I sucked in my breath. Instinctively, my body rebelled against the idea. I took a big gulp of wine. Thank God, the waiters chose that moment to deliver our food.
“Your appetizer looks delicious,” he commented mildly.
“So does yours,” I replied politely.
“Thank you. Buon appetito.”
“Buon appetito to you too,” I murmured.
We began to eat and engage in small talk. To my surprise, we never ran out of things to talk about. I guess we had a lot in common. We shared the same nosy relatives, we shared the same background, we were both interested in the wine and the family business. Soon, I felt so relaxed and comfortable, I even allowed myself to taste some of his lamb off his fork when it arrived. It was good, but not as good as my chicken, which literally melted on my tongue.
The wine was gone and we decided to share a chocolate lava cake. By now, I was laughing at his story of how he’d once tried to tell his kindergarten teacher that he was allergic to peanuts after he’d accidentally eaten one of the other children’s cookies.
“The bitch didn’t believe me,” he said and the incredulous look on his face made me giggle even more. “She thought that I was looking for a reason to consume more soda.”
“You were very greedy when you were young,” I said on her behalf. “I think I remember your mother telling Gemma to hide all the chocolates whenever you were coming.”
He made an impatient face. “I was a growing boy. Of course, I ate a lot.”
“What happened with the cookies?” I reminded, licking my spoon.
“My tongue swelled and they had to rush me off to hospital. My mom threw a massive fit and almost even got her fired. She had to apologize to me.”
I leaned back. There was too much satisfaction on his face when he said the last line. I’d had a somewhat pleasant time, despite how absolutely unconvinced I’d been earlier that it wouldn’t be. But that last line had kinda spoiled it for me though. I remembered him sporting this same expression when he’d chased me with the squirming frog clasped in his meaty hands. Every time I thought he had somewhat redeemed himself and we could move to the next level, he said or did something that made me dislike him all over again.
“I guess we should go,” I said softly.
He snapped his fingers again for the waiter.
At his snapping, I cringed inwardly. I’d worked as a waitress in London and I hated it when people did that. It was so unnecessary. Only the most arrogant, most entitled customers did something so rude.
The silence between us had suddenly turned awkward and I turned towards him to thank him for the evening. “Thanks for taking me out, Fabio. I had a great time tonight.”
“You’re welcome,” he said, with a nod.
I tried to ignore the fact that he hadn’t responded in kind.
Once the bill was paid, we went towards the bar where Angelo was waiting. Just the thought of seeing him again made a little shiver of excitement run up my spine.
He didn’t even look at me. He just slipped off the stool he’d been sitting on and made his way towards the entrance.
The valet brought the car around and Fabio placed his hand on the small of my back to lead me forward. It felt weirdly intimate, and I had to force myself not to pull away. I was committed to doing my best in giving him a fair chance.
Once I got into the car however, the reverence he had shown in the restaurant dissipated. He stared at me with a smile on his face, and although I didn’t hate it, I didn’t know how to keep responding to it, especially since it was way too prolonged to mean absolutely nothing.
“You truly are a gorgeous woman, Sienna,” he murmured.
I tried not to frown. The compliments before had been empty, but it seemed as if he were somewhere with it and I was simply not ready for it. Whatever it was.
Before I could even think of a suitable thing to say he leaned forward and curved his hands around the back of my head. He was going to kiss me! My heart was beating fast in my chest, but it had absolutely nothing to do with excitement. It was sheer dread. First, at the thought of kissing him and second—at the idea of doing it just a few feet away from Angelo. My hands shot out and pushed against his chest.
My smile was nervous, as I met his confused gaze. “Sorry, I’m a little drunk.”
“That’s perfectly fine to me.” He increased the force behind my head.
I had no choice but to let my face be pulled towards his. I smelled the wine we’d just consumed and felt revulsion. Quickly, I snapped my mouth shut and he brushed his thin, cold lips against mine.