Lucia (The Bonaveras)

by Paris Patricia

  Eliana bumped fists with Lucia. “I can’t believe you and Cat are finally going to be able to do this. The new inn and restaurant are going to be so fabulous. It’s going to be hard to wait until it’s all done.”

  “I know, I feel the same.” Lucia glanced back to Antonio. “When’s your meeting?”

  “This evening at six thirty. Shawn called this morning. Liam told him I was looking to pick up a couple of projects, and I guess he put in a good word for me with his brothers.”

  “Well, I’m not surprised. The way he talked about your drawings it was obvious he liked your work,” Eliana said.

  “I’m surprised,” Lucia said. “Surprised you heard anything the man said. Every time I looked at you, you were staring at him like you were in some dazed trance.”

  “I wasn’t that bad. I’ll admit he’s got some extremely nice assets.” She grinned at her own joke. “As much as I might have enjoyed the view, though, he’s not my type. All that raw sexuality—it’s terribly appealing, but frightening at the same time. And I didn’t get the impression he’d be very malleable. We’d probably have some issues over that.”

  Antonio cleared his throat. “If you don’t mind, ladies, I think I’ll go up to my office and get in a few hours of work. When a man finds himself in the company of two beautiful women and all they want to do is discuss the attributes of some other man, he realizes his presence has lost its appeal.”

  He tucked the envelope into his shirt pocket and gave them a nod as he walked away.

  “You’ve got more than your fair share of pretty amazing attributes, too,” Lucia called after him.

  “Yeah,” Eliana piped in agreement. “You’re hunky, too, big guy.”

  Antonio waved a hand over his head as he rounded the doorway into the hall.

  Eliana leaned her hip against the desk. “He does know he’s hot, doesn’t he?”

  “I doubt he thinks about it. I’m guessing he was just looking for an excuse to escape.”

  “Okay, good. Well then—” Her sister pushed away from the desk. “I’m off again, lots to do, catch up with you later.” She blew out of the room as quickly as she’d blown in, leaving Lucia to sit and ponder some of the amazing attributes Antonio had that she’d alluded to a few minutes earlier.

  LUCIA LAY IN bed staring at the ceiling. She and Antonio hadn’t spent the night together in more than a week. He’d been here for over two months, and as they grew closer, it became harder to lie in her bed alone at night knowing he was just a flight of stairs away. It wouldn’t do for her to go down to his room, not when one of their guests might see her entering another guest’s room at night and not coming out until the morning. They might get the wrong idea.

  She pushed her head back into the pillow and closed her eyes, and lasted about ten seconds before grabbing the phone off the nightstand and dashing him off a text.

  Can’t sleep. Want to come up?

  He knocked on her door five minutes later and she let him in. He kicked it shut and pulled her hard against him, covering her mouth as if he’d been feeling just as starved for her as she’d been for him, and sent her spiraling with a blistering kiss.

  “Stay the night,” she managed between gasps for air.

  He swung her up into his arms and carried her to the bed. When he set her down, they undressed each other feverishly. Her blood rushed through her veins fast and hot, her heart pounded in her ears, and when he took her down onto the mattress with him, it was clear neither one of them was in the mood to take things slow.

  Their hunger drove them on, both feeding off of the other’s need. When he drove into her, Lucia thought she’d fly off the bed. They were so good together. She’d never experienced anything close to what she had with Antonio, on any level. He satisfied her in every way—physically, intellectually, emotionally.

  She wrapped her arms around his back and held on for the ride. He buried his face into her neck, kissed her, whispered in her ear, words in Italian. She didn’t understand most of what he said, was too wrapped up in the feelings to translate in her head, but she felt them against her skin, the slide of them across her soul, and they only drove her higher.

  They flew together, soaring through the sublime, skin against skin, lips against lips, entwined, two melded into one. They found their release in tandem, a faultless moment that defined perfection. She clung to him, he clung to her, and they held on, feeling nothing but that perfect flash in time—one she knew she’d never forget.

