Italian Knights (9 page)

Her pulse went wild at Sal’s touch. Sighing with pleasure, she wound her arms around his neck and clung to him as his mouth gently nuzzled her lips. His mouth took hers, possessively, intimately, exploring its honeyed sweetness. There wasn’t anything friendly or obligatory about his kiss. It was purely possessive and male, arousing her own feminine instincts in response.

Slowly Sal drew his lips free, resting his forehead against hers, overcome with feelings and emotions. He wanted to keep her safe, and away from anything and anyone that could ever hurt her. “What you need,” Sal whispered, hoping he could carry this off, “is a chaperone.”

Annie blinked.
Chaperone?
She stared at him in dumb silence. She’d heard the word, she just didn’t quite believe it. Sal couldn’t be serious.

“A what?” she asked dully, drawing back to look at him in confusion. Sal drew her closer, tucking her into the warmth of his arms.

“A chaperone,” Sal repeated helpfully. “You know, someone to look out for your interests. My mother had one, and even Aunt Florina.” He grinned at Annie, who looked at him as if he’d just lost his mind. “In our culture it’s quite customary.”

“Sal, you can’t be serious.” Her eyes widened as he nodded.

“Of course I’m serious. It’s an old family tradition.” His eyes twinkled wickedly. “Why, Annie, you’re a woman alone with no one to— Ow! Annie, why’d you whack me?” he asked, trying to banish a grin and rub his arm at the same time.

“Sal,” she began darkly, flashing him a look that told him exactly what he could do with his “old family tradition”. “I’m twenty-six years old, not twelve, and I do
not
need a chaperone!”

“Come on, Annie, it’ll be fun—”

“Fun!” Annie exploded. “The whole idea of me dating again was so that I would be less dependent on you, not more! Sal, surely you don’t intend to tag after me every time I go out with a man?” The look on his face answered her question and Annie couldn’t suppress a moan. Lord, what was she going to do with him? “This is
not
funny,” she told him, pulling out of his arms and getting to her feet.

“It wasn’t meant to be,” Sal insisted with a wicked grin, dropping an arm around her shoulder and guiding her toward the door.

Sighing in exasperation, Annie flicked off the lights and scooped up her purse. She needed some time to think, to sort through what had happened this evening. And she’d thought she was just going on a simple little date!

Sal took the keys from her and locked up. “First thing in the morning I’ll send someone out to fix that door.”

“It’s not nec—”

Sal held up his hand to override any protests she might have, and urged her down the dark street. “Now don’t start with all that
obligation
stuff,” he teased, bumping his hip against hers as they rounded the corner and came to her house. She could see the shadow of a smile playing along his full lips.

“You’re not really serious about this chaperoning business, are you?”

Sal’s smile widened. “Very serious,” he assured her, his jaw firmly set.

“Cow cakes,” Annie muttered, stomping up the stairs and into the house.

Chapter Five

“That man—he’s back!” Florina dropped the wheel of cheese she’d been cutting and hurried into the back room, pushing past Annie who was engaged in a heated debate with her insurance agent.

“What man?” Annie asked, eyeing the scurrying woman in alarm.

“That man!” Florina jerked her head toward the front of the store. “The
stranger
,” she whispered, her tone of voice loud enough to be heard in her native country. “I’m gonna take care of him.” Her eyes gleamed as she waved her bat in the air.

Annie pried the weapon loose from the older woman’s hands. “No bats, Florina,” she scolded, trying not to smile at the woman’s disappointment. “Remember what Sal said. We don’t want you hurt. Now go on back out front, I’ll be right out.” Annie turned her attention back to her insurance man, trying once again to explain that other than the broken glass window, front door and deli case, nothing but fifty dollars in cash and two candy bars were missing. She had a high deductible—almost five hundred dollars—and Annie was certain that the damage to property and goods would be more than that.

