The Tycoon's Unexpected Baby (The Abbot Sisters #3) - Elizabeth Lennox Page 0,7

mark in her favor and his fascination increased. “What would you suggest?” he asked.

Her eyes lit up and his body tightened with arousal. He wanted to pull her onto his lap and make love to her right here, right now. Dimitri had always scorned the idea of sex in the back of a limousine, thinking it cliché and trite. But with Pepper Abbot, he wasn’t sure he could control himself.

“There’s a really good Italian place right around the next corner. I eat there at least once a week,” she told him, as her hand slipped down over her softly rounded stomach. “I can attest that the food is amazing!”

Dimitri sensed that she was self-conscious of her stomach, but his eyes followed her hand, his mouth going dry at the temptation of that soft, sexy stomach. She was lush and beautiful, round in all the right places. There wouldn’t be any bones poking him when he finally got her naked and into his bed.

Pulling his eyes away with difficulty, wondering if she’d bewitched him somehow, he sighed. “Fine,” he snapped. “Give my driver directions.”

He pressed a button that rolled down the partition separating them from the drivers’ area. “Change of plans,” Dimitri warned his driver.

The lovely Ms. Abbot leaned forward, giving him an excellent view of her round, enticing derriere as she gave additional directions to his driver. “Just turn left at the next corner. The restaurant is right there.”

A moment later, the limousine slowed to a smooth stop right outside of a small Italian bistro. There were red-checked curtains on the windows, and the black paint was chipped around the edges of the doorway. It had obviously been painted over several times, without the previous layers being stripped away, so the newest layer of paint showed all of the chips and gouges from the years of abuse. There was a tile floor entryway, but several of the tiles along the edges were cracked and chipped, leaving gaps in the floor.

It wasn’t the sort of place Dimitri normally dined. Following her inside, he was just about to tell her that this restaurant wasn’t acceptable.

But as soon as they stepped into the fragrant warmth of the small restaurant, Dimitri had to admit that he was tempted. There was the tangy scent of garlic, of course, and he could also smell fresh basil and…was that mint? He’d never associated mint with Italian food, but it mingled with the other scents, tempting and intriguing him.

“Pepper!” a big, jovial man with a white apron called from the back. There was a buzz of conversation from the other patrons since most of the tables were already filled. “And you bring a man! Finally!” The man threw his hands in the air as if this event was of monumental importance.

Pepper laughed, going up on her toes to kiss the man on both cheeks before turning to introduce Dimitri. “Dimitri, this is Tony Salivora. He’s the owner of this fine establishment and makes the absolute best pizza and pasta in the city!” She turned to Dimitri. “Tony, this is my…friend, Dimitri Bosalis. He’s never been here, so you have to be nice to him.”

Tony laughed as only an Italian man could, hugging Pepper close as if she were his long-lost daughter.

In response, Dimitri’s fingers curled into fists, wanting to punch the man for daring to be so familiar with Pepper, even though he knew that he didn’t have a claim to her.

Yet!

The word popped into his mind and he reeled in reaction. What the hell did “yet” mean? Dimitri wasn’t a possessive man! He preferred his privacy and hadn’t ever considered allowing a woman into his life beyond just an affair. But “yet” implied something more than an affair. It implied that he wanted…more! Dimitri never wanted more than a casual affair!

While Dimitri tried to figure out what the hell was going on in his head, the restaurant owner led them over to a corner table by the window. “I bring you the usual?” he asked, teasing Pepper.

“Absolutely!” she replied, beaming up at the fatherly restaurant owner. “Dimitri will have your lobster ravioli.”

Dimitri leaned back in his chair, lifting a dark eyebrow towards her. “I will?”

She nodded seriously and, for the first time, he noticed her pointed chin. He’d been so obsessed with her intensely blue eyes that he’d barely registered her other facial features. Well, he’d noticed her lips because…well, just because. And her nose. She had a cute nose. The nose was cute, and her lips