  In silence, they drifted down in concert, and when their bodies stopped drifting and came to rest, each sighed, content, at peace.

  “I think I’m falling in love with you,” she said, her voice no louder than a whisper.

  “Then we’ve got something in common.” He rolled onto his back and pulled her into his arms.

  “You think you’re falling in love with you too?”

  She felt him smile and grinned against his skin. He pulled her up so they were face to face.

  “I’m not sure how it happened.” He lifted his head a couple of inches so he could kiss her. “The night we met my plan was to say hello, give you my grandfather’s regards, and be on my way. And here I am, two and a half months later, in your bed, more than happy to be here, and unconcerned that nothing is happening the way I planned it.”

  “I’m more than happy you’re here too. Let’s not try to analyze any of it, though. Let’s just enjoy it. I don’t want to think about what it means, or where it’s going, or what’s going to happen when—”

  “When what?”

  “Nothing. I was starting to ramble. I just want to lie here with you right now and run my hands over these gorgeous pecs.”

  “You think my pecs are gorgeous?”

  She gave him a look like seriously? “Every part of you is gorgeous, Antonio. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a man who’s as perfectly gorgeous as you.”

  “Have you ever taken a good look at my feet?”

  Lucia laughed, shook her head, and then dropped it to his chest and snuggled against him. Antonio combed his fingers through her hair, dragging them all the way down to the ends and then over again. It wasn’t long before they both found the sleep that had eluded them earlier.

  As night darkened and sped toward morning, they slept on—sound, deep, uninterrupted. Neither heard the soft humming that floated over the bed just before the dawn.

  Love rarely overtakes;

  It merely comes to meet us.

  Wilhelm Stekel

  Antonio found Lucia on the side of the house. She was on her hands and knees, tending the flower bed that curved around from the front porch steps and ran all the way back to the stone terrace behind the solarium.

  There was a square metal tub on the ground next to her that she dragged along as she inched her way down the bed, pulling weeds, deadheading flowers, leaning in to smell an occasional blossom.

  She was wearing flip-flops, a navy cap, a pair of blue jean shorts, and a light grey tee shirt. She hadn’t noticed him standing near the corner of the house yet, so he took advantage of the opportunity to watch her, to absorb everything about her.

  She reached up and rubbed a gloved hand over her jaw, leaving behind a small trail of dirt on her chin. She swatted at something. “Leave me alone, you bothersome flies,” she grumbled loud enough for him to hear.

  Even with a smudged cheek and swatting at flies she appealed to him. He had it bad. Yeah, he had it bad all right, something he’d never anticipated, and it changed everything.

  She must have sensed a presence and swung her head to the right, spied him.

  “Hey,” she said, her expression lighting up, and gave him a sunny smile.

  “Hey yourself.” He strolled over to where she knelt. She spun around and then sat on the grass, wrapped her arms around her knees and looked up at him from beneath the rim of her hat.

  “Did you come out here looking for me, or are you just taking that coffee mug for a walk?”

  “Guilty on both
accounts. I needed a break, and I wanted to remind you in case you forgot, my grandfather will be arriving in four days.”

  “Didn’t forget. I reserved a room for him when you first told me he was coming. He’s going to be in Petit Verdot, right next to you.”

  “I should have known you had it under control. Thanks.”

  “No big.” She stood up, slid her gardening gloves off, and dropped them into the metal tub. “It’s good he’s not arriving until Monday.” She brushed her hands against the sides of her shorts and then stuck them into the back pockets of her shorts. “We have a full house this weekend, but the last of the guests check out Monday, so we’re good.”

  “He could have bunked in the room with me for a night or two, but I’m glad that won’t be necessary. The old man snores horribly.”

  “Then I’m happy for your sake you won’t have to share. By the way, I got an email from Liam this morning. He’s applying for the permits today.”

