Smoke and Mirrors : Royal Angels I

Gentleman's playbook

~Victoria~

"Welcome to Casa Nostra. I will be your server tonight. Shall I list the specials, sir?"

Sir Biscuit was doing an exceptional job of reading the menu. I swear he studied the thing like he was prepping for the SATs.

"Sure."

He barely looked up as the man rattled out something very Italian. After a minute, Biscuit fluently held a conversation with the guy for a minute straight, still hiding behind the menu.

For all I knew he could have ordered me a McSpicy, French fries and a coke.

And honestly, I'd have cheered him on because stuffing my face with five billion calories sounded downright amazing.

"So what did you order?" I asked, as the waiter left.

He mumbled something that sounded like pasta carbonara, still looking at the menu.

I rolled my eyes.

"Are you going to read the menu all night, Biscuit?"

"Yep."

"And why is that?" I asked, knowing damn well I had Kiera to thank for that. "Is it because you can't handle a little heat?"

"Pffft." I could tell just from that, that I'd nailed it. "I'm trying to learn fancy ways to say stale bread. See, I'd like to try my hand at Masterchef."

"Right." I muttered. "Because all the cool kids are doing it."

"Damn straight."

I reached over and grabbed the card from him. I'd like to think we looked like exceptionally mature adults right then, playing tug of war with a menu.

Naturally, I won and stuck my tongue out at him.

He pursed his lips, caught between trying not to laugh and trying not to say something inappropriate.

"How about this?" I said, helping him out. "You say something stupid, I'll giggle like I have only one brain cell and we'll pretend it's okay to share each other's food. You get five free passes to look at my boobs and I'll even let you hold my hand because that's how dates work, right?"

Biscuit smiled.

"Pretty much."

"So will you play fair?" I held out my hand.

He shook it in all seriousness, but then he turned it over and kissed my ring. I arched an eyebrow.

"Piece of advice?" He said, his expression sultry. "You should never make a deal with the devil, Shortcake."

"That's cute." I smiled, despite the sudden wave of heat I felt. "And delusional. You're an angel."

He adjusted his tie, his piercing eyes holding back stormy skies.

"Well, so was the devil."

I swallowed, my mouth suddenly dry.