Page 79 of My Favorite Kidnapper

“Your expensive or mine?”

“I wanted you to have it. I want you to enjoy it.”

She turned in my arms. “I’ll never take it off.”

“Good.”

* * *

The two couples we met with for dinner looked shocked when I introduced Brianna.

“My girlfriend, Brianna. This is George and Irene. Burton and Stacey.”

She was nervous but polite, shaking their hands and sitting beside me, her shoulders back and a smile on her face. Stacey complimented Brianna on her necklace, and her fingers drifted to the sparkling bee. “It was a gift from Dante.”

“So unique. Do you like bees?”

“Yes,” she replied.

“Brianna reminds me of a little bee. Industrious and hardworking,” I offered.

“Oh, what do you do?” Irene asked.

Brianna hesitated, and I leaned forward, offering a wide smile. “She’s a master chef. A baker. Her creations are highly sought-after in Toronto. Look.” I showed some pictures I had taken of the tree she had created for Carolina, as well as some of her creations in my kitchen. “Works of art,” I insisted. “And they taste as good as they look.”

Everyone commented, making Brianna blush.

“How did you meet?”

“At a wedding. He liked my cake, and he kidnapped me and brought me here,” Brianna said. “Drugged me and dragged me on to a plane. Smuggled in my cat, too.”

I sputtered into my whiskey.

What the hell was she doing?

For a moment, there was silence, then Stacey spoke up, bewilderment coloring her voice. “Dante kidnapped you…and your cat?”

“Well, catnapped her, really. She is still in shock. She lies on the patio, eating fresh tuna and wondering what she ever did to deserve such inhumane treatment.” Brianna sighed dramatically. “I watch her from the lounger in the pool as I drink mimosas and pity us. It is truly awful. No one to rescue us. He is relentless. Demanding cakes and cookies. Ravishing me all the time.”

I watched realization dawn on their faces, and they all began to laugh. Irene leaned over.

“Do you want to be rescued?” she asked in a pseudo-whisper. “I could trade places with you.”

“No, I could never ask someone to bear this torture. I must endure.” She looked at me and winked. “Besides, I like the pool at the villa, and Dante is pretty good as kidnappers go. Easy on the eyes and such. He even makes dinner on occasion.”

Again, there was a lot of laughter. George clapped me on the shoulder. “I bet she keeps you on your toes.”

“That she does,” I agreed. “I never know what she is going to say next.” I pulled her close and kissed her head. “You are going to pay for that later, Little Bee.”

“I hope so,” she whispered. “Highly sought-after? Really?”

“You are,” I insisted. “By me.”

She laughed and kissed me.

Her supposed joke broke the ice, and it set the tone for the evening. The women wanted to know about her baking, and they all chatted. I spoke to the men at length about the gallery and its direction. I had few investors left since I had bought them out, but I trusted these men, and they trusted me. It was pleasant and easy and was more social than anything. They were rarely in Naples and I was rarely in Canada, so it was good to catch up in person.

Walking home in the dark night, I wrapped my arm around her, nestling her close to my side.