Caterina

by Patricia Paris

  When they got to the kitchen, he opened the bottle of wine he’d bought on his way home from work the day before. “It’s not Bonavera’s,” he said, as he poured out two glasses, “but the clerk at the liquor store recommended it.”

  He handed her one of the glasses, and they tapped rims.

  She took a sip. Nodded. “It’s nice.”

  Liam drew a hand across his brow in mock relief. “Whew! You know, choosing a restaurant to take a chef to on your first date and a bottle of wine for a woman whose family owns a winery puts a lot of pressure on a guy when he’s trying to romance her.”

  She smiled, a little off center, and he wanted to lean in and taste it. “So far you seem to be handling the pressure just fine.”

  “Yeah?” He grinned down at her. “Then I’ll stick with my strategy.”

  He set his glass on the counter and reached for the JAM Wi-Fi speaker that Shawn and Becca had given him last Christmas. He turned on the power and waited for the Wi-Fi connection to come up.

  “Play romantic love songs,” he said.

  “Playing romantic love songs,” the JAM acknowledged.

  He turned around. Caterina watched him with a raised brow. He walked toward her, and her brow inched higher. “The Way You Look Tonight” began streaming through the speaker, surrounding them.

  Liam took her glass from her and set it on the counter next to his, held out a hand. “May I have this dance?” he asked, never taking his eyes off her stunning face. Her lips parted slightly as she laid a palm in his. He pulled her in, took her in his arms. And they danced.

  With her head resting against his shoulder, the fresh, clean scent of her hair filling his senses, and her long, lean body moving against his like a wave gently lapping against a moonlit beach, they danced.

  HE CONTINUED TO surprise her. In wonderful ways. If dancing in his kitchen didn’t top the list of the most romantic things a man had ever asked her to do, Caterina couldn’t think what could.

  She liked the way his arms felt around her. Liked the way his hands drifted over her back, into her hair, stroked her cheek. Liked it a lot.

  “How’s this working?” he whispered against her ear.

  Cat leaned her head back just enough to look at him. “How’s what working?”

  “My plan to seduce you.”

  “Why don’t I show you?” She slid her hands up to his shoulders, lifted on her toes, and kissed him. Gently at first, and then, weaving her fingers into his hair, she angled her head and increased the pressure.

  Liam opened his mouth and claimed her tongue. She tasted his hunger. Tasted her own. Could not deny the heat simmering between them or the desire it ignited in her. He took the kiss even deeper. Down a more intimate road. She went with him willingly, flames of want sizzling along her nerves.

  Outside the snow continued to fall. The Bee Gees’ “How Deep Is Your Love” began to play in the background. Liam spun her around. Cat felt her backside bump against the counter. Felt him move against her with an unmistakable rhythm. Her body picked up the tempo, welcoming every press, every slide, in an ancient dance.

  “You’re killing me,” Liam said with a harsh groan. His hands roamed restlessly up and down her rib cage. “If you don’t want this to go any further tonight, tell me to stop now, while I still have some self-control.”

  “And if I don’t tell you to stop, what then?”

  “It’s likely we’ll end up in my bed doing another kind of dance. One that involves a lot fewer clothes and a lot more physical contact.”

  Cat cradled his cheeks and gazed into his eyes. Aquamarine locked onto sable. She had no doubts about what she wanted. She may have just recently accepted it, but she’d known for weeks.

  “Take me to bed, Liam. It’s time for dessert.”

  He covered her mouth with a blistering kiss. When he came up for air, he took her hand and started to lead her across the floor. They passed the refrigerator and he paused, looked down at her.

  A devilish gleam lit his eyes. “I’ve got some whipped cream in there. Should I grab it?”

  She pulled her hand free from his, punched him in the shoulder, and walked out of the room. She heard him chuckling as his footsteps fell close behind hers.

  “The door on the left, sweetheart,” he said, when she’d gone about halfway across the living room. Cat turned, walked through the opening. She spotted a king-size bed on the opposite wall. Behind her, the door clicked shut.

  A moment later, Liam’s hands gently cupped her shoulders. He eased her around to face him. No turning back now, she thought. But she had no desire to.

  LIAM LAY BESIDE Caterina, propped up on one elbow. He’d never experienced such intense, or satisfying, lovemaking. Looking down at her smiling face, he was inclined to believe she felt the same.

  He drew a finger along her jawline. She was so damn beautiful. Her skin so silken, he didn’t think he could ever tire of touching it.

  Leaning down, he kissed her, softly, slowly, enjoying the shape and feel of her mouth, drawing a picture of it in his mind. “Stay the night,” he whispered into it. “I don’t have to pick Riley up until after lunch tomorrow. We can sleep in. I’ll make you breakfast. I’ve got Fruity Pebbles and Sugar Pops. Or if you want something on the healthier side, Raisin Bran Crunch.”

  He felt her smile, the curl of it against his lips. “You do know how to tempt a woman.”

  “I try. Is that a yes?”

  “No. As enjoyable as this night’s been, I’m not prepared to turn it into the morning after. I didn’t pack an overnight bag. I don’t have a toothbrush. I’d like you to get to know the nice me a little better before you meet the morning me.”

  “Are you a grouch in the morning?”

  “If I don’t get enough sleep, usually. I need a couple of cups of coffee and to be left alone for about an hour. Are you?”

  “No. I typically wake up in a pretty good mood and ready to go. I like my coffee out of habit, but I don’t need it.”

  “I hate you.”

  He grinned, dropped another kiss on her lips. “I don’t think so. I think you like me. A lot.”

  She chuckled. “You’re right. I do like you a lot.”

  “Good, because I like you a lot too.”

  “Good. I’d still like you to take me home tonight. If we continue to like each other a lot after going out a few more times, we can plan a sleepover.”

  “I’ve got a feeling plan is the operative word for you.”

  “It’s always important to have a plan. If you don’t, there’s no goal, nothing to measure against, