He lifted the bottle to his lips once more then raised his arm to catch the attention of a waiter. “Another tall glass of juice for you?” he asked, nodding at her almost full glass. “Or something stronger?”
It was tempting, but really, she didn’t need anything strong. Or rather, she feared it might loosen her reserve. “This is fine,” she said.
“Is that an American accent?” she asked.
He nodded. “Born and raised in Boston. Have you ever been to the States?”
She shook her head. “One day, I hope to. A good friend of mine comes from Denver but she’s living here now. She met someone while she was on holiday in Verona and they’re getting married in a few months.”
“That sounds like a fairy tale.”
“Very much so. If you knew them, you would think it too. Although I don’t suppose men believe much in fairytales.”
“And you do?” he asked, raising an eyebrow. “Fairy tales are for kids.”
“I guess they are. Actually, I must tell her fiancé about the floating pool here. He’s in the hotel business too and is looking to open a new hotel in Ravenna soon.”
“Have you tried the floating pool?”
“We swam in it yesterday. Have you?”
He nodded. She hoped he wasn’t going to ask her if she wanted to take a swim. If he saw her in her bikini now she’d be more self-conscious than ever.
“I managed to find some time away from the wedding.”
“How long are you over for?”
“I don’t’ have a time limit,” he said. “I'm traveling. The only reason I stayed here was for the wedding.”
“Traveling?” she asked curiously.
“I was in Switzerland, then France for about eighteen months.”
“Eighteen months?”
“And I’ve been in Italy for almost as long. Mainly the north. But I have plans to go south by the end of it.”
“Which parts have you been to?”
“Turin, Genoa, Parma and Padua. I can’t remember the other places. There were many others. After a while you lose track.”
She was impressed. He continued, “I’m hoping to go to Sicily, Amalfi and Portofino at some point and I’ll have to add Verona to my list, now that I know you’re near there.”
She nodded and wondered if she would ever see him again. “It sounds intriguing, to be able to do that.”
“Anyone can do it.”
“Travel?” She shook her head. “I’m not sure I agree with that.”
“You’re free to do whatever you want.”
“It depends, if you have dependants and commitments then I doubt that the decision would be an easy one.”
“You mean children and a partner?” he asked.
It wasn’t what she’d been thinking. But now that he mentioned it. “That would be one reason.” As well as a job, a career, a business. Not everyone could take off as easily.
“Is that the reason you wouldn’t consider it?” His blue eyes held her captive.
“I never said I wouldn’t consider it.” She’d bypassed his question entirely.
“But you sounded as though it wasn’t something you could do.”
Were they already disagreeing about something?
“I’m saying that not everyone can up and leave.” She took a sip of her juice, wishing now that she had ordered something stronger. A cocktail even. She’d annoyed him, but she wasn’t sure why. Behind that oh-so-handsome facade was something she couldn’t put her finger on.
“I did.”
She tried to laugh. “Maybe you’re different.” She instantly regretted her choice of words. “Special,” she said, trying to recover. The conversation had taken a nosedive to hell.
“Shall we start again, Andrea?” She couldn’t help but stare at his wide shoulders. The outline of his hard chest against that tight t-shirt had her looking a moment longer than she should have been.
“Let’s.” Like him, she wanted to return to pleasantries and to make the most of this evening.
“There are so many beautiful parts to your country,” he told her. “I think I’ve fallen in love with almost every place I’ve been to.” All the while he spoke, she considered his face and knew she was already enjoying the time she’d had with him. He was different from the Italian men she’d been used to in the past—dark and magnetic, and men that many would consider handsome and sexy—but this man before her, he was different. This American, with his loose American drawl, his eyes that looked right through her, and the way the corners of his mouth broke out into a ready smile—all of these things made him seem so friendly and easy to talk to. He was new and different and she was intrigued.
“How long do you think you’ll carry on? Traveling, I mean.”
“Who knows?” He gave her no indication of time. “This is more like a traveling sabbatical you could say. I used to be an equity trader until the markets crashed years back. Now, I trade remotely. It keeps me in the money, shall we say.”
She frowned. “You’re a trader?”
He nodded. “I trade the US markets, while traveling. It’s not easy, but it is doable, as long as I have my mobile setup, and a good and reliable internet connection.”
“Mobile setup?”
“A laptop with a couple of CINQ monitors attached to it.”
“What monitors?”
He grinned and shook his head. “They’re small, lightweight and portable monitors—I call them screens—that connect directly to my laptop so that I can look at three screens of data at once.”
“Isn’t it risky?”
He shrugged it off. “It has its moments. It’s not easy, but when it works out, it does work out well. Though I find myself looking for ideas. For inspiration.”
“Inspiration?” He was obviously doing well enough that he could not only travel but was able to afford to stay in places as extravagant as the Villa Costanza.
