Romantic Acquisition Read Online Free Page A

decorated with little, white lights. 
     
    “I didn’t know there was a restaurant here,” she said, taking the offered menu and looking around with awe at the beautiful Italian décor.  The walls were done up to look like a rustic, Italian villa and the tables were covered in red and w hite checkered table cloth s.  The waiters were running around efficiently delivering food but were dressed in immaculate tuxedos.
     
    “I don’t know how they stay so clean,” she said, laughing at herself.
     
    “Who?” Carlo asked, his menu by his side as he watched her. 
     
    “The waiters,” she said, nodding to one who was carrying a load of plates high over his head.  “I love to cook but when I do, the whole kitchen is covered in whatever I’m cooking.  It takes longer to clean up than it does to prepare and cook whatever I’ve decided to make,” she laughed.  “I bet you’re a perfectly clean cook, aren’t you?”
     
    “What do you mean by ‘clean’?” he asked, a small smile on his face.  He could imagine this ball of energy throwing a meal together, her face covered in flour and every part of the kitchen doused as well. 
     
    “I bet you wash every dish right after you cook and you never get anything where it isn’t supposed to go,” she said.  Glancing down at his perfectly tailored suit, she slanted him a look.  “ Actually, I’m guessing y ou don’t cook at all, do you?”
     
    Carlo smiled.  “No, not really.”
     
    “Do you at least make your own coffee in the morning?”
     
    He raised one eyebrow.  “Coffee?”
     
    “You do that a lot, did you know that?”
     
    “What?” he asked.
     
    “Raise that eyebrow.  You’re back to thinking I’m an idiot.  But that’s okay.  I like cooking and I think it is fun.  I think everything in life should be fun,” she explained and shrugged her question away.   Kate looked down at her menu and tried to ignore the man staring at her from across the table.  She bit her lip, wishing she could present a more sophisticated image to him.  He was probably used to dating very elegant society ladies who were worldly and full of sophistication .  She decided that Carlo needed someone who would make him laugh.  He was definitely too serious.
     
    The waiter came and took their dinner order.  Kate requested a plate of pasta with a cream sauce and fresh vegetables and Carlo ordered the chicken parmesan . 
     
    “Would you like something from the bar?” the waiter asked.
     
    Kate started to shake her head but Carlo ignored her.  “The lady will have…” he looked over at her and considered her for a moment, “A chocolate martini.  I’ll have a bourbon on the rocks.”
     
    Kate laughed.  “That sounds interesti ng.  I usually have a marguerita but a chocolate martini sounds wonderful.”
     
    “You look like a chocolate martini kind of person,” he said.
     
    “Why do you say that?” she asked, curious about what he thought of her.
     
    Unfortunately, he just shrugged his shoulders instead of answering her. 
     
    Kate watched him.  “Are you always so calm and in control?”
     
    “Yes ,” he said without hesitation .  “ Is that a bad thing?”
     
    “No, just an observation.”
     
    “How would you describe yourself?”
     
    “No, that’s not fair.  How would you describe me?  I described you,” she said and plucked a breadstick out of the basket to munch on. 
     
    Carlo leaned back in his chair and considered her for a moment.  He knew exactly how he would describe her but wasn’t sure she would appreciate his observation so early in their relationship.  It also gave him time to just look at her lively face.  “You’re not calm but very in control,” he replied.
     
    Kate’s eyes registered her shock.  That wasn’t what she was expecting.  Most people thought of her as a little chaotic but he saw something else in her.  For some reason, that terrified her. 
     
    “What makes you say that?”