious relationship?”

She took a deep breath. She grabbed her wine glass and took a long sip.
Might as well just get this over with,
she thought. “In college. We were together for a couple of years.”

“What was his name?”

“Aaron,” Anabelle answered, staring at her plate. She pushed her remaining pasta around with her fork.

He waited for her to continue. He’d let her share whatever she felt comfortable with.

She lost her appetite and pushed her plate away. “He left me for a girl we both had met at college. She was in one of our classes. The whole thing really sucked. Since then, I’ve just dated a bit here and there, nothing serious.” She felt embarrassed telling such a sorry tale to one of New York City’s most eligible bachelors. The absurdity that things with Giorgio could ever go anywhere came surging forward in her mind.

He read her expression. “I’m afraid he’s not a very smart fellow, then. To let such a beautiful and charming girl go.”

She tried to muster a smile.

He pushed his plate aside as well and reached out to hold her hand. “Some things stay with you, though, don’t they?”

She nodded, averting her gaze. She didn’t want him to see how much that still affected her to this day. She’d been completely devastated when it happened.

“I know,” he said.

Just then the waiter came by to ask if they were finished. They said yes and each ordered double espressos. The waiter nodded and took their plates away.

Anabelle was quiet.

Giorgio folded his arms and leaned forward. “We all have romantic horror stories to tell, you know. Every one of us.”

She gave him a rueful smile. “You’re right,” she replied. “Mine’s just a little more…embarrassing, I guess.”
She decided to try and make it seem less painful than it was.

He laughed kindly, his blue eyes sparkling.

She looked up at him, surprised. “What’s so funny?” she asked.

“You want to talk about embarrassing? How about being splashed all over the society pages for a 550-person wedding you’re not comfortable with, only to be un-ceremoniously replaced by someone older and richer two months after the engagement ends. Everyone in New York knew about it. Mortifying!” he exclaimed, waving his hand.

She hadn’t thought of it like that. It actually made her feel a little better. “She sure moved on quick.”

He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. “Yeah, quick
alright. I think…well, actually everyone thought…that there was something going on between them for awhile before that.”

“I can’t imagine someone cheating on you,” Anabelle said. “You’re…um…well, gorgeous and successful and charming.” She figured there was no sense beating around the bush, it was true.

The waiter came by with their espressos and handed them dessert menus.

“Thanks,” Giorgio said to him, and waited until he walked away. He then reached out to touch Anabelle’s arm. His gaze drifted up her arm, to her shoulder, across her chest, then to her lips and then her hazel eyes
, tastefully dusted with a sparkly pink powder. “Beautiful girl,” he whispered, “and kind, too.”

She felt her heart leap. His magnetism was overwhelming to her.

He licked his lips. “I’ll have to kiss you later for that compliment.”

She raised her eyebrows. “In that case, I’ll keep them coming.” The words were out before she could stop them.

He swallowed, and then nodded his head slowly. “So will I.”

The temperature in the room seemed to spike.

A couple of minutes later the waiter came back and took their dessert orders.

Anabelle excused herself to use the ladies
’ room.

Giorgio stood as she got up. He watched her walk away, admiring her womanly shape from behind.

She freshened up and came back shortly thereafter.

Giorgio did the same.

Anabelle checked him out, too, as he headed to the men’s room. She still could not believe how tall, fit, and gorgeous he was. Total masculine perfection. She shook her head. This all felt like a dream. He had to be way out of her league. Her head spun.

He came back just as their desserts were being dropped off.

She stole a glance at his tall frame as he sat down. He made her want to just throw him to the ground and jump him. Her feelings for Aaron or any other guy she had gone out with had never come close to this level of potency.

They made small talk as they took their time enjoying their desserts and a second round of espressos.

Anabelle paused. “You’re 36, right?” she asked, glancing up at him. “The article…” she shrugged.

He nodded. “I am. And you?”

“28,” she said.

He smiled. “A pretty good fit, I’d say.”

She blushed as a pleased grin flashed across her face.

They finished their desserts and espressos and he stretched out a bit afterwards, his legs open, brushing unexpectedly against hers.

She jumped.

“Sorry,” he said, moving his legs away. “Long legs, they need to go somewhere.”

“Yeah, I bet they do,” she replied, then her hand flew to her mouth as she realized what she said.

His mouth opened and his eyes went wide. He laughed. “I’m not sure what to say to that.”

Anabelle was mortified. Her face turned beet red. “That’s not what I meant…it was the wine, I just…”

“Mmmhmm, I see where your mind is at, Ms. Parker,” he said
, waving a finger. “Naughty girl.” He winked at her.

Her face red
dened even more.
To hell with it,
she thought,
I can’t dig my way out of this one.
“Guilty as charged, Mr. Tsarkopolis. What are you doing to do about it?” she challenged.

Not missing a beat, h
e moved his legs back against hers, pressing them both in a little tighter. “Whatever you would like me to do, m’lady,” he challenged her in a low voice. He watched with playful amusement as she squirmed in her chair.

Feeling the obvious strength in his legs with the suggestive move, she pursed her lips together as the heat she felt rose dangerously higher. The only responses that came to her mind were again X-rated. She tucked her hair behind her ear. She glanced over at him, her gaze falling to his chest and then down to where the table blocked her view. She looked back up, gazing at his lips that were curved into a mischievous smile, then into his eyes that sparkled with even more mischief.

He took the moment a step further and provocatively rubbed his leg against hers, holding eye contact with her as the candlelight flickered between them.

Between the
potent wine and the desire he was generating in her, she let temptation guide her. She leaned forward, putting her cleavage daringly back on display and dropped her hand without thinking, touching his leg. She ran her hand lightly over it a couple of times. “I’ll take that and raise you one better,” she purred. She saw him inhale deeply as he stared at her chest, and then close his eyes for a moment as he caught the double meaning in her statement.