Page 47 of Once Upon a Curse for True Love
“Yeah, Iheard.”His dark eyes glinted with amusement.“Good to know you have a taste for Italian, too, not just Chinese.”
She twirled another forkful of spaghetti.“Still talking about food, right?”
Donatello sipped his wine, all fake innocence.“Of course.”
“How Italian are we talking?Born and raised or just aggressively loyal to pasta?”
He grinned.“Third-generation American.Grandparents came over from Rimini.Settled in Illinois because they thought snow and cornfields were the dream.”
“Aren’t they?”she deadpanned.Then a pause.“Is that why you moved away from Chicago?Too much snow or too much corn?”
“I never said I was from Chicago.Been asking around about me, Swan?”He raised an eyebrow, but something in his expression shifted, growing more serious.“Anyway, that’s not why I left Chicago.”
Andromeda waited, remembering Sarah Michelle’s words about him losing his partner.Would he tell her?She didn’t want to pry, but she was also desperate to understand him better.
Donatello set down his fork and traced the stem of his wine glass with his fingers.“My former partner—Luna.We worked Vice together for three years.”He took a breath.“She was killed in the line of duty.Magical shootout with a black-market dealer.I wasn’t… prepared for that.For the grief.The survivor’s guilt.”
The sudden vulnerability unsettled her, all thoughts of teasing gone.“I’m sorry.”
He nodded, his mouth twisting in a sad approximation of a smile.“You’d have liked her.She was cockier than me and meaner than you.”
Andromeda didn’t speak right away.She had trouble swallowing the last of her pasta over the lump in her throat.“Luna sounds like someone I would’ve fought with immediately,” she said eventually.“So, yes.I would’ve liked her.”
Donatello huffed a laugh through his nose.“She would’ve adored your attitude.”
A new silence settled between them, not heavy now—just full of understanding.
“Okay,” she said after a breath.“That was way too much depth for a dinner that started with cheese-related flirting.”
He lifted a brow, a genuine smile back on his too-handsome face.“Are you saying I peaked with the Parmesan grating?”
She smirked, pushing her plate back with the tiniest sigh of satisfaction.“Unless you plan to outdo yourself with the dishwashing.”
He leaned back in his chair.“I look good with a sponge in my hands.”
She snorted.“All right, then.Let’s see it in action.You wash, I’ll dry.”
Doing the dishes together proved to be another form of foreplay.Standing side by side at the sink, their arms occasionally brushed as he passed her wet plates to dry.Or when he flicked water at her, and she retaliated by snapping her dish towel at his ass.
“Assault and battery of an officer of the law,” he growled, but his eyes danced with amusement.“That’s a serious offense, Swan.”
“Add it to my rap sheet,” she replied, setting the last plate on the rack.
With the dishes done and put away, they stood facing each other in the kitchen, a new tension humming between them.Donatello glanced at his watch.
“It’s getting late,” he said.“I can drive you home like I promised.”
Andromeda forced a smile, but disappointment prickled at her chest.She didn’t want to go home.She wanted to be kissed until she forgot her name.
“Is this you playing good cop?”
Donatello nodded, his Adam apple bobbing.“I’m being a gentleman.”
“What if I wanted you to play bad cop instead?”she challenged.
In an instant, he had her pinned against the kitchen counter, his body bracketing hers without touching.His eyes searched her face.“Are you sure about that, Swan?”
Heart hammering, Andromeda met his gaze.“If you don’t kiss me now, I’m going to turn you into a traffic cone for real.”