  “Good. He said they’ve been coming through a lot quicker the last couple of months because they hired a new administrator who made streamlining the process a priority. I don’t anticipate we’ll have any issues, so it’s possible we could have the necessary approvals in as early as two weeks.”

  “Does that mean we’d be able to start construction then?”

  “Once we’ve got the permit that gives us the go-ahead, but Liam’s contractors will need to clear the land, the utility companies will have to do their thing…it could be several weeks before you actually see any activity.”

  “That’s okay; I’m just so excited everything’s actually going to happen I can hardly contain it.”

  Antonio grinned. Her enthusiasm was infectious. He might not be as eager as Lucia and Caterina, but he felt more excited about their project than most.

  He could no longer deny the biggest reason was because he wanted to make Lucia happy. When he first realized he was considering offering to take on their job, he tried to convince himself it was because it had gotten its teeth into him, because he already felt an ownership after coming up with a design.

  That was part of it, but the bigger reality was he’d thrown his entire life into limbo so he could spend more time with her.

  He’d put his life on hold for Lucia because she fascinated him, drew him like no other woman ever had before, made him laugh, and lust, and feel good…and because he’d been falling in love with her since the first night he’d met her. She’d turned his whole life upside down over a piece of cheesecake and a couple of glasses of Seyval Blanc…just like that.

  He’d even been fooling himself when he’d come up with the idea to ask her to marry him on a temporary basis so he could fulfill the terms of their grandfather’s betrothal contract and receive the trust they’d established. He realized he didn’t even care about the trust anymore. It was Lucia he wanted. It had been Lucia from the start.

  She stepped back and looked up at him. Antonio pulled a clean tissue from his pocket and rubbed it over her chin then held it up for her to see the dirt.

  “I must look a mess.” She reached up and brushed her hands over her face, as if there might still be something there.

  “I think you look kind of cute. In fact, I was getting really turned on watching you play in the dirt.”

  She smirked at him. “You’re not hiding some fetish I should know about, are you, like secretly wanting to mud wrestle with me or something? Because I’d hate to disappoint you but I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t enjoy being covered in sludge.”

  Antonio chuckled. “No need to worry. As much as I enjoy rolling around with you, I’d also prefer not to do it in a pool of muck.”

  “Well, that’s a relief. And speaking of rolling around together—” She sent him an inviting look. “Would you like to stay with me tonight?”

  “I would, but on one condition.”

  “What’s that?”

  “When I met with Liam’s brother Shawn, he told me about a restaurant he went to a couple of weeks ago. He recommended it highly. Since you don’t have guests right now, let me take you there for dinner tonight.”

  “Okay,” she agreed. “With your grandfather arriving Monday, we probably won’t get to see as much of each other over the next couple of weeks. And since we’ll have to put any no-pajama, rolling-around-together parties on hold while he’s here, this will probably be the last time we can spend a night together for a while.”

  Antonio frowned. “Why should that prevent us from being together?”

  “Antonio. We can’t be sleeping together while your grandfather’s staying here. He might think—” She closed her mouth and shook her head, but he had an idea what she’d been about to say.

  He’d told her early on that his nonno was hell-bent on getting Antonio to honor their grandfathers’ archaic betrothal contract, and she was probably worried that if he knew they’d been intimate, he’d press him even harder.

  He needed to tell her about the trust, and also that he didn’t give a damn about it. Somewhere between trying to find a way around the stipulations and hold on to his independence, she’d stolen his heart. He had fallen in love with Lucia, and wasn’t that a kicker. He didn’t believe it had anything to do with destiny. He was choosing her, but it looked like their grandfathers were going to get what they wanted after all.

  Antonio slid his fingers under her chin and lifted her face to his. “Let me worry about my grandfather,” he said, and lowered his head for a kiss.

  Tonight, after they made love and she lay wrapped in his arms, he’d tell her about everything, and then he’d ask her to marry him.

