Chapter 13 - THE FIRST KISS WITHOUT FEAR
Gabriel invited Tessa to dinner.
Not at Ilvento.
Not at a private mansion.
At a small Sicilian restaurant in Brooklyn.
The owner was an elderly woman from Palermo.
She spoke the same dialect as Mr. Cosenza.
Tessa laughed with her for twenty minutes.
Gabriel watched.
He had never seen Tessa so relaxed.
After dinner, they walked along the waterfront.
Gabriel stopped.
“Tessa.”
She turned.
“Yes?”
He hesitated.
“I've wanted to ask you something for a long time.”
She smiled.
“That sounds dangerous.”
He laughed softly.
“Would you go on a real date with me?”
Tessa studied him.
“We just had dinner.”
“As friends.”
“And now?”
Gabriel looked at her.
“I'd like something more.”
Tessa's heart raced.
She had spent months seeing the man behind the reputation.
The grief.
The restraint.
The effort to change.
She stepped closer.
“Then ask me properly.”
Gabriel smiled.
“Tessa, may I kiss you?”
She nodded.
“Yes.”
He kissed her beneath the city lights.
May you like
And for the first time, Tessa didn't feel like a ghost.
She felt seen.
