Her Safety

Chapter Five

That night DeAngelo insisted he take me out for dinner. He wasn't convinced I was being genuine about agreeing to one date, so he wanted to take me up on my offer as soon as possible.

"Is this necessary?" I rolled my eyes at the flashy SUV waiting outside for me. DeAngelo came to my front door to walk me to the car. He looked striking as usual, with his 6'1 figure towering over my own measly 5 feet and 3 inches, and his olive skin effortlessly flawless. I paled in comparison with my worn-out flats and conservative church dress.

DeAngelo ignored my whining, and kissed my hand. I tried not to like it, but his touch sent my nerves scrambling, "You look lovely, as usual." He murmured.

Despite the way he could get under my skin, I was genuinely curious to get to know Mr. DiVicci. In no time, we arrived at a luxurious looking restaurant. I wasn't expecting anything less. Even his toilet paper was likely luxurious. Like a true gentleman, he opened my door and took my coat once we got inside. The hostess scrambled on first sight and instantly made sure we got the best table in the house. I felt DeAngelo's eyes on me, trying to figure out what was going through my mind.

"I'm not yet impressed, DeAngelo." I said, trying to irritate him. He only laughed at this.

"Didn't think it would be that easy, gorgeous." His voice was as smooth as velvet and could make anyone swoon.

I rolled my eyes to hide the fact that I, myself, was on the verge of swooning. Luckily the restaurant was dimly lit, so DeAngelo wouldn't be able to see how many times he could make me blush. I did have to give him credit, though, it was a beautiful place. The live jazzy music made for an extremely romantic setting. I wasn't ready for that. DeAngelo took the liberty of ordering a nice bottle of red wine for us.

"So," He broke the silence, "Let's talk, Angelina."

"What is there to talk about?" I tried playing it cool, but I felt him seeing right through me.

"Where is little miss timid? Have I scared her away, or do I just bring out the inner vixen in you?" He smirked when I choked on my wine.

"Shut up,"

"Excuse me?" His eyebrows furrowed together.

"What, has no one ever told you to shut up before?" It was my turn to laugh at him, "Sensitive Sally." I giggled.

"Maybe that's enough wine for you tonight." He held my arm down so I couldn't bring the glass to my lips. Maybe I was a little tipsy, but that wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

"Oh stop it, you wanted to get me all liquored up so I would be more forthcoming." I smiled. "It's ok, let's talk Angelo." Hiccup. I covered my mouth, giggling a little uncontrollably. His eyes were smiling but his lips were taut in a frown.

"It's DeAngelo," He muttered, waving over the server to order some scotch. "You called me just Angelo."

"I like just Angelo better." I shrugged nonchalantly.

"Angelina, enough wine for you." He pulled the wine glass out of my hand and I pouted like a child. This seemed to amuse him as he reached over and gently rubbed my lower lip, "Don't pout like that, sweetheart." He said huskily with a tinge of a threat in his voice.

He took a huge gulp of his drink and finally tried to get the dialogue going a little more successfully. We both obviously had a lot of things to say. I still didn't understand why he wanted me—a complete stranger. And didn't it bother him that I was essentially giving him a chance, because he offered to help me take care of my family?

"Not really," He shrugged. I furrowed my brows.

"Not really, what?" I asked hesitantly.

"Well you just asked me if it bothers me that you're giving me a chance, because I offered to help me take care of your family. No, it doesn't really bother me."

I slapped my hand across my mouth, "I'm sorry, maybe I really shouldn't have any more wine. I didn't mean to say that out loud."

"It's ok, we both know it's the truth, there's no reason to hide it. We're here to talk about everything. For me it's simple. I want you, Angelina."

"But why!" I threw my arms up exasperatedly, "You literally know nothing about me. And all I know about you is that you have a gun and you're dangerously sexy." Oops, I just said that out loud too, didn't I? I was such a lightweight.

DeAngelo had the most satisfied and amused smirk on his face I had ever seen, "I know more than you think, sweetheart. And do you not believe in love at first sight?"

I rolled my eyes, "Oh, so you love me?"

"Try not to sound so excited," He snorted, "Not just yet, but I have to admit your beauty is unmatched. Honestly, it's the reason I was so drawn to you in the first place. You took my breath away the moment I laid my eyes on you."

I silently thanked God for the dimmed lighting. My face—no scratch that, my body was on fire. I was blushing so profusely that even drunk Nina had nothing to say. So, I simply pursed my lips and said thank you as quietly as I could.

"What are we doing, Angelo?" I asked after a comfortable silence while we both ate our dinners.

"We're figuring out how to make this work." He seemed to be convincing himself.

"I just feel like there's more to this that you're not telling me."

"I want to make you mine, Nina. It's that simple. I need to know if it's a yes or a no from you, and there's no going back." He suddenly got serious.

With a smile, I pointed at the gun slightly peeking out of his jacket, "So when are you going to teach me how to use that thing?"