Page 74 of Where Wild Hearts Dance
“I think Cristiano took us there once.”
I cross an ankle over my knee. “Entirely possible. He likes it there.” I let my gaze roam her and feel my chest brace. “Did you?”
She’s just shoveled a forkful of lettuce into her mouth. “Mm?”
“Did you like my restaurant?”
She stops chewing and lowers her fork. Then she wipes her mouth with a napkin and swallows. Her lashes lift, shyly. “I loved it.”
My chest expands so much I have to cough. “Great. I’ll take you back there one day.”
She coasts a gaze across the remaining food. “I can’t eat anymore, but I can’t bear to waste all this food.”
“It’s nothing,” I say, waving a hand. “Hotels like this get rid of all that and more every night.”
Her eyelids pop open. “That’s appalling!”
“You think all these wealthy, skinny people eat everything they’re served?” I bite back a grin. “Half of them are filling up in the restroom on lines of coke.”
My quip doesn’t have the desired result.
“That’s even worse!”
She looks around at all the beautiful dishes. “I can’t just leave all of this. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself.”
I lower my leg and drop my elbows onto my knees while I study her. “So what do you want to do?”
She inhales deeply then puffs out a breath. “Can we have the kitchen pack everything up and give it to the homeless guys a few blocks over?”
I’m not sure I heard correctly. “You want to give all this food to the homeless guys down the street?”
She frowns as though she’s second-guessing herself. “It’s the right thing to do.”
“Okay…” I say, slowly. “I’ll just make a call.”
Three minutes later, a waiter is delivering some cardboard food containers to the room and helping us portion up whole meals. Tess commandeers the entire operation while I stand back and watch. I’d always assumed that because her daddy owned the big port Savero was obsessed with, she and her sisters didn’t want for anything. I suppose I assumed she was spoiled.
Fucking hot and fucking annoying, but a little bit spoiled.
How wrong I’ve been.
“Okay, I think that’s all of it.” She looks up at me with a timid smile. “Um…” Her gaze darts between me and the waiter. “How will we get this to them? I can’t go out dressed like this.”
My gaze drops to the thin stain of her dress. She’s damn right. I’m notlettingher go out like that. For a start, she’ll freeze. But mostly, she’ll be inadvertently responsible for the death of any pedestrian we encounter along the way who dares look at her bare, beautiful legs in that dress.
I tap two fingers against my lips while my focus drags over her body. My voice turns gruff. “I’ll have one of my men take it for you.”
“Are you sure? I don’t want to inconvenience anyone?—”
I bite the inside of my cheek. “You’re not inconveniencing anyone. Every second they’re standing outside this hotel doing nothing, they’re getting paid handsomely.”
She flashes a shy glance toward the waiter who feigns interest in the wall. “They’re not doingnothing, Benito. They’re looking out for you.”
Something expands inside my chest. “And you,” I correct her. Then I step forward and take her chin between my finger and thumb, tilting her gaze to mine. “But here’s the thing…” I dip my face until her breaths brush my nose. “I’m more than capable of looking out for the both of us, baby.”
Her pupils bloom and her cheeks flush. I can tell my words traveled to a sensitive part of her. I turn to the waiter. “Give these bags to one of my men and tell them I sent you. Explain exactly where the food is to be delivered. And then bring me an outfit Miss Castellano can change into. Anything you’ve got.”Anything to replace that scrap of fabric that leaves nothing to the imagination. “And make it a size four.”
The waiter stands to attention. “Yes sir, I’ll do it right now.”
