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Chapter 35

Emily stepped into the lobby of the trendy restaurant and immediately spotted Dante. The man looked even better than she remembered and she had no idea how that was possible. Brushing a hand down the front of her dress, to remove imaginary wrinkles, she silently gave herself a pep talk. Her track record with men could not be called good. But still she refused to give up on finding the right guy. Maybe it was Dante and maybe it wasn't what mattered was that she hadn't closed her heart after Nicholas broke it.

Since he hadn't spotted her yet she took the opportunity to study him. He had a muscular build that was highlighted by his custom-made suit. A bit pricey for an ADA but she was a resident and drove a Mercedes so who was she to talk. Dark brown hair and the same color eyes with golden skin that announced his Italian heritage. The man really was yummy and for the next few hours all hers.

"Enough stalling." She muttered to herself. Walking over her eyes snagged his in the mirror and instead of turning to face her he simply watched her in the glass. How sexy was that? When she was directly behind him he finally turned to face her.

"Doctor Emily, you look beautiful." She really was stunning. Several heads had turned when she walked in. "That shade of blue looks wonderful on you."

"Thank you." The electric blue wrap dress was simple and elegant. Both she and Elizabeth had given it two thumbs up. "It was tough choice between this and the scrubs."

He laughed at her joke. "I kinda have a special place in my heart for the scrubs."

The man was all kinds of smooth. "Is that right?"

"Yes ma'am it is." Dante stood and offered her his arm. "Shall we?" It was time to sit down and really get to know one another. If Morgan was going to kill him for taking Emily out he planned on making the evening count.

"How did I let you talk me into this again?" Francis asked Elizabeth as they got out of the car in front of the house.

"Talk you into what? It's not like we killed someone and dumped them in the woods. We haven't done anything wrong." Elizabeth said placing her hands on her hips and stared at her friend.

"We left Port Charles without telling Jason." Francis pointed out.

"We were thirty minutes outside the city limits." Elizabeth said as the moved to the rear of the SUV. "Jason takes me further out on the bike."

"Yes because you're with him. We aren't supposed to take you out of the city limits without notifying him first. Add to that what you did when we got there." Jason was going to skin him alive.

"I didn't do anything wrong." She repeated opening the rear hatch.

"Jason hates surprises." Francis reminded her as he hefted one of the large crates.

"That's just at work." Elizabeth reached into the back of the SUV. "He loves my surprises." Mostly because they usually involved sex.

"Don't even think of lifting that." Francis said returning from the porch. "He's also gonna be mad because I kept you out late."

"It's seven." Elizabeth realized that Emily should be sitting down to dinner. She hoped everything went well.

"We've been gone since five thirty." They'd left on this mystery mission right after dinner. Jason had already called him three times. "I almost told him what you were doing."

"Francis Anthony Corelli, if you ruin this surprise for me I will never forgive you." Elizabeth said wagging her finger.

Francis actually cringed. He had fifteen years on her but having a mom say all three names brought out a knee jerk guilty reaction. "I didn't. Let's get you inside it's cold."

She huffed. The guys were driving her crazy. Pregnant did not mean fragile. She sneezed the other day and Johnny called Jason. "Fine let's go." She really couldn't wait to see Jason and Cameron's reactions.

Jason was sitting at the table with Cameron, Cody and Johnny. All three men had invoices in front of them. Cameron also had a piece of paper and a bright blue highlighter. "I's helping Momma!" He yelled across the room.

The guys all stood up and Elizabeth waved them back down. "Let me see." Her son handed her an inventory list that was covered in bright blue lines. "Good job." She smiled at Jason he was so going to get something good for this. Her son just grinned at her.

"How was your trip?" Jason asked after she gave him a quick kiss. He still had no idea where she and Francis went. He'd told the older man to fess up and Francis had said he was more afraid of Elizabeth than him.

"Great. No Sonny tonight?" She asked, just lately he always seemed to be over.

"He took Kate out to dinner." Jason told Elizabeth. She was starting to glow with her pregnancy.

"Out to dinner. Where?" She thought she had an inkling. "Tell me you didn't."

"Didn't what?" Jason asked innocently.

"Send him to the same restaurant that Emily is at." Jason had agreed to his sister's request to not take a guard on her date. Elizabeth was still trying to figure out why he gave in to the request so easily.

"I wouldn't do that." He hadn't. However he did send Max and Milo to have dinner on him. He knew Dante wouldn't let anything happen to Emily, but back up never hurt.

"Alright. I have a surprise for you and Cam." She said clapping her hands together.

"Really?" Jason looked less than enthusiastic.

"Surprise!" Cameron said standing in his seat.

"Yes a surprise. Okay Frannie." Elizabeth yelled to her friend who was standing by the front door. It took a few minutes but they finally heard the scrambling of nails on the hardwood floor.

