Two more women walked into reception, some of the other wives who’d accompanied their husbands to the conference.
“Good morning, Sue.” One of the newcomers waved to Mrs. Swan. “You too, Lucia. We’re all looking forward to our outing today.”
Lucia had mapped out a tour of some local sites for the women to visit while their spouses attended meetings. She’d also arranged for them to have lunch at Twining Vines, a charming local restaurant that her best friend, Jenna, managed for her aging and eccentric Aunt Flora. It had a lovely outdoor patio, covered by a massive pergola planted with climbing roses and wisteria, and although the roses might not be blooming yet, the wisteria, with its showy, cascading purple clusters, should just be coming into full glory.
“Enjoy yourselves,” Lucia said. “You have a beautiful day for it.”
She followed the women outside, and after they drove away, pulled out the hose and started watering the potted plants in front of the inn.
Their guests were on their own for dinner. Most of them would be venturing out to try some of the area restaurants. Eliana had agreed to cover for her so she could go out with Antonio, insisted on it in fact, so Lucia couldn’t use work as an excuse to turn him down.
Lucia grinned. Not that she would have. When he’d called to see if they could get together, she’d felt almost giddy, and she couldn’t remember feeling excited about the prospect of going on a date with a man since…she actually couldn’t remember when. And since she didn’t have to worry there was any chance of falling in love with him and getting her heart broken…well, he was risk free.
She could enjoy the attraction for what it was, a delicious enticement, and be done with it when he was gone. Kind of like a scrumptious dessert, something she loved and would indulge in more often if she didn’t have to deal with the consequences.
She pictured her pretend fiancé in her head: cerulean-blue eyes, jet-black hair, chiseled jaw, a killer smile, and strong arms that had held her a little closer than she’d expected last night…but not as close as she’d desired.
“Antonio, Antonio, wherefore art thou, Antonio?” Eliana’s voice mocked from behind her.
Lucia turned and directed a spray of water from the hose at her sister.
Eliana burst into laughter and dodged out of the way. “I can’t wait to meet this guy. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you looking so dreamy-eyed.”
“I don’t get dreamy-eyed. That would be you, El.” Lucia dangled the hose over a large, glazed, blue pot brimming with hardy red geranium, lobelia, curly parsley, and gave it a long drink.
“Oh yeah, well I’m beginning to believe Marcella that you dripped some drool over the guy. You were so wrapped up in your thoughts you didn’t even hear me come outside.”
“Maybe I was thinking about the architects we’re going to meet with next week. We should probably make up an outline of everything we want done so we don’t forget anything.”
“I’m sure Cat’s already done that.” She eyed Lucia critically. “What are you going to wear tonight? Maybe your grey pencil pants…with that pale pink blouse, you know, the crepe one with the pearl buttons.”
Lucia finished watering and walked over to the spigot. “I was thinking the white sundress you showed me last week, the billowy one with the back straps and rose sprays all over it.”
“I haven’t even worn that yet.”
“Well, it’s not like I’m going to be mucking a barn in it. We’re just going to dinner.” Lucia leaned forward and turned off the water. “It’s the perfect casual date dress. If I’d seen it first, I would have bought it.”
“Fine, you can wear it.”
Lucia straightened and gave her sister a kiss on the cheek. “Thanks. What would I do without sisters?”
“Go naked?”
“Never on a first date,” Lucia tossed back without missing a beat, causing her sister to snort as they linked arms and walked back into the inn together.
“SO WHAT ARE all of you supposed to be, the welcoming committee?” Lucia asked when she walked into the lobby that evening to wait for Antonio to pick her up for their date.
Eliana gave her a crooked grin. “We’re just doing our duty and making sure he passes the sister test.”
Lucia rolled her eyes. “Fine, but do me a favor and let him get inside before you launch an inquisition.” She knew nothing she could say would convince her sisters to leave.
To them, Antonio was like a fictional character who’d only existed in their parents’ stories. He’d never been real to any of them, including her. Now all of a sudden he was. She couldn’t blame them for being curious. If it were one of them going out with him, she’d be curled up on the couch wanting to see what he was like too.
“We’ll be good,” Caterina promised, then grinned at the others and added, “at least we’ll try.” She wrapped her hands around her arms and gave a shiver. “Did one of you turn the air conditioner on? It’s not even June yet.”
Marcella pulled a throw off the back of the couch where she was sitting and tossed it to her twin. “It does feel unusually cool in here. Maybe Rosa dropped in to check out Luch’s fiancé, too. See if she approves.”
Cat glanced around the room and then frowned. “You’re as bad as Mom, attributing everything from a misplaced set of keys to a low setting on the thermostat to our ancestor.”
Marcella shrugged. “Just saying.”
“Just not believing,” Cat threw back.
Eliana cleared her throat. “Maybe Marcella’s right. You know, Mom told me she saw her once.”
“What? Oh, come on.” Lucia usually stayed out of her sisters’ debate about the existence of the family ghost. She’d always thought their mother had been enchanted by the idea of an ancestral spirit in their midst, and the story of how her aunt and uncle died was just the kind of fodder to fuel a mind that wanted to believe. This was the first time she’d heard anything about Mom actually claiming to see their aunt, though.
