AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He snatches the napkin from my lap, then pushes his chair away, giving me space. “Go on, get going. I’ll even give you a running start.”
I whip my head toward him. “A running start implies a race where someone runs first.”
“It’s not a race. Or a chase,” he says. “I enjoy watching such games, but I wouldn’t participate.”
“What kind of games do you play?”
“The power kind.”
“I know nothing of those.”
“Which is why you’re here.”
Oh boy. “How about that man? You let him go. Is that part of a power game?”
“It is,” he says, a dangerous glint in his eye. “The difference between him and you is that if I decide to play, you’ll enjoy the game, while he won’t enjoy it at all.”
The man clearly crossed Corrado at some point, and Corrado came here to confront him. The underlying message about Franko’s life hanging in the balance doesn’t escape me. “Will playing with him excite you?”
“You excite me.”
We lock gazes, and I feel as if my world is tilting toward him. Under the table, I tap my foot so I can ground myself. The way this man flirts makes me want to throw caution to the wind.
Corrado dissolves my thoughts when he puts the napkin back on my lap and looks over my head. “Lean back,” he says just as the server places my filet, grilled asparagus, and roasted baby potatoes in front of me. Corrado does the same so the server can set a plate in front of him. “Once I took stock of the situation, I had to improvise. Thank you for indulging me.”
I think he’s referring to calling me his wife, but I can’t be sure. I open my mouth to ask him if that’s what he’s referring to, but he pushes his plate away and takes mine. He starts cutting my steak. The way he slices reminds me of a surgeon instead of a butcher. Once done with the steak, he cuts my asparagus diagonally into pieces precisely the same length.
“I haven’t had anyone cut my food since I was a little girl. Actually, maybe not even then.” I doubt my mom parented with such care or that we had enough money for steak dinners.
“Then allow me to pamper you.”
“Why are you doing all this? I mean, I can cut my own food.”
“A queen can drive, and yet others take her places.” He returns my plate.
“I’m hardly a queen.”
On the outside, his steak appears well done, but once he cuts it down the middle and separates the two halves, the bleeding flesh reveals it’s raw. Blood spreads on the plate and hides under the vegetables. “That’s true, but you’ve indulged me,” he says, “and exceeded my many high expectations this evening. Let me treat you like one.”
His “let me” sounds more like an order than a request.
I take a bite of asparagus. It crunches under the pressure of my teeth while Corrado nods at someone past my shoulder before slipping a piece of meat into his mouth.
“Excuse me, dear,” a female voice says. Because Corrado takes up so much of my bandwidth, I nearly forgot there are people around.
I wipe my mouth and turn toward the older woman. She has gently curling dark hair and wears large, thick gold earrings.
“I couldn’t help but notice you’re not wearing a wedding band,” she says. Just when I open my mouth to make up a lie about it, she adds, “Men rarely get the right size.” She slides a business card under my palm, and her gaze slips past me to Corrado.
“I didn’t get the wrong size, Stephania. I proposed with no ring.”
Stephania’s eyes widen. “Oh dear, how could you? A girl must have a diamond.”
“Why else do you think I requested that my wife sit next to you?”
Her brown eyes light up. “You honor me.” She takes my hand and examines it, then puts it near my face. She purses her lips, then smacks them, and shakes her head. “No, no.” She moves my hand over my neck and puts it over my heart, then leans back and nods in approval. “I have just the one.”
The server places a dry martini with two olives in front of the woman. “What can he get for you, dear?” she asks.
