Freeing Her by A. M. Hargrove Page B

a
meal like you have.”
    Gabby’s hand touched her warm cheek. “Well,
it was the best meal I’ve ever had.”
    Kolson chuckled at the mischievous look on
her face. “I’m happy you liked it so much. Later this week, I’ll
take you to La Taverna so you can enjoy some Italian fare. It’s a
marvelous place in Little Italy—you’ll fall in love with
Giuseppe.”
    “ Giuseppe?”
    “ The owner. On second
thought, he’ll fall in love with you.”
    Gabby laughed. “I’d love to go. Italian is
my favorite. Of course, how could it not be?” She sipped from her
wine and sat back in her chair. “I need to thank you.”
    “ For what? Your company
made the dinner much more enjoyable than anything I’ve done in
ages.”
    “ That’s not what I wanted
to thank you for,” she said, eyes sparkling.
    “ Oh?”
    “ You kept your word to not
be annoying.”
    A rumble of laughter burst from his chest
and he eyed her with amusement. “I am so right about you.”
    Now it was Gabby’s turn to be curious. “How
so?”
    “ I can see you’re going to
be a handful, Dr. Martinelli.” Kolson had already decided that Dr.
Gabriella Martinelli was quite a remarkable woman. She was
stimulating, witty, and bright.
    Gabby hated for the evening to come to an
end because she couldn’t remember the last time she’d enjoyed
herself so much. When Kolson dropped her home, he walked her up to
her door, and when he departed, she was disappointed that he only
gave her a chaste kiss on the cheek and a promise to see her again
very soon.
    A few days later, Gabby was lost in her
thoughts of Kolson when her phone buzzed. She was between patients
and was happy she was able to answer.
    “ Hi.”
    “ Hi yourself. I was
wondering if you were up for some Italian?”
    “ That depends. Is he
nice?”
    “ Very funny.”
    Kolson kept his promise and the following
evening they found themselves seated at La Taverna, sipping a
lovely Chianti. Kolson had been right. Giuseppe had fallen head
over heels for Gabby.
    “ Signor Hart, you must
bring Dottore Martinelli in with you more often. I shall spoil her
and fatten her up, si?”
    “ No,” Gabby said,
laughing. “I don’t want to get fat!”
    “ Ah, but Giuseppe will
bring you all his special dishes tonight, si?”
    “ Yes, Giuseppe. Spoil the
lovely lady for me, will you?”
    And that’s exactly what he did. He brought
out dish after dish of pastas and meats, until Gabby thought she
would explode. The food was every bit as good here as it had been
at Le Chatelaine. Kolson had to stop himself from rolling his eyes
at the way Giuseppe fawned over Gabriella.
    “ So, tell me a little
about yourself, Kolson. What do you like to do?”
    “ I enjoy watching you eat.
I am enamored with you, Gabriella. And I am jealous of
Giuseppe.”
    Gabby let out a nervous laugh. No one could
be enamored with her. She was unsure of every move she made and had
no finesse around men. “You didn’t answer my question. I find you
like to deflect a lot. There must be a reason for that.”
    Kolson’s expression flattened. The last
thing he wanted to do was talk about himself. He would rather
endure waterboarding. Well, maybe not. But opening up to others was
not an option. Then he flashed her a disarming grin. “Yes. I have a
great reason. When I’m sitting next to a gorgeous woman, why in the
hell would I want to discuss me when I can talk about her? There’s
nothing more intriguing than uncovering the mysteries of a
beautiful woman. And you, Gabriella are much more interesting than
I am.”
    Kolson was turning on the flirting game with
her. She wasn’t very good at it for she’d never been flirted with
or played that game before. She bit the inside of her cheek and
frowned.
    “ Ah, there it is again.
That doubt is clouding your eyes. You don’t believe me, do
you?”
    She squinted at him. “I suppose I have no
reason not to.”
    Finally, Giuseppe presented the grand
finale, his specialty dessert, tiramisu.