Free The Devil Served Desire by Shirley Jump

thought you could use my address."
    "She gave it to me when I left. Rather... forcefully." He smiled and for a second, Maria forgot about the pizza.
    "That's my mother. Always willing to go to great lengths to see the continuation of the family line."
    Dante chuckled. "I stopped by to apologize."
    "For what?"
    "For showing up like that. I shouldn't have gone to your mother's and ambushed you."
    "That's okay, you made Mamma's day. Gave her hope that she won't die without grandchildren."
    He grinned. "Has she set a date?"
    "Knowing Mamma, the church is already booked and the priest has been paid in advance." She straightened, crossing her arms over her chest. Dante's gaze went with the movement. Clearly, apologies weren't the only thing on his mind. "Tell me you aren't here to propose."
    "No." He put up both hands, warding off the words. " Definitely not."
    Gee, he sure knew how to make a girl feel wanted. Not that she'd wanted him to propose, but still, it would be nice if he did. Then she could reject him and add a notch to her ego. The battle with the Twinkies and Antonio's skinny dipping question had pretty much destroyed any self-esteem she'd had when she'd woken up this morning.
    "Shouldn't you be at your restaurant right now?" Maria asked.
    "I have an hour and a half until it starts getting busy. I left Vinny in charge."
    "You did? But I thought—"
    "Don't worry. Franco's in the kitchen with him, a fire extinguisher at the ready. If Vinny gets the slightest bit overzealous with the pilot lights, Franco will foam him down."
    She laughed at the image of Franco hovering over the pyromaniac sous chef. "So you came all the way over here, right before your dinner hour, merely to apologize?"
    He took a step forward, his dark gaze connecting with hers, teasing at her senses. If Hostess could bottle the look in Dante's eyes, they'd have world dominance over the snack food market
    Maria reminded herself to breathe.
    "I want more," he said.
    "More?" She swallowed. "What kind of more?"
    "Dinner. At my restaurant you and me." His grin arched up on one side, exposing a dimple that made her knees weak. She'd always been a sucker for a man with a dimple in his grin. "No critics, no one else. Just a meal to remember."
    Oh, damn. And she'd thought the Twinkies had been tempting. They had nothing over this offer. He was handing her an entire meal. Probably with him as the appetizer and the dessert.
    He'd caught her at her weakest. Her willpower had fallen and wouldn't get back up. She wanted the Twinkies. She wanted the Cheez Whiz.
    She wanted Dante.
    In the back of her mind, she could still hear the foods in the cabinet Eat us. One quick bite. Do the diet tomorrow. Eat—
    "Actually, you could give me a ride," Maria said quickly. "I'm going that way and could save some walking."
    "You want to go to Vita? Now?"
    "No! Not now." Twenty pounds from now... maybe. She cast another glance at the smorgasbord of color in her kitchen—
    Maria, we're here. Waiting in the cupboards—
    "I... I have another place to go," she said, grabbing her coat off the hook, then scooping up her keys and purse from the hall table. Before she could change her mind and make a headlong dash for Doritos, Maria stepped out of the apartment and shut the door. Firmly. "Let's go."
    "Where?"
    The pizza guy came striding back down the hall, his bag now empty, but still holding the scent of its earlier cheesy gift.
    "Away from temptation," Maria said. "Far, far away."
    Then she glanced over at Dante's profile and realized she'd just exchanged one temptation for another.
    Oh, shit.
     
     
    Dante hadn't intended to go to Maria's apartment tonight He should be kicking himself for leaving the restaurant when he should be cooking.
    But the slip of paper Mamma had given him with Maria's address on it had been burning a hole in his pocket all day. Whenever he'd had a second, he'd slipped his hand into the gabardine trousers and touched the edges of the note, as if he could touch