Chapter 10

They entered the Italian Village, and Felicity hesitated at the crush of people just inside the door. Tourists flooded the stairway, but Jared kept walking up the stairs, ignoring the line. At the reception desk he smiled at the girl holding the menus and taking names.

"Maria, tell Angelo that Jared Redmond wants double his usual order to go."

Maria, a curvy caramel-skinned girl, winked and trotted off toward the kitchen.

"Angelo?" Felicity asked.

"A buddy of mine. We both went to University of Nebraska. He got into the Culinary Institute of America before moving here, and I went off to Creighton for law. We kept in touch."

"Redmond! Tu cane! Non hai detto che saresti dovuto venire da stasera!" A booming masculine voice reverberated around them as a handsome man, definitely Italian, strode toward them from a swinging door that led back to the kitchen. Dressed in a white double-breasted jacket and black pants, the man, Angelo, removed his white toque hat and tucked it under one arm. The man was gorgeous, like a Roman god, but he didn't make her stomach flutter like Jared did. Angelo did, however, make her instantly smile when he grinned at her and Jared.

"Spiacente, Angelo, non avevo programmato su. Ma ¨¨ stato un giorno speciale e volevo portare un amico qui," Jared replied, grinning wickedly.

Angelo turned to Felicity. "Jared usually calls ahead, but he said it was a special day, and when I see you, I completely agree, bella."

Felicity stared at Jared. "You speak Italian?"

He lifted up one hand and pinched his thumb and forefinger. "Un po. A little."

Angelo snickered. "You speak a fair amount." Angelo nudged him laughed and slapped Jared's back in a one-armed hug.

"Special night," he replied, his head angled toward Felicity.

Angelo swung his gaze over her, appraising, then appreciative.

"Ah, bella," he purred in Italian and captured her hand in his, kissing it.

"This is Felicity, a good friend."

Was that it? She wasn't sure if that was a compliment or not. She'd only known the man for one day, yet she wanted to mean more to him than that.

"A good friend?" Angelo's dark brows rose, and his lips twitched. "You bring her here for dinner. That's a smart thing. I can put the sous chef in charge while I grab a bottle of your favorite Chianti. The private room in the back is open." Angelo winked.

Jared shook his head, but he smiled. "Thanks, normally I'd love to, but I think Felicity and I are going to dine in at my place. Just the two of us."

"Ah well, that's good too." Angelo smirked knowingly and pointed to a bench in the corner. "Wait there and I'll get you what you need and a little extra." Then he bent and captured Felicity's hand to press a kiss to the backs of her knuckles.

"Thanks, man." Jared shook Angelo's hand, and then he led Felicity over to the bench Angelo had indicated.

She glanced about, taking in the restaurant and marveling at the interior design. Every wall was painted with evening scenes of distant villas. The dim lighting made her feel as though she stood on a hill in Tuscany and could spin in a circle, viewing rolling hills. Tall trees pointed like green needles toward the full moon. Small pinpricks of electric lights winked in the cobalt-blue painted sky like stars. She was moved by the beauty of it, a simple artistic creation that had the effect of sending her across the ocean to a place she'd never been, a place she'd likely never go, no matter how she might wish to.

"What are you thinking about?" Jared's lips brushed her right ear as he whispered to her.

She could hear him, despite the low rumble of the crowd of waiting guests. A little tingle, like the touch of butterfly wings on her skin, shot down her spine, and she turned to see his face. Their noses touched, but she didn't move back.

"I was thinking how much this place feels like Italy. I've never been, but I know this is how it feels." She would have felt foolish confessing something like that to anyone else, but not with Jared.

"I've been, and it is just like this. Maybe someday I could take you there."

Italy. With Jared. Why did everything he said have to be so wonderful? So irresistible? He had to be a dream. No man like this was real.

"Don't," she begged, blinking away the burn of tears.

"Don't what?" he asked, still smiling.

"You're too nice. Stop being perfect." He could never know what she really was thinking. That he was temptation enough to make her want to consider leaving her dreams of working at the Los Angeles County Art Museum behind to stay here with him.

His lips kicked up in a crooked grin. "Too bad." His gaze dropped to her lips, and her heart skittered to a stop.

He's going to kiss me. He's going to­kiss me. Her lashes fluttered shut, but he didn't kiss her, not on the lips. She nearly moaned in frustration but stopped herself. The soft pressure of his mouth settled on her cheek. A brief kiss. Her eyes opened and she stared up at him, a little sigh of disappointment escaping her.

"Your food is ready." Maria carried over a large bag and then handed it to Jared.

"Thanks." He started to reach for his wallet, but she shook her head and held up a hand to stop him.

"Angelo said it's on the house." She shooed them toward the stairs, giggling.

Felicity didn't resist the bubble of laughter that came out as she turned to Jared. "Your friends are awesome."

Jared curled an arm around her waist. "I agree."

The cab ride back to Jared's apartment was quick. He talked about Angelo and how they used to get in trouble on campus. Neither of them had rushed in a fraternity and had instead formed their own fraternity of sorts.

"Besides me and Angelo, there's Thad. He's here in Chicago too, works as a partner in his dad's real estate company. They buy and sell lots of property all the time."

"Thad?" she queried, wondering what this other friend was like and if he was just as different from Jared as Angelo was, and yet somehow alike.

"Thad Worthington. Rich-as-hell real estate tycoon along with his father. Smart, too."

The respect Jared had for this mysterious Thad was obvious.

"So you, Angelo, and Thad?" She smiled, thinking of Layla, hoping that she would be close to Layla in the coming years after they'd graduated.

"Yeah. I'm lucky. Good guys, both of them." He ducked his head, looking slightly away from her as though the admission was something to be ashamed of. But this was one of the many things she was learning about him that made her adore him all the more. His loyalty, his friendship, his respect for his relationships on all levels.

Curling her fingers around his arm, she leaned into him a little. "I think it's wonderful that you're still so close to them." She hoped he would understand the tone underlying her words. Don't be ashamed of friendship.

"Yeah. I suppose it is." He raked a hand through his dark hair, and it fell into his eyes almost immediately. When he looked her way, his eyes were lit with a fire and life, his cool lawyer exterior melting away. Everything around her seemed to shrink into that one moment, with just the two of them. Something had changed between them yet again, like two stars in the same galaxy spinning closer and closer together.

"Today was nice," he said.

"It was." She had to agree. How long had it been since she'd allowed herself to enjoy something? She couldn't remember. And she didn't want it to end. She could see by the way he shifted that he didn't want it to end after dinner, either.

"I can't believe I didn't worry about work once today. You don't know how rare that is."

His words filled her with a fuzzy warmth. He'd been able to relax and escape his worries because he'd spent a day with her. A little bit of her puffed up with pride at the thought. She didn't dare let herself think about the other women who might help him forget his worries. She had this moment, right now. It was all she could afford.