Italian Knights Read Free Page A

any other woman.
    “Annie.”
    Her lashes lowered at the gentleness of his voice. His touch sizzled her tender skin, causing her heart to thud recklessly in her breast.
    The doorbell rang, shattering the quiet, and Annie jumped back guiltily. She shook her head, trying to loosen the cobwebs and put things in perspective. It was only natural for her to be nervous, she decided, blaming her sudden attack of anxiety on the fact that she was going on a date. She hadn’t been on a date in years. What she was feeling had nothing to do with Sal, she insisted to herself. Nothing at all.
    Annie dropped her poor, ragged grocery bags onto a table and turned toward the door. Lord, it was probably David and she hadn’t even changed yet. She still had on her white deli apron over a pair of faded jeans and a shirt. At least her hair was fixed, she thought dully, absently touching her new curls.
    “Annie, wait.”
    A shiver rippled over her as Sal dropped his hand to her shoulder, jolting her poor nerve endings into spasms of shock. She didn’t dare turn; she didn’t trust herself. Sal was too close, and she too flustered. Without a word, Sal reached around her but Annie planted her foot in front of the door to prevent him from opening it.
    “What do you think you’re doing?” she said angrily, trying unsuccessfully to push past him and keep her foot on the door at the same time.
    “I’m just going to answer the door,” Sal told her sweetly, his eyes glinting in amusement. “I want to meet this…stranger before you go waltzing off into the night with him. You don’t mind, do you?” he asked, his tone of voice indicating it was just too bad if she did.
    “I’m warning you,” Annie whispered, ducking under his arm and turning to glare up into his face. “You’d better behave yourself, and none of that macho police bull, either. David is a very nice man, and I don’t want you scaring him.”
    “Now, Annie, would I do that?” Sal inquired, managing to look quite innocent. She heaved a weary sigh.
    “Sal, please?”
    Grinning, Sal bent down and pulled the curtain back.
    “Now what are you doing?” Annie cried, mortified that he was spying on her date.
    “Oh, my God!” Sal groaned, craning his neck for a better look at David. “Annie, what the hell kind of a guy are you going out with?” He turned to look at her, his face aghast. “This guy has a skirt on!”

Chapter Two
    “What! Let me see,” Annie demanded, elbowing Sal out of the way to do a little spying of her own. Her eyes widened in disbelief. “Cow cakes!” she muttered. David had on what she recognized as a traditional ethnic costume. At least she hoped it was a costume. He wore a tartan kilt, a white shirt, knee socks and shiny little round-toed shoes. The entire ensemble was capped off by a jaunty little plaid tam that was perched directly on top of his slightly balding head.
    Good Lord, Annie thought, staring at him in disbelief. His outfit was prettier than hers. Her mother had always told her never to date a man she could swap clothes with. At the moment, Annie wished she could take her mother’s advice.
    “It’s not a skirt, Sal. It’s a kilt,” she clarified, although she didn’t know why she bothered. Skirt. Kilt.
    From the expression on Sal’s face, she could tell he wasn’t in the least bit interested in the specifics of David’s attire. Sal looked as if he’d managed to identify it all on his own.
    Why on earth did David choose this particular evening to wear that blasted thing? Annie wondered darkly. If Sal was concerned about her going out with David before, now he was practically frothing at the mouth.
    “He’s probably part of some radical fringe group,” Sal muttered dubiously. His head was only inches from hers and Annie caught a faint whiff of his aftershave. Pleasant, intoxicating and definitely masculine. It suited Sal.
    “He’s got blue eyes,” Sal informed her gravely, as if blue eyes were an arrestable offense.