After bidding the man a hasty good-bye, Annie grabbed a clean apron and headed to the front of the deli. This morning had been absolute chaos. Word of the robbery had spread throughout the neighborhood. Everyone had been dropping in to check on her, and even Mr. Finucci, all eighty-one years of him, had posted himself outside her broken front door, watching and inspecting anyone who dared enter.

All of her neighbors had closed ranks around her, just as they had when Tony had died. They did their best to make her feel safe and secure. Annie was one of their own, and they intended to see that no further harm came to her.

The outpouring of love and affection had eased her fears somewhat, making her feel less vulnerable. In the light of day, it was hard to imagine that last night she’d been truly frightened. This morning, with the deli open, things looked almost normal. It was as if last night had only been a bad dream.

“Honest,” David said nervously, holding his hands in the air. “I assure you I simply want to see how she is.” Florina had him backed into a corner. His eyes found Annie’s over the top of Florina’s head. “Annie, thank God, please come and rescue me from this…
woman
.”

“Florina!” Annie rounded the corner, shaking her head. So David was the stranger Florina had been so worried about. “It’s all right,” Annie assured the doubting woman. “This is David Donaldson. He’s a friend of mine.”

Florina looked at him shrewdly. “Friend, humph!” she huffed, giving David one last, scathing look before turning on her heel and heading behind the counter.

“He’s back, sister,” Florina whispered to Rosina, who was handling the register this morning. “You’d better call Sal. I’ll keep an eye on
him
.” Nodding, Rosina wiped her hands and slipped into the back room of the deli, which was off-limits to customers. The back room was a combination lunchroom, gossip room and kitchen. This was where Florina and Rosina made their homemade sausage and meatballs for the sandwiches that would be sold to the lunchtime crowd, as well as specialty items like pasta salad, eggplant and other homemade Italian delicacies. The room was small, with a table, a few odd chairs, a television and a telephone squeezed in.

David seized Annie’s hands. “My dear, I just heard about the robbery. I’m so sorry, Ann. It must have been awful for you.”

Annie smiled at his concern. “It was mostly vandalism, and I’m feeling much better this morning.” Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Florina circling around them, inconspicuously trying to duck behind an aisle so she wouldn’t be noticed.

“Yes, but still, Ann. I should have stayed with you last night. I—”

“No. Really, David. I’m fine. Sal was here with me, and he helped me clean up.” Knowing they had an audience, she gently extracted her hands from his. Annie could see Florina’s feet moving up and down the aisles, inching closer and closer.

“Sal,” David said, trying not to shudder. “The barbarian. I should have figured.”

Annie heard Florina’s “Harrumph” at David’s words and she bit back a smile. “David, I told you last night, he’s not a barbarian. He’s a cop.”

“Same thing.” David draped one long arm around Annie and steered her in the opposite direction, away from the curious stares of the customers and Florina’s prying ears. “Didn’t I tell you last night that this neighborhood wasn’t safe?” David clucked his tongue sympathetically. “I’m telling you, Ann, dear, you’re easy prey—”

“David, please.” She’d just started feeling better, she didn’t need David reminding her of her fears. She was trying so hard not to feel vulnerable, because it only led to her leaning on Sal—something she was determined not to do anymore.

“So tell me,” she said with a smile. “What brings you here this morning?” Out of the corner of her eye, Annie saw Florina’s gray head pop up from between two aisles.

“I just stopped by to see how you were, and to invite you to supper this evening.”

His eyes traveled over her in a way that made her uncomfortable. Crossing her arms across her breasts, Annie was reminded of her conversation with Sal last night, about David’s concern about her lack of male “attention”. The way he was looking at her, she could almost believe him.

“Things didn’t quite work out as I had planned last night,” David said smoothly, leaving her to wonder just what his plans had been.

“Yes, I’m sorry about that.” How was she going to tell him that she really wasn’t interested in dating him? Annie sighed. She never realized this dating business was going to be so darn complicated And Sal’s intentions of chaperoning her weren’t going to make things easier in the near future. She certainly didn’t want a repeat of last night.

