Italian Knights Read Free Page B

“And he sweats. You know I’ve never trusted a guy who sweats,” he muttered, and Annie moaned softly.
    “Sal, please? You’re not making this any easier for me,” she complained, trying to push past him. Sal bit back a smile. That was the whole idea.
    Annie scowled as she peeked at poor, unsuspecting David again. For two cents she would send him back to wherever it was he came from. She no longer felt like going out with him, or anyone else, for that matter. It just wasn’t worth the wear and tear on her nerves. But to back down now would only make Sal think he’d won. On principle alone she was going to go through with this date, just to prove to Sal that she could stand on her own two feet. It was for his own good, she assured herself. But somehow she had a feeling that Sal didn’t see it that way.
    “I don’t know about this guy,” Sal growled, shaking his head. “I don’t like this, Annie. Not at all.” He glanced at David again and felt an unfamiliar tightening in his belly. If Annie thought he was going to let her just up and waltz out of here with some guy she didn’t know, who had a fondness for shiny little shoes and dancing skirts, she was in for a very rude surprise. Where on earth did she find this character? he wondered in disgust.
    “Will you stop this?” Annie hissed. She could understand Sal’s concern, but now he was carrying this protective bit too far. He was beginning to annoy her. “No wonder the poor man’s sweating. He’s probably nervous. Wouldn’t you be if some menacing-looking man wearing a gun was peeking at you through a window? Now, I’m warning—”
    “You’re not leaving this house, Ann Marie,” Sal said firmly, crossing his arms across his chest defiantly. He knew immediately that it was the wrong thing to say. He’d learned long ago to never, ever tell Annie she couldn’t do something. You could ask, plead or cajole, but never tell her. Telling or ordering Annie to do something was like waving a red flag in front of a bull’s face.
    Her shoulders straightened and she drew herself to her full five-foot frame. “Salvatore,” she said slowly, deciding this situation warranted the use of his full name. “Like it or not, I’ve made a date, and I’m going out with David tonight. If you want to stay and meet him, fine. You can entertain him while I change. But I’m warning you, Sal,” she said, shaking one slender finger in his face, “you’d better behave.”
    “Me, behave?” Sal drew back and made a great show of checking his gun. His eyes filled with mischief. “I promise to be on my…best behavior.”
    She looked at him carefully, fearful of what was going through his cop’s mind. Poor David, she thought a bit belatedly, wondering how he was going to react to Sal’s intimidating presence. “Sal, I’m warning—”
    “Come on, Annie,” he encouraged, trying to fight her for the door. “You don’t want to leave your… date just standing there, do you? It wouldn’t be polite.”
    Leaving David outside might not be polite, but faced with the prospect of letting him in so Sal could breathe down his neck hardly seemed a pleasant alternative, either. Fluffing her hair, Annie gave Sal one last warning glance before taking a deep breath and pulling open the front door.
    “David,” she said with false cheer, elbowing Sal aside. “How nice to see you again. Please come in. I’m not quite ready yet.” She babbled nervously, glancing at Sal quickly. “But I’m sure you won’t mind waiting while I change. It will only take a moment.”
    David’s face broke into a wide smile when he saw her. But the smile slowly slid off David’s face when he caught sight of Sal, who stood firmly rooted in the doorway. His long legs were planted wide apart in a threatening stance that no doubt intimidated murderers and muggers alike.
    “David,” she said quickly, noting the way the two men were visually appraising one another. “I’d like you to meet Sal