“For business ideas. Sometimes you meet people who give you food for thought. Like you,” he intimated, and gave her a look that had her insides free-falling. “Meeting new people and hearing about what they do for a living, what ideas they had and ran with and made successful, all of that has me thinking.”
“Have you come across any idea that grabs you yet?”
“Not yet. But it would be good to find something more stable that I can do for a living. What about you, Andrea? What do you do?”
“I have a warehouse that supplies children’s furniture and toys.”
“You do?” The adulation in his voice was unmistakable. “Most of the women I’ve met seem to be nothing but trophy wives for their husbands. Not that there’s anything wrong with that,” he added quickly. “It’s rare, in my experience, to come across a woman who chooses to run her own business. I think it’s an admirable quality especially in a beautiful woman.”
She looked down at her glass as a flush crept up her face.
“It’s true. You don’t have to be embarrassed.”
“I’m not.”
“Did I make you uncomfortable? Because that wasn’t my intention.”
“No.”
“You seem uncomfortable with praise.”
“I’m not used to hearing that much praise. It makes me feel a little overwhelmed.”
“At least I make you feel something,” he said in a voice that reminded her of satin sheets. She crossed her legs and hoped to calm the sudden rush of excitement she felt between her thighs. Where was that cocktail when she needed it? Lost for a suitable reply, she started to doubt his words which now came laced with a hint of intimacy and a promise of something more.
She swallowed.
“Your parents must be proud of you,” he said, saving the moment.
“My parents wanted me to go into the family business with them. They own several vineyards in Puglia. I think they expected me to help out. But neither my brother nor I wanted to do that,” she explained. “I think it might have been an act of rebellion to start something on my ow
n. I’d been selling things online on eBay soon after I left college. Opening the warehouse was a natural progression. I didn’t like the idea of working for anyone.”
“You don’t like taking orders from anyone?”
It felt like a loaded question, or perhaps it was her mind and her wishful thinking that had her thinking this. His gaze penetrated her thoughts, making her feel something she hadn’t experienced in a while; a layer of heat spread across her skin, kissing her body all over while her pulse raced. She found herself wondering what those lips might taste like.
“I prefer to set my own hours and my own rules,” she said, fidgeting in her chair.
“A woman after my own heart. I’d considered the idea of running a vineyard,” he told her. “I met quite a few people who own them.”
“It’s a lot of work.”
“I don’t mind work as long as the return is good. I’m sure you work pretty hard yourself.”
“I do,” she replied. “And this long weekend was exactly the kind of break I needed.”
“I’m glad I met you.” A smile danced at his lips, and he thumbed the top of his bottle, moving it around in small circular movements. She thought about his fingers lingering on her body, and the sensation of his touch.
“I’m glad too.”
“I noticed you days ago, Andrea. I noticed you from the moment you walked past the swimming pool.”
“You did?” she asked weakly. Had he been here since then, maybe even earlier? She had no recollection of him then. On their first night here they’d taken one of the tables at the back by the pool. Prickles of heat spread along her back and chest at the idea that he’d been watching her since then. “Are you sure it wasn’t my friends who caught your attention?”
He shook his head slowly. “Not for a moment. It was you, right from the start. The white halterneck dress, big necklace and cuff?” His voice was husky as he relived that night.
She swallowed again, her heart thudding. He’d noticed her for sure and now her mind reeled that he could remember what she’d worn even now, days later.
“I never thought I might get you all to myself,” he said. She could feel the rise and fall of her chest and wondered how he’d reduced her to a wilting state by his words. If Caprice had been here, she’d know what to do. But Andrea did not. And she wasn’t sure how to respond. Hours of flirtatious conversation were one thing. It was safe—if she kept it that way. Unbridled lust in a hotel room was something else altogether.
She wasn’t the type of girl who met a man and ended up in his bed an hour later.
Sitting outside in the early evening with nothing but the silent lake before them felt like a slow seduction that hinted at more intimate moments. For now she could sit and ponder and imagine the type of night she could have. The choice was hers.
She glanced at the red and yellow flowers around her and wanted to pinch herself to make sure this was real. But she dared not move a muscle. He had captivated her and she wanted this moment to last forever.
But she knew it would not. She would return to her warehouse tomorrow and her small apartment later in the evening and he would continue with his travels.
All they had was now. Was she willing to throw caution to the wind? Or was she reading the signals wrong all over again?
4
“Your friend seems to think you’re working too hard.”
She gave him a blank look.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to eavesdrop. I overheard you talking with your friend this morning, near the sun-loungers.”
He’d heard her? She thought he’d been listening to music. She scratched her neck and looked away, praying that he hadn’t heard anything about her single status or Caprice’s reference to sex toys.
“My friends are fixated on their relationships and feel sorry for me.” She stopped herself before she spilled her heart out.
“And this is your weekend for mixing work with pleasure?” She wouldn’t have put it in those words. “I extended my stay by an extra day in order to visit a supplier on the way home. I’m not sure if that counts as mixing business with pleasure,” she replied and glanced at his ring finger. It was bare. He wasn’t married; of course he wasn’t. Who would travel for this long with a partner back home? But then again, maybe he had an understanding girlfriend…
“Tell me what there is to see in Verona?”