She would have to be gentle with David; she had no wish to hurt his feelings. Even if Sal didn’t like him, he was a nice man, but she didn’t think she could bear to spend another evening with him, listening to him extol his own virtues. David just didn’t appeal to her. She was certain he would be a fine catch for some woman, but not
this
woman. No, the only man she was interested in was tall, dark and devilishly handsome. He also happened to be off-limits.

She’d been telling herself Sal was just a friend. But in the light of day, looking at David, she was forced to come to terms with her own feelings. Last night, when Sal had kissed her, she had finally realized he was much more than just a friend. So much more.

Oh, Lord, Annie thought sadly. The man she wanted she couldn’t have. And the one she
could
have, she didn’t want. So much for the poor widow woman being able to take care of herself.

“Ann, are you free for dinner?”

“I’m sorry,” she aid regretfully, shaking her head. “I’d love to, but there’s still so much to do here. The glass people are charging me double to come over on a Sunday and I’ve got to stay here and wait for them. Then I have to try and handle all the insurance forms and the police forms. I just can’t spare the time. Maybe another day?” she said brightly, hoping she hadn’t hurt his feelings.

David smiled, and patted her shoulder, leaving his hand to linger. “Of course, dear. I understand. Naturally this burglary business has you upset. It’s no wonder, with this neighborhood and all, it’s a wonder you weren’t murdered—or something worse.”

Annie shivered at his words.

“Outta my way,” Florina grumbled, pushing between the two of them to get to a bin of garlic sitting on the floor. She successfully managed to knock David’s hand off Annie’s shoulder. David glared at Florina’s back.

“That employee is certainly rude. I should think that a woman that age would be grateful for a job.”

Clutching the garlic cloves to her breast, Florina straightened and whirled around. “Should have let me use the bat when I had the chance,” she muttered in Italian, fixing David with a murderous glare.

“What did she say?” David asked with a frown, watching Florina stomp off.

“She lost her
hat
,” Annie said quickly.

“You really ought to speak to her,” David suggested. “She’s quite insolent. I know this is just a small operation, but you certainly can’t have the help scaring the customers away.”

“David,” Annie cautioned, grabbing him by the elbow and steering him toward the door. It was Rosina’s turn to check David out. Her silver head popped up from behind a row of shelves and David came to an abrupt halt, swiveling his head first toward Florina, who stood behind the counter glaring at him, then back to Rosina, who was giving him her own version of the once-over.

“My God! Don’t tell me there’re
two
of them,” he said, horrified. Chuckling softly, Annie rolled her eyes and guided him carefully around the all-too-interested Rosina.

“Those two ladies,” she whispered, “are twins. One’s Sal’s mother and the other is his aunt. They work for me. See, David, while you see this neighborhood as a danger, to me and the other people who have lived here most of our lives, it’s really like one big, extended family. Everyone looks after everyone else.” She guided him toward the door. She had to get David out of here. The sooner the better. For everyone’s sake.

“I should have figured they’d be related to
him
.” David pulled open the door and Mr. Finucci appeared out of nowhere. He stood in the doorway, successfully blocking David’s path, looking like the angel of death in his dark suit and equally dark fedora, which was pulled low over one eye.

David recognized danger when he saw it and took a cautious step back, keeping his eyes on Mr. Finucci’s cane, which swung perilously close to David’s unprotected shins.

“What is this, Ann?” David asked, turning to look at her. “A geriatric center?”

Laughing, Annie reached out and patted Mr. Finucci’s arm. “It’s all right, Mr. Finucci. This is David.”

Mr. Finucci nodded, but didn’t move.

“Mr. Finucci,” she said a bit more loudly, wanting to reassure him. “It’s all right. David is a friend of mine.”

David extended his hand to the man. Mr. Finucci looked at David’s hand, sniffed, then turned, picked up his racing form and reclaimed his perch on the stool next to the door.

“Honestly, Ann, I don’t know how you put up with—”