Page 78 of Out of the Gold

We return to our chairs and our meals are delivered a minute later. I pour her another glass of wine, but ask for water for myself since I’m driving. Picking up a slice of pizza, I take a huge bite while she tastes her dinner.

“Oh my, this is totally delicious!”

“My pizza rocks, too.” I hold out my slice toward her. “Wanna taste?”

She leans forward and opens her mouth, then closes it on my pizza. My cock takes note. Adjusting my lower half, I ask, “Am I right?”

She swallows. “Yes, that is awesome. Here.” She twirls some pasta around her fork and holds it out for me.

I accept the proffered sample and wash it down with the remainder of my wine. “That’s fantastic. Not heavy like I expected.”

We devour the rest of our meals, enjoying simply being with each other. With her, I’m a regular guy. I don’t have to play any role. She’s helped me get back in touch with who I am. Who I’m afraid to let be seen.

Dishes cleared, she kisses my lips, her tongue licking mine. “You’re not at all what I had expected, you know.”

My eyebrow lifts. “Really? What did you expect?”

“More like the guy you were at first. Arrogant. Cocky. Annoying.”

“Ouch. You wound me,madam.”

“You’ve made a lot of progress.”

“Hmmm. I don’t think I ever was those things. I think you were mistaken. I’ve always been a sweet, loveable kitty cat.”

“Kitty cat?” She rolls her eyes. “Yeah, that’s you all right.” She finishes her wine. “I like the real Charles, thank you very much. The art minor. The hard-hitting actor. The violin player.”

At her description of me—therealme—I recoil against my seat, even though she echoes my earlier thoughts. I remove some crumbs from our table. “How about we keep this our dirty little secret?”

“I can understand wanting to keep a part of yourself private. Hell, I’ve had a front-row seat to how my dad’s handled being in the public eye.” She lowers her voice. “There’s a difference between privacy and hiding.”

Like a whip, my response is fast and surgical. “I haven’t been hiding.” I smooth out my eyebrows. “I don’t like to advertise who I really am. Doesn’t go with my reputation, you know.” I rise. “Are you ready to head back?”

“Charles, I didn’t mean anything—”

I motion for her to stand and soften the tone of my voice. “I know. Let’s get going. We still have a drive before we get to Ravello.” To take the sting out of my outburst, I kiss her full on the mouth until she clings to my shoulders.

I wrap my arm around her waist while Cush thanks us for enjoying his restaurant. I sign a menu and take photos with him and the entire wait staff. Leaving a pile of euros on the table, I escort Melody to the car and resume our ride.

My phone rings. “It’s Thomas.” I look at Melody. “Should I answer it?”

“Yeah, he might have something important to tell you.”

Taking her advice, I press the button for the car’s Bluetooth to link the call. “Hey, how are you feeling?”

“I’m doing better. A lot better than some, that’s for sure. How are you?”

“Good. I managed to escape the dreaded bug and got the hell out of Dodge.” I place my hand on Melody’s knee. “Is everything still in order?”

“Yeah, boss. Even with this little break, nothing got all wonky. Except—”

Thomas does love his theatrics. Perhaps I should encourage him to get in the acting game? But for now, I call his tease. “What happened?”

“I haven’t seen Tina at all.”

I chuckle at the mention of the set makeup artist who caught his eye. Under my hand, Melody moves her leg and emits a long sigh.

“Sorry, dude. Was she sick?”

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