“I like it.”
A smile creased his face. “It’s nice to meet you too, Cari.” He turned to Daniel. “Sit anywhere you like. The lunch rush is over, so you have your pick.”
He grabbed two menus from beneath the hostess station and handed them to us. “I’ll send Remi out in a bit to get your order. Help yourself to drinks at the soda fountain.”
“Thanks, Sam,” Daniel said, taking the menus.
The man nodded and walked toward the back of the restaurant. There were a handful of other diners. A couple in one corner, talking softly as they ate. Two women against one wall and a single man at a small table near the front window.
Daniel led me to the round booth furthest from all of them, but I could feel curious eyes on me.
He slid into one side of the booth, and I took the other. The round shape put us closer than I preferred, but I’d promised him a truce.
I opened the menu and saw that the restaurant served far more than pizza. A long list of Italian and Greek dishes greeted me. My mouth watered as I read through the list.
“Wow,” I whispered.
“Everything Sam and Remi make is delicious, but their pizza is the best.”
I looked at Daniel. “I’m not sure I want pizza anymore.”
He smiled. “Just try it. We’ll pick up Greek for dinner.”
I lowered my eyes back to the menu, trying to ignore how handsome he was in the dim light. It wasn’t fair that my kidnapper had to be hot, too.
It made me far too aware of the term “Stockholm Syndrome.”
I would not be like the women in the books I read. I would not fall for the guy who held me hostage and handcuffed me to things.
That was fiction and, yes, kind of sexy on paper.
In real life, it was terrifying. Even if your captor was good-looking and made sure you were comfortable and fed.
Dammit. There I went again.
I focused on the menu. Margherita pizza. Hmmm. That sounded good. And a big salad with banana peppers, olives, parmesan, and red onions.
My stomach growled. I heard Daniel’s soft laugh behind his menu, but I ignored it.
Two glasses of water hit the table between us with a thump and I jumped, my gaze jumping up to another tall, slim man. His apron was black and pristine, and his hair was as fair as Sam’s was dark.
“We don’t scare easily, Remi,” Daniel drawled without looking up from his menu.
“Speak for yourself,” I mumbled.
The man, Remi, smiled and I realized his eyes were utterly black, just like Sam’s. I was dying to ask Daniel what sort of supernatural species these guys were, but I knew it would have to wait because, if their hearing was anything like Daniel’s, I didn’t want to draw anymore attention to myself.
“Sorry. I’m Remi,” he said.
“Cari,” I replied. I tried not to stare when he leaned forward into the light above the table. His face was almost as beautiful as Daniel’s.
Almost, but not quite.
“So, how long are you in town for, Cari?” he asked, a dimple appearing in one cheek.
I opened my mouth to tell him I wasn’t sure, but I never got to say anything.
“Stop flirting, Remi. She’s staying with me.”
