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Gianni 4
While Dani made herself comfortable on my barstool, I’d sent a quick text to my date, Shannon Brennicki, that I’d gotten lost and wouldn’t be at the restaurant for another fifteen or twenty minutes.
She’d immediately sent a happy face emoji, which quelled my anxiety about pushing my date off for a bit. After all, I’d joined the dating app just to get a chance with Dani, although that didn’t happen. I’d tried to answer her, but my profile didn’t at all fit with what she was looking for, so I couldn’t get to her. Even when I changed it to better fit with her ideal partner, I still couldn’t reach her. Every time I came close, I’d get knocked off the site entirely. Then when I was finally able to contact her, she completely ignored me, which didn’t do much for my ego.
Thus, the date with Shannon tonight. I’d decided I needed to get back out there, even if Dani wouldn’t respond.
Yet, there she was, sitting in front of me, sipping on a wine that I’d ordered for her. I didn’t normally believe in Christmas miracles, at least not to the degree that the rest of my family did, but this moment was right up there in the miracle realm.
Every seat at the bar was taken, and the entire restaurant buzzed with folks enjoying their festive night out. Dean Martin sang about it being cold outside, while the bartender placed a copper mug filled with what had to be mulled cider down in front of the woman sitting next to Dani.
“Seeing as how you’re here, waiting to meet someone, that must mean that my pizza helped, or was it the cheesesteak?” I asked, hoping we could get to know each other on a more friendly level.
She softly chuckled. “The pizza, but then it always helps. Your family makes the best pizza I’ve ever had. Especially when it comes to my quirky toppings.”
“I don’t think you’ve ever ordered any other pizza.”
“That’s because I’m always on a diet.”
I took a step back, feeling as though that statement gave me looking rights, and I slowly took in her fabulous body. That red dress showed off every curve and ridge, and those legs… wow! Checking her out like this sent a blast of crazy heat straight to my dick. I had to stop looking, or things could get embarrassing.
I needed to diffuse the smoldering fire that had already been lit.
“My mother would say you needed to put on a few more pounds, and she’d serve you an overflowing plate of our pasta and meatballs with our cheesy garlic bread on the side,” I teased.
“And what do you think?” she asked, obviously flirting.
“I think you’re perfect,” I told her, almost whispering. “Although, you would undoubtably look just as beautiful if my mother had her way.”
She sniggered and took another sip of her wine, then she turned to me. “Speaking of your mother, this is Christmas Eve. How did you ever get away from your family? Shouldn’t you be with them enjoying the holiday?”
“I will later. We keep the restaurant open until about seven, then we celebrate at home. By the time all my family gathers at my parents’ house, there’s so many people, no one can keep track of who’s there and who isn’t.”
“Are you saying you snuck out for this meetup?”
“I did, but it’s just for a drink. As long as I’m back home by around ten, they won’t notice I’m gone.”
Damn, this woman was hot and beautiful. I always thought she was beautiful, despite her swollen eyes and her tear-streaked face. I just never thought of her as scorching before, at least not while she’d been hidden under layers of oversized clothes.
“What happens at ten?” she asked, gazing up at me with those amazing whiskey-colored eyes of hers. “Is that like a magic hour or something?”
She tossed a strand of hair back behind an ear, and I desperately wanted to reach out and help with that process.
“That’s when we open our presents,” I told her as her perfume surrounded me. She smelled so fucking good, like a sunrise, all fresh and new.
“Not on Christmas Day?” she asked, looking curious. “In my family, we always had to wait until Christmas morning.”
“Christmas morning presents are for anyone under ten. Once you’ve past ten years old in our family, you moved over to the Christmas Eve extravaganza. Most of the time, there are so many presents, you can’t even get to the tree. The kids in the family hand them out, and we try not to open more than two or three at a time, so everyone can react to the present. It can go on for hours. Even if you’re under ten, you still get gifts, but in our family, they save all the big Santa-type gifts for Christmas morning. Why aren’t you celebrating with your family this year?”
She drank more of her wine. God, she had a beautiful mouth. I could almost imagine what that mouth would feel like on mine, what it might taste like… more heat rushed around my body. What the hell? I’d never been so turned on by a woman I was merely talking to before. I didn’t know what was happening, but I needed to get it under control, or meeting Shannon for a drink wouldn’t be right.
“That’s a long story, but it has something to do with that breakup I had last week. I foolishly thought I’d be spending the holidays with him, but once again, I’d been gullible and believed charming lies. Will you promise me something?”
“What’s that?” I asked, falling into those smoldering eyes of hers and wanting to stay right there for the rest of time.
“You won’t ever lie to me,” she said with all the sincerity of someone who knew what harm a lie could do to a relationship.
“You have my word,” I told her, wanting her to know that I would never ever do or say anything to her that could cause her any kind of grief or pain. She’d experienced enough pain over the last couple of years, she didn’t need any more.