“There are places to visit,” she said, even as her heart plummeted to the depths of her stomach, and warmth spread deep inside her. He was making it sound as if he was really going to visit there. “Probably not too many places for someone young like you. The Roman Arena is one of the main attractions but mostly Verona has many churches—I don’t think you will find those too interesting.” He shook his head. “I don’t think I will but if you are nearby…” he said, his eyes glistening as the sun started to set.
“Of course there is also the infamous Juliet’s balcony.”
“The balcony?” he said, “I read about it. Where is your warehouse?”
“In a place called Montova,” she said. “Unfortunately Montova isn’t a place for tourists. It’s more like an industrial area but surrounded by pretty towns and places. I live between Montova and Verona but Verona isn’t far. There’s another beautiful little village, Montagnano, further north, maybe twenty miles away. That’s where my friends are getting married—the ones I mentioned earlier. In a lot of those places you won’t find many tourists.”
“That suits me perfectly. Cheap and commercial doesn’t appeal to me. I prefer to savor things of beauty—the places that are often off the map and go unnoticed by most people. Like you, Andrea.”
“Me?”
“You don’t see how striking you are. You walked around not noticing how many people noticed you, while your friends walked around thinking they were models on a catwalk. I saw them, with their heads held high, checking around to see if anyone noticed them. I saw them and looked away. That kind of blatant attention seeking puts me off. But you, Andrea. The moment I noticed you I couldn’t take my eyes off you. There’s a shyness around you, the absence of brashness. It’s an endearing quality and I find it incredibly sexy.”
She slipped her gaze from the pale blue of his eyes to his parted lips and felt a yearning deep inside her, the stirrings of heat that she had buried beneath her accounts, inventory and suppliers. Lust and raw attraction were once more ignited. He looked at her intensely and she felt that her legs would have given way if she’d been standing. She couldn’t see this thing between them, it had no shape or form and yet it was there, invisible to the eye but real enough that she could feel it in her chest and in her stomach. It was as if the air between them was charged, filled with static and her lips and breasts were primed for his touch.
Did he have any idea what he was doing to her?
“Your friend’s wedding must have been beautiful,” she said, proud that she’d been able to string a proper sentence together and make it sound so casual too. “How wonderful to have it here.”
“It was,” he agreed, looking out towards the lake.
“And now you take each day as it comes?”
“Yes.”
“You wake up and decide what you want to do that day?” She asked, thinking how different his life was to hers which was micro-managed by the minute.
He nodded. “It’s freeing, to be able to do that. It sure beats selling your soul to the banks where I worked more than twelve hours a day, easily. How about you? Will you leave first thing tomorrow?”
“Yes.” She said in a flat voice. It would all end soon enough.
“Would you like to have dinner?” His offer took her by surprise. She wanted to, though a part of her was scared of what it might lead to. “If you have no other plans,” he added, obviously sensing hesitation on her part.
Dinner would mean what exactly?
When she still didn’t answer, when her mind presented her with images of how the evening might end, he prompted her. “But if you
need to prepare for your meeting tomorrow, don’t worry.”
Now she felt bad that he had to make excuses on her behalf. What was she afraid of? Commitment? A traveling man didn’t offer commitment.
“Dinner would be nice but I’m not that hungry. I think I’d better get back to my room and catch up on my paperwork.”
5
Of course paperwork was the last thing on her mind when she managed to leave him a short while later. She made it back to her hotel room and felt a euphoria she hadn’t experienced in months.
She toyed with the idea of calling Caprice and revealing this latest development but thought better of it. Nothing would come of this. Nothing at all and telling Caprice of all people would only put pressure on her to make something of an impossible situation.
Riley would go his way, and she would go hers and their lives would continue. She wasn’t ready to have a relationship, and to give it the time and attention it would need. All of her being was focused on her business. She would slow down one day but that day was in the far future.
Ava hadn’t slowed down at all and she was pregnant, running a business that was exploding and getting married. If Ava wasn’t slowing down, she had no excuse to either.
But should she have had dinner with him? The question ruled her thoughts as she looked out of her window. The lake had turned a darker blue now that the sun had sunk lower. Staring at the water kept her calm, even as her mind was all a flutter.
She’d spent almost two hours with him, and it had flown by as though it had only been fifteen minutes. The air between them had been charged from the electricity—the attraction, the spark between them. Even now she felt an inner excitement as she thought about him. He’d paid attention to her, listened to her, and had seemed genuinely interested in her life and her business.
She was afraid of never seeing him again and just as afraid of seeing him again.
What a fool she’d been to turn him down. It was only dinner. He didn’t seem the type of guy who would press her for anything more.
Hearts on Fire: Romance Multi-Author Box Set Anthology Page 75