Chocolate and Italian Wine (Music and Mayhem Book 1) by Lili Porter Read Free Book Online

didn’t hit me again because he was freaked out, too. He panicked and pulled the nail out and threw it. It hadn’t gone through all the way, but it hurt like hell. I was crying and screaming and holding my hand. I got up and started running to the house and was met by my mom and aunts, who were running toward me. One of my aunts had a dishtowel and wrapped it around my hand and then drove me into town to the hospital to get stitches. Well, when we got back, it wasn’t done, yet. My mom had kicked Mando’s butt and gave me one harsh scolding for being so stupid as to do what he said…and now, he’s Father Armando. He has a church in Brancaleone, Calabria. See, I still have my scar. Just like Jesus.”
    He raised his left hand to show her and she shivered. “I thought you said no visible scars?”
    “I’m so used to it that I think of it as more a part of me than anything else,” Paolo justified.
    “Oh my gawd!” she exclaimed. “That’s crazy. Are you two okay? You tight?”
    “Well, as tight as one can be with a priest. We’re fine, though. It’s a classic story, one that he’s told to his congregation and now, it’s also one I use when I’m trying to get to know the highly attractive Karisma Montgomery.”
    Karisma started laughing. “You have a way about you, Paolo, that’s for certain.” Then she shivered again, but from adrenaline, not a chill, but he didn’t take it that way.
    “Turn up the thermostat. Miss Montgomery is cold.” 
    “Si,” the waiter said and walked out. 
    “Now, you are the oldest of three, right?” he asked her.
    “Yes, there’s me, Karlton and Karla Ann. They’re twins, like your brothers,” she winked and sipped her champagne.
    “That’s quite the coincidence. So which of your parents’ name begins with a K?” he asked, his lips twitching with amusement.
    “Neither. They’re Liane and Vaughn. Go figure,” she shrugged her small shoulders. She brushed a wayward strand of hair from her face.
    He wanted to stroke her hair and face. Instead, he sat up, clearing his throat and said, “Your brother is a great football player. He plays for my alma mater.”
    “USC?” she asked, as if she didn’t already know.
    “Yep,” he nodded with a smile that showed all of his teeth. She smiled back at him and they gazed at one another a long while, feeling very comfortable in each other’s presence.
    Within a few minutes they were eating fried risotto balls and balsamic bruschetta. It was delicious and the light conversation was intoxicating to Karisma. Or was it the champagne? She wasn’t much of a drinker and she felt a tad bit light headed as she sipped down the last of her second glass. Lord, please don’t let me start giggling,  she thought. She set down the flute and reached for the water.
    “This food is amazing,” Karisma said. “I love it.”
    “We have some wonderful chefs. Why is it that you have never eaten here before?” Paolo asked.
    She looked into his jeweled eyes and what she felt wasn’t really curiosity about the question, so much as an intensity in him that was very alluring. He was focused on her, solely and completely, like she was the only woman in the world. 
    “I’m not sure, really. I’ve seen it before, and I probably intended to get in here at some point, but I can’t tell you what kept me from it. I’m  very  pleasantly surprised.”
    He licked his bottom lip in response to her statement and she wasn’t sure if that was a habit or a seductive move. Regardless, it was sexy as hell.
    “Well, I’m very happy that you’re here,” he said. “So tell me, Karisma Montgomery, how does it feel to have one of the most famous faces on the planet? Having the press ridiculously follow you around the way they do? What is it like to be you?”
    Karisma had heard that question a thousand times, but mostly from reporters. Not from someone like Paolo. She sensed that he didn’t have any angle other than getting to know her better. She