"Doggie!" Cameron climbed across Jason and jumped down the floor. The puppy immediately starting licking the little boy who giggled in delight.

"You got him a dog." Jason said starting to smile. The reddish-brown ball of fur had about as much energy as Cam.

"I did. Frannie?" She called out again.

"I'm working on it." He called back. "In coming." He warned her.

More scrambling of nails across the hardwood floor brought another dog into the kitchen. "More doggies!" Cam yelled in excitement. This was the best day ever.

"You got him two dogs?" Jason asked wondering why she felt he needed to get two dogs.

"What kind of dog is the red one? I don't recognize the breed." Cody asked from the table.

"That one is a Bull Mastiff." She said of the dog licking Cam. She turned to her fiancé. "The tan one is an English Mastiff and that one is your dog." At the joy that came onto his face she knew she'd made the right decision.

"You got me a dog?" Jason hadn't ever owned a pet before. He really liked dogs but hadn't ever thought to get one.

"She got you a horse, those things are huge." Johnny said watching the two dogs pretty much trample Cam.

"Cam's dog will be smaller than yours but they'll both be pretty big. They are excellent watchdogs and family companions." She'd done her research. "They are eight weeks old and trained."

"They are already trained?" Jason was liking this more and more.

"Yup. Watch." She clapped her hands twice and instantly both dogs stood at attention and looked at her. She pointed at them and they sat. She pointed to the floor and they lay down. Placing her hand at her shoulder she dropped it snapping her fingers and both dogs growled low. "Patrol!" She shouted and the dogs were off like a shoot running through the downstairs while Cam chased after. They came back to where they started standing at attention once more. Elizabeth gave Cam two biscuits and every one watched as the dogs gently took the treats.

"That was impressive." Cody really liked the look of the dogs.

"You will need to take them both on a tour of the grounds, but once you do they can patrol together." Elizabeth was very pleased with herself.

"What should we name them?" Jason asked Cam.

"Actually they already have names. Look at the tags." Both dogs were wearing black collars with a variety of medallions hanging from them.

"Mines is Charwie." Cam said thrilled that his dog was named after his favorite train. "What's yours named Daddy?"

"Thor." Jason said laughing. "The god of thunder. Thank you baby." He said rising and giving her another kiss. "Did you get things for them?"

"It's all in the car." Bowls, food, beds and everything else they would need. But Francis was already standing there with two leashes.

"Come on Cam, let's walk the dogs and then you can help unload the car." Jason grabbed his son and showed him how to attach the lead. The two puppies automatically heeled as they walked with their new masters.

"Jason Morgan dog owner. Never thought I'd see the day." Johnny said shaking his head. Jason had no idea how lucky he was. After thinking on it a minute or two he changed his mind. Jason did know that was why he was doing so much to make sure nothing threatened it. "Let's get the car unloaded."

Dante walked Emily to her car after dinner. He couldn't remember having a better time on a date. The woman beside him was smart, funny and a natural-born smartass. Add to that her beauty and you had the total package. He wanted to see her again but was already seeing a potential pitfall. Ric was going down that was certain and when he did Dante's role in it might come out. As might Ric's agenda where Emily was concerned. He never wanted her to think he was using her. Yet he couldn't tell her what was going on. "I had a great time tonight." He said once they reached the vehicle.

"Me too." She wondered if he was going to kiss her. Or ask her out. She really wanted him to ask her out.

"Would you like to maybe do this again sometime?" Dante would find a way to get in touch with Morgan and get his take on things. If possible he wanted Emily in the loop.

"I would love to." Inside she was doing a happy dance.

"Should I call you to set up a time or would you like to plan it now?" They were both busy in their professional lives but Ric said that Dante could have off whenever Emily was free.

"I'm free next Thursday if that works for you." That was the second of her three days off.

"I will find a way to make that work." Dante assured her. "Dinner and a movie this time? Or maybe dinner and dancing." He watched her eyes light up. "The second one it is."

"I love to dance." She admitted smiling wide.

"May I pick you up this time?" Dante wasn't sure if she would be comfortable with that just yet.

"Sure. I'll leave my address on your voicemail." She told him.

"Alright then." When she unlocked the car he opened the door for her.

"Drive careful Doctor Emily." He said flashing her that brilliant smile again.

"Night." She waved as she pulled off. It wasn't lost on her that Max and Milo excited the restaurant at the same time as she did and were now following her. Jason had sent guards but they hadn't been at all intrusive so she would let it slid. It was nice that he cared so much for her she just didn't want him scaring Dante off.

Once she got home she would call Elizabeth and tell her all about the wonderful night and see how the dogs went over. Cam would most likely be too excited to even want to sleep, but Jason would be stunned. She hoped Elizabeth took some pictures. She turned onto the drive and past the gate, the Giambetti brothers kept going no doubt reporting in. It was a great night and she had another date to look forward to.

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