Educating Gina

Mike shook his head. “No, definitely not. She’s new to the city—”

“So are a third of the people in this store.” The security guard crossed his arms over his big round belly. “I ought to have you arrested.”

“That’s absurd. On what charge?”

“Anything happens in this store, like a theft or something, while you have us distracted, and I gotta believe you were in on it.”

Mike groaned. The guy had one hell of an imagination. “Look, I’m telling you the truth. She’s Italian and she doesn’t speak much English.”

“Guess what, pal? Half the people who live in the city don’t speak English.”

“Yeah, but—”

“Mike!”

At the sound of her voice, he spun around.

She ran to him and threw her arms around his waist, burying her face in his chest.

“Gina, are you okay?” He held her tightly and stroked her back when she refused to release him.

She mumbled something in Italian but wouldn’t look up.

Another security guard, tall and lanky, walked over and stood beside them. “She’s fine,” he said, exchanging a look with his paunchy co-worker then glancing around at the gathering crowd. “She just had a little fright, is all.”

“Those two guys have anything to do with it?” Mike asked, a fury rising in him he didn’t know he possessed.

She looked up. “They said you sent them to find me. That you had an accident.”

Mike stared down at her pale face. “Did they hurt you?”

She shook her head. “I punched the short skinny one.”

He swallowed a startled laugh and then glanced at the taller security guard. “Did you catch them?”

The man’s grim face was answer enough. “If you want to file a report, let’s go to the office.”

“No.” Gina straightened and stepped away from Mike. “We are going to Central Park.”

“But, Gina—”

“They ran. You will not catch them. And if Zio Antonio finds out what happened, I will be on a plane back to Italy.”

She had a point. Mike looked at the security guard again. The man shrugged. The other one was trying to break up the interested group of onlookers.

“I want to go now, please.” Her accent was heavier, probably because she was upset. In her eyes was an odd mixture of pleading and determination. Her mind was clearly made up.

“Okay, but you stick close to me. Got it?”

She nodded enthusiastically and slipped her arm through his.

He pulled her closer still, unsure of what he was more afraid of—her or the unknown.

“I WANT ANOTHER hot dog.” Gina dug into the pocket of her jeans for money. “And a Coca-Cola with lots of ice.”

“You’re going to be sick.”

She wrinkled her nose. “Why?”

“Because you’ve already had two Cokes, a hot dog and popcorn.”

“Yes, and?” She passed the vendor her money and then doused her hot dog with mustard and relish.

She had the most incredible appetite for a woman, especially one her size. Of course she did a good job of burning off calories. He got winded just watching her play Frisbee with the two twelve-year-old boys they’d met earlier. She ran and dove for her catches as if the free world depended on her.

No wonder she was in such excellent shape. The woman could move. Hell, she’d even gotten him off his ass to catch a few throws.

She took a big bite of the hot dog and ended up with mustard on the tip of her nose. He got it off with his thumb. She smiled and took a gulp of Coke. Not Diet Coke, but the real stuff.

That was another thing he liked about her. How she did everything with such gusto, totally unselfconscious. There was no worrying about how she looked or acted. When she got excited about something, the whole world knew it, and she didn’t seem to care.

And God knows, she got excited a lot. Her accent would get thick and she’d throw in a few Italian words. Mike understood some of them from listening to Antonio and his two brothers-in-law, Augie and Lorenzo, talking at the office.

“Let’s go find some shade.” He carried the bag with her skirt and the other pair of jeans they’d bought.

The sack with her lingerie purchase got lost in the scuffle she’d had with the two men, and Mike had to ruthlessly push the reminder aside. There was nothing he could do except get angrier than he could remember ever getting in his life.

It wasn’t only about being responsible for her welfare on Antonio’s behalf. But the idea that her trust and innocence could be stolen by two low-life jerks made his blood boil. That it could happen practically under his nose made him feel guilty as hell.

But to her credit, she was resilient. She hadn’t let the incident affect her mood. When Mike had mentioned how admirably she was handling things, she’d looked at him with round trusting eyes and said she’d never be frightened with him near to keep her safe.

Fool that he was, his ego had inflated like a balloon. And then headed straight back to guilt. What if something had happened to her? What if—

“We will sit here?” She stopped at an oak tree, its roots bulging from the ground. But that didn’t stop her from finding a narrow spot in the grass.

She plunked down and then patted the area beside her. He didn’t have much choice. He settled in close. Too close.

“I like Central Park very much.” She smiled at him. “We can come again, yes?”

“I don’t know. You wear me out.”

She frowned.

“I’m kidding.”

“Oh.” She took the last bite of her hot dog and wiped her mouth.

His gaze lingered on her lips. Moist and peach-colored, they alone got his adrenaline pumping. Her tongue darted out to swipe a tiny crumb from the corner of her mouth, and he had to look away.