“She never said anything to me.” She looked at Cat and Marcella. “You guys?”
Cat shook her head. “First time I’ve heard anything about ghostly sightings. How come you never said anything before this?”
“I didn’t want any of you to think maybe Mom was losing it,” Eliana admitted. “It kind of wigged me out when she told me, but there seem to be more unexplainable things happening around here than usual lately.”
“She told me she saw her, too.” Marcella got up from where she’d been sitting and went to stand in front of the fireplace. “More than once,” she added. “I know Mom could be fanciful, but she wasn’t crazy, and she wouldn’t just make that up. If she said she saw Aunt Rosa, then I believe she saw…well, something. Maybe we do have a ghost, and that’s why things go missing sometimes, or the lights flicker so often when no one can find a reason for it, or the temperature suddenly drops in a room…especially this one. It is where the murder took place.”
“Let’s not go there,” Lucia suggested, and tried to ignore that the temperature seemed to dip a few more degrees. “It’s a drafty house, it always has been, and that’s all it is. I loved Mom as much as the rest of you, but we all know she had a vivid imagination. I don’t know what she saw; maybe it was a shadow, the light playing tricks on her. What I do know is that there are no ghosts walking amongst us, and I think we should stop talking about it before one of our guests comes in and—”
The front door flew open with a bang. Cat and Eliana each let out a startled yelp. Lucia spun around, half expecting to see Antonio standing in the entryway. All four of them stared at the empty space a moment before Marcella looked over at Lucia and arched her brows.
“Oh, come on,” Lucia said when she saw the look on her sister’s face. “Don’t tell me you think that was Rosa!”
Marcella shrugged. “I’m not sure what I think, but I’m not as closed to the possibilities as you are that more exists in this world than meets the eye.”
Eliana leaned against the stone f
ireplace wall tapping a finger over her mouth. “You have to admit,” she said after a moment, “the door just flying open like that when you said there weren’t any ghosts, as if to disprove you, was a little spooky, Luch.”
“Woo, woo, woo,” Cat put in, wiggling her hands in the air.
Lucia shook her head and walked over to the door. “You’re all being ridiculous. It was just the wind.” She looked outside. There was no sign of Antonio yet, no sign of any life except a few birds flitting amongst the very still leaves on the vines that bordered the driveway. She closed the door and turned around. There was a logical explanation.
ANTONIO SHOWED UP about five minutes later. By the time her sisters got done with him and they were able to escape, Lucia hoped wherever they were going had a liquor license because the man was probably in desperate need of a drink.
“Sorry about that,” she apologized as they pulled out of the winery’s driveway. “I’m sure you weren’t anticipating such an interrogation. We tend to be protective of one another, plus, they can’t help but be curious about you.”
She glanced across the front seat and took in his patrician profile. “I hope you’re not feeling too battered.”
“Not at all. What man wouldn’t enjoy being the center of attention amongst four beautiful women?”
“We could go back and see if they want to join us for dinner. I’m sure they’ve got a million more things they could grill you about.”
Antonio gave her a quick, questioning look. A thick lock of hair fell down over his forehead and he reached up and pushed it back.
“I was kidding,” she said, amused he might think she’d been serious.
“That’s good. I only brought enough for the two of us.”
“Enough what?”
He curled his lips but didn’t answer.
Lucia glanced out the window and then back at him. Her curiosity was piqued, and with it a sliver of doubt. He didn’t know this area, so where would a stranger, someone from another country no less, whom she knew extremely little about, be taking her?
“You never told me where we were going. I hope I’m dressed appropriately.”
He must have felt her looking at him and his smile broadened. He took his eyes from the road a moment, and she watched them travel over her. “Where we’re going is a surprise—and you’re dressed perfectly.”
EVERYTHING ABOUT LUCIA appealed to him—her open, easy manner, the quickness of her smile, the way she moved. The physical attraction was strong, it pulled at him, the male side of him that couldn’t help but imagine what it would be like to undress her slowly, run his hands up and down the long length of her, discover what brought her pleasure, how she made love to a man…how she’d make love to him.
He wasn’t a believer in love at first sight. It was ridiculous to believe two people who didn’t know each other could think they were in love when they knew little to nothing about each other. He did, however, believe one could be strongly attracted to someone, even a total stranger, someone you saw on the street or in a café, because there was something about them that clicked with your innate preferences—a pleasing voice, an air about them, a look across a crowded room that somehow felt intimate, a smile that offered just enough of a peek into their makeup to rouse one’s curiosity.
He’d experienced it before. A few times such an attraction had evolved into introductions, one or two had led to a brief affair, most were lost after the moment—wisps in the wind. And now, with Lucia, he’d see where things led after this evening. Perhaps they would become lovers for a brief, sweet space in time before he got on with his life. Perhaps they would become no more than friends who shared a few laughs over their grandfathers’ archaic betrothal contract.
He wondered how funny she’d think it was if he told her about the condition their grandparents had agreed on that was dangling over his head. Not very, he imagined, which was why he had no intention of telling her about it when doing so might only complicate things more.
