Face of an Angel with Devil Eyes

Chapter 11

Ainsley was so excited about her dinner with Angelo and she'd hoped that they could get to know each other better  and this, in turn, would make it easier for them to get more comfortable spending time with each other.  He told her he would try and while she was thankful for that she talked herself into taking it as slow as possible with him, not wanting to run him off because she was trying to get too serious too fast.

  She had chosen a cute and casual pink eyelet dress with spaghetti straps and a fitted bodice that definitely enhanced her gorgeous assets; leaving her hair long and straight she applied light makeup consisting of mascara, eye liner, strawberry flavored lip gloss and a few squirts of Juicy Couture perfume and she was all set.

  She excitedly starting working on dinner in the kitchen while listening to one of her favorite Italian singers, Mina.  She had heard her music playing in the car the night Gregorio rescued her and ever since then she has been in love with her music.  Even though Ainsley couldn't understand her Italian, the feel of the beat, the emotion that came through in her voice just drew her to the music and she found it helped her relax.

With all the food prepared and the table set, Ainsley went around the house lighting candles, checking everything and trying to set the proper mood; she'd never done this before and it was kind of nerve racking trying to make sure she was getting it right.  Finally she just stopped stressing over it knowing that Angelo would be pleased with anything she did.

  She stepped back into the kitchen to check on her homemade Alfredo sauce and was very pleased with the taste and texture; dessert was just a simple New York style cheesecake with a homemade strawberry puree sauce and fresh berries.  The wine was chilled perfectly as was the Presecco she purchased in case he wanted some with dessert.

  She had hoped he came dressed casually, she had made sure she stressed the 'casual' part and he would be relaxed when he got there; she had decided to go barefoot because you couldn't get anymore casual than that.  Checking her phone for the thousandth time, her heart quickened as she realized he would be getting there soon.

When her doorbell rang, she exhaled deeply, smoothed out her dress and moved forward to answer the door.  Throwing open the door her breath hitched as her eyes took in the man standing at the doorway to her home.  His dark hair was still drying from his shower and he was wearing a black long sleeved V-neck tee shirt which hugged him perfectly in all the right places, his amazing legs were encased in fitted dark jeans and he wore expensive Italian loafers on his feet.  "Wow" escaped from her lips before she could stop it, causing her to blush, so she stood back and let him enter.

  "Wow is right" he said stepping into her for a kiss and the more she permitted him to kiss her the deeper it got and they very well could have ended up on the floor had he not pulled back.  "So" Ainsley started, her face flushed from his kiss.  "I hope you're hungry because I have been slaving away in the kitchen all day" she said winking, indicating that she was just joking.  He laughed and answered "I'm starving.  What are we having?" he asked.  Taking him by the hand she led him to the kitchen for a little taste.

"I made fresh spinach tortellini with a homemade Alfredo sauce, small salads and homemade ciabatta bread" she said proudly.  He hummed in appreciation at the menu while she dipped a small cereal spoon into the sauce for him to taste.  He smiled and licked his lips.  "Damn baby!" he exclaimed.  "That is really delicious!"  She pulled some decorative bowls from the cabinet and pulled the steaming pasta from the seasoned water, placed it in the bowl and then began ladling the sauce asking him to tell her when it was enough.

  "That's good" he said.  "The bread's on the table along with our salads.  I hope you don't mind but I just made a simple olive oil and red wine vinegar dressing for the salad" she stated.  He waited for her, pulling out her chair slightly so she could be seated first.  "Would you do the honors?" she asked handing him the corkscrew for the wine.

  Gladly accepting the task he commenced to getting the cork out and poured them each a glass.  "Ainsley this looks amazing.  Thank you" he told her, grabbing her hand and kissing the top.  "It was my pleasure.  I love to cook but don't really do it much because it's just me" she answered.

Their conversation flowed easily as they got to know more about one another; her childhood, post being placed with the Robbins, his childhood, their school history, jobs, etc.  He seemed to relax more as the night wore on because Ainsley had noticed when he first got there he acted a little high strung about something.

  He had finished his bowl and she struggled with hers but manged to eat it all; the salad was all gone and there were a few pieces of bread left and she made a mental note that this would be good for leftovers for work.  "Did you save room for dessert?" she asked as she started to clear away the dishes from the table.

  Picking up the empty salad bowls he followed her to the kitchen and said he was definitely up for dessert.  She washed and rinsed the dishes while he loaded them into the dishwasher, once the clean up from that was done she pulled the cheesecake, berries and sauce from the fridge.

  Cutting a generous piece, she squirted the fruit puree across the slice and then added berries, grabbing only one fork they walked back to the table and sat down.  "Here" Ainsley said cutting into the creamy dessert, making sure she got fresh fruit on the fork and put it up to Angelo's lips; he grabbed her hand guiding the food to his mouth, their eyes never leaving the other.  He closed his eyes as he slowly savored the flavor.

  "That is fantastic, tesoro" he commented as she placed a bite in her mouth.  Oh it really was good!  The best one she'd made yet!  When they'd finished dessert she led him to the living room and over to the couch where when she tried to sit down Angelo pulled her into his lap, wrapping his arms around her slim waist.

  She leaned back against him taking all of him in; he smelled of expensive body wash and cologne and deciding to chance it, she turned her head slightly so she could place her lips on his.  Not sure what to expect she was so glad when his lips parted giving her entrance and allowing their tongues to dance and play.