For the Empire - Inganno

Chapter 65

He moves his hands to my face and neck and leans down to kiss me; I can hear the volume for the radio go up, and I smile against JP's lips as he deepens the kiss, and we continue kissing the entire way home.

"Alright, lovebirds," Joey calls out.

We pull apart, and I blink, taking in our surroundings; the ride home seemed to go by so fast. I shake my head out of the haze I'm in.

"I've gotta go meet with Timo but let's go out tonight, yes?" JP asks as we step out of the SUV.

"Sure, how should I dress?"

"Well, that depends. Do you want to take the bike or no?" He smiles at me, knowing I'll say the bike.

"Bike for sure," I tell him as we walk into the foyer of the house.

"I'll meet you down here in about an hour, then." He gives me a quick peck and heads to my Uncle's office.

I get ready quickly, check my email before I grab a book to read while I wait. I must have fallen asleep when I feel a hand on my cheek. I look up and see JP sitting next to me.

"Hey, sleeping beauty."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to fall asleep. I just didn't sleep very well the last couple of days." I tell him, stretching.

"You don't need to apologize, amore mio. You were tired, and we're staying in."

I sit up, shaking my head. "No, I want to go out."

"Another night, princess. Come on; I have a surprise for you." JP holds his hand out for me, and I take it excitedly. He grins at me as he leads me out of my room.

I finally take notice of how dark it is outside. "Dang, how long did I sleep for?"

"A few hours."

A few hours? I pull my phone out. "Why'd you let me sleep so long? We were supposed to leave three hours ago, JP."

"In my defense, I did try waking you up. But you were completely out, Char."

He stops before we walk into the kitchen. "Close your eyes." I raise my eyebrow at him. "Go on." He says.

I close my eyes, but he covers my eyes with one of his hands anyway, making me laugh as he leads me through the kitchen, heading towards the terrace.

"Open your eyes."

My eyes open, and I see a table with flowers and candles on it, and there are two heated serving plates on the table.

"What's this?" I ask him, smiling.

"I thought I'd cook for you." He pulls my chair out for me, and I sit down.

"You can cook?" I tease him, knowing he does.

"I may have picked up a few things from watching Carmela all these years." He smiles.

JP lifts the cover to the plate in front of me. "Gnocchi with Chicken Sausage and Tomatoes."

"It smells wonderful."

"Buon appetito." I watch as he sits down and pulls the napkin on his lap.

I take a bite, and I moan in pleasure of goodness, exploding in my mouth. "Wow, this is amazing, JP." I smile at him.

He chuckles at me.

"What?"

"Nothing, it's just I've always loved eating with you. You make a cute sound when you like what you're eating." JP's beautiful brown eyes look back at me so softly.