Antonio slowed down to read the sign at the crossroads. There was little light here, but the woman in the cheese shop who’d given him directions told him the road he wanted would be about a half of a mile past an old blue water tower with a fox and hound painted on it.
“Ahh, this is it,” he said, and made a right onto a gravel lane.
Lucia leaned forward and peered out through the front window. When she sat back, she looked over at him and said, “I’ve never been on this road before.”
He could feel her studying him and wondered if the secluded nature of the place made her uneasy. He could understand how a man she’d just met, driving her to an unknown, isolated location, and being secretive about it might spur second thoughts.
“You look nervous. Let me assure you I am capable of protecting you from any small woodland creatures we might encounter when we reach our destination.” He flashed a grin, hoping she’d see she had nothing to fear from him.
Her lips quirked and she seemed to relax again. “How are you at fending off a bear or mountain lion?”
Antonio put his foot on the brake and brought the car to a stop. “Maybe my plan for a moonlight picnic isn’t such a good idea after all.”
Lucia’s eyes softened. “You brought me out here for a picnic? How lovely!”
He shrugged. “I’m Italian. We’re romantics.”
“Lest you forget, I’m Italian, too.”
“Yes, but you were raised here. You’ve been Americanized, and there’s a difference.”
“I’m sure there’s some truth to that,” she agreed. “I’d love to visit Italy one day, see where I was born, experience it the way my parents did instead of just through their stories.”
“You’ve never been?”
“Nope. I’ll get there, though. It’s one of my top five bucket list items.” She glanced back out the window. “I’m guessing this road leads to Goose Creek, but how in the world do you know about it?”
“You’re right. There’s supposed to be an overlook that’s the perfect spot to watch the moonrise, and tonight’s will be full. The woman in the cheese shop I stopped into this afternoon told me about it, but she didn’t mention anything about bears or mountain lions.”
Lucia caught the corner of her bottom lip between her teeth and grinned. “I was joking. There have been plenty of bear sightings, and I’ve heard mountain lions have been spotted in Loudon County as well, but I’ve never seen either, and I’ve never heard about any cases of mauling or half-eaten bodies being found in these woods.”
“That’s comforting. Being mauled or having half of our bodies eaten off would definitely spoil the romance.”
She laughed, low and throaty, a richly deep and seductive sound. The melody of it floated past his ears, resonated in his head, and stroked every nerve in his body to awareness.
Lucia Bonavera was unadulterated temptation wrapped in a white sundress that had been flirting with his imagination since he’d first seen her in it this evening.
When she looked across the seat, a mischievous glint in her eyes, the urge to pull to the side of the road, take her in his arms, and satisfy the desire she stirred in him burned hot in his blood. Temptation, indeed—she was the living, breathing, embodiment of the word—and he saw no reason to ignore the attraction when it appeared to be mutual. It wouldn’t change their situation in any way, but it could certainly make it more enjoyable.
The gravel road ended at a dirt pull-off large enough to accommodate about four cars. Antonio was glad to see it was empty, and he hadn’t seen anything parked along the mile or so they’d driven after the turnoff. They should have the overlook to themselves tonight.
He turned off the ignition. “We’re here, and just in time. I wouldn’t want to lose our reservation.” He gave her a wink, then got out of the car and went around to the other side to open her door.
“I’d like to check it out before unpacking the trunk. There’s no sense unloading it until we see if there’s a suitable place to have ou
r picnic.”
Lucia gave a nod of agreement. He held his hand out toward her and smiled when she took it and then slid out of the car.
HE’D PACKED THEM an uncomplicated meal, cheese and prosciutto, fresh fruit and bread, and a bottle of wine. Of course there was wine, a blushing rosé that would complement the simplicity of the food perfectly.
He’d even thought to bring a blanket, and a large jar candle that they didn’t need for the light, as the full moon illuminated the clearing well enough for them to see, but that added a lovely touch to their woodland repast.
“I borrowed these from the inn where I’m staying.” Antonio unwrapped two wine glasses, nestled together in large white cloth napkins and set them on top of the lid of the wicker picnic basket he’d packed everything into that now performed double-duty as a makeshift table.
He uncorked the wine and filled the glasses one-third full before handing her one.
Lucia tapped her rim to his. “Buon appetito.”
His lips curled seductively. “Grazie, altrettanto.”
Antonio’s eyes were such a deep blue in the fading light, so dark, and so intensely sexy, she could probably stare into them for weeks and not get bored, if it didn’t mean she wouldn’t get anything else done. And of course, they didn’t have weeks to spend together. Days at the most, that’s what they had. That’s all they would ever have, so she decided she’d enjoy it.
Lucia brought her knees up in front of her. She balanced the foot of her wine glass on one of them and then picked up a piece of freshly cut mango. She might enjoy his romantic nature, but she was pragmatic enough to know this road they’d started down would come to a fork very quickly, with each of them veering off and going their own way. And that was a good thing; otherwise, she probably wouldn’t risk spending this time with him.
“Mango is my favorite fruit.” She slid it into her mouth, savoring the rich, creamy sweetness and unique flavor as she chewed.
Lucia (The Bonaveras) Page 5