exit stairs. Her skirts caught. As she reached to free them a familiar voice stopped her.
"Going someplace?"
She looked up and went cold.
Tonio stood at the bottom of the stairs, blocking her way, fury snapping in his eyes. Without a word he stepped up, grabbed her arm, and pulled her along into a pair of seats. He was tall and strong. Resisting him was futile and would only cause a scene. But there was still a chance—
"I…I need to use the bathroom."
He pulled her ticket from her tight grip and pointed to a small cubicle at the back of the car. "Go right ahead."
The train lurched forward. She sat down, defeated. "Why bother to escort me? Why not just let me go? It would be much less trouble for you."
"I like trouble." He looked out across the aisle and through the window as the Jersey City depot disappeared behind them.
"Just what was your plan?" Tonio glared at her.
"I was going to get off and exchange my ticket for a later train."
"And did this idea just spring to mind, or had you planned it all along?"
There was no reason to keep the truth from him. "Originally, I planned to ask you for my ticket. Once we were seated I was going to excuse myself to use the bathroom and freshen up. Then I was going to get off the train and exchange my ticket. I figured you wouldn't notice until the train had pulled away and it was too late. But when we had to hurry to catch the train, I had to think on my feet."
"You don't give me much credit for brains." He stared hard at her, his head cocked a little to the side. "Why run?"
She shrugged, unable to admit to her attraction to him and the slight to her honor at being beholden to a stranger. "How did you know I was trying to get off?"
"I saw you through the window, scuttling down the aisle like a lady with a bee up her ass. I figured you weren't in that big a hurry to find a seat."
"Very observant."
"You don't like me much." His voice didn't give any emotion away.
"I like you fine." She liked him too much.
"But you don't trust me."
She didn't trust herself. Angelina tried not to squirm under his heavy gaze. "I'm tired of being beholden to others, that's all. I want to take care of myself."
"Is that all? Get over the notion. I promised Nonna and Mario that I would take care of you. And I will. I'm a man of my word."
She felt his gentle touch on her arm.
"Come on. Let's get something to eat. You complained you were hungry over an hour ago, or was that subterfuge, too?"
"It was, and I am. But I have a bag of food that Lucia, Mario's wife, packed for me."
"Leave it. We'll eat it later. This one's on me."
She turned to face him and was caught by his dark, devastating eyes. She stared into them a moment too long. She could be prisoner of those eyes forever. She dropped her gaze. If ever Papa had to worry over a man ruining her…
The cafe car was dark and dimly lit. Outside it had started to rain. Tonio ordered at the counter next to the grill and returned to the table with their food. Angelina felt his gaze on her as she dusted away crumbs left by the table's last occupants. When they were both seated, he took a drink of his beer and watched her intently as she took a bite of her grilled sandwich. She crinkled her nose without thinking.
"You don't like American food?"
"I do. But not this. It tastes like the grill."
"So you don't just eat bread and beans. Good southern food."
Angelina laughed. "No."
They ate in silence for a moment. She felt his gaze on her, but didn't look up to meet it. At last he spoke, "I think it's fair if I ask—why was your first escort denied entry?"
"Paolo got trachoma on the ship over."
"Paolo?"
"My husband's youngest brother. He's twenty-five, but he acts more like fifteen. I was at Mario's about a week when I ran into a man I'd met on the boat. He told me Paolo had been boasting about how he was going thwart immigration and jump ship and swim ashore."
"Did he?"
"He never showed up." She grimaced. "I doubt he did. He doesn't have the courage."
"Wise man. Some poor fool tries every year and inevitably his body washes up on the beach,