  LUCIA AND ANTONIO didn’t get back to the inn until after eleven. They had a wonderful evening, dinner at Au Lapin Agile, a delightful French restaurant that recently opened in Leesburg. They’d dined alfresco. Their meals were excellent, the atmosphere romantic. She had enjoyed just sitting and chatting, content in his company, the easy, natural way they were together. It was—she didn’t really know what it was about him, or them together, that was different. It just was. She’d never felt so comfortable with any man, or known one who could make her laugh one moment and want to climb into his lap and kiss him crazy the next.

  “I had a great time tonight,” she said as they walked up onto the inn’s front porch.

  “Me too.” He squeezed her hand. “And the night’s far from over, or did you forget you invited me to come to your room for dessert?”

  “Another one? You mean that massive Grand Marnier soufflé wasn’t enough?”

  He spun her into his arms, grinned down at her. “That was pretty amazing, but not as good as the one I’ve got in mind.”

  “Glutton,” she teased, even as a shiver of anticipation raced along her nerves, inciting her desire.

  “When it comes to you, mia bella, I never get my fill.”

  A car turned into the driveway, its headlights sweeping across the porch, and they both turned to look.

  “It’s Cat,” Lucia said, recognizing it immediately, and glanced at her watch. “She’s late getting home. They must have been really busy tonight.”

  The car pulled into the lot and after it shut off, they heard a door slam shut. A few moments later Cat walked into view. Lucia could tell by the way she moved that her sister was in a mood, and when she saw the expression on Cat’s face, knew something bad had happened.

  “Hey,” Lucia ventured as Cat stomped up the front steps.

  Her sister stopped suddenly and jerked her head up. When she looked at them, it was clear she hadn’t known they were there.

  “Hey,” Cat said, and then brushed past them. She went inside, closing the front door behind her without another word.

  Antonio rubbed a hand over his jaw. He looked at Lucia like a man who knew troubled waters when he saw them.

  Caterina was normally even tempered. The last couple of months, though, she’d had more than her share of moods. Lucia wondered if she should go after her to see if she wanted to talk about whatever had her
upset. She was pretty sure she knew and the question was more like, what had Mitch done now?

  Antonio and Lucia went inside and up to the third floor. When they got to her room, Antonio hesitated outside the door.

  “Do you want to go talk to your sister?”

  Lucia sighed. “I know something must have happened between her and Mitch, but I’ve got a feeling that this time it’s more serious than him showing up late at the restaurant again or asking her to pick up another extra shift.”

  He rubbed his hands up her arms, rested them on her shoulders, and then leaned down and kissed her on the forehead.

  “Go ahead.” He hitched his head toward Cat’s bedroom door.

  She looked up at him. “You don’t mind? If she wants to talk, I might need to back out of our sleepover.”

  “I’ll expect a rain check.”

  “You’ve got one.” Lucia rose up on her toes and kissed him lightly. “Thank you.”

  “You don’t have to thank me. She’s your sister, and I think she might need you even more than I do right now.”

  He stepped away and started walking backwards down the hall, his beautiful blue eyes never leaving her face. “Buonanotte amore. Good luck.”

  He left with a longing smile, one that hinted at his disappointment they wouldn’t be spending the night together, and Lucia swallowed. The fact that he would put her sister’s needs before his own desires touched her deeply.

  He disappeared down the stairs. Lucia closed her eyes a moment and listened to the words whispering across her heart. She was in love with Antonio.

  “I CAN’T BELIEVE I allowed him to play me for such a fool!”

  Caterina paced at the foot of her bed, which she’d been doing for the last ten minutes, her temper high, and, Lucia thought from where she sat watching her spin around again, with good reason.

  “And the audacity of the man!” Cat stopped and faced Lucia. She put her hands on her hips and gave a good snort. “After confronting him about everything Darla told me, he had the nerve to tell me it would be unprofessional for me to quit before the weekend because I’d be leaving the restaurant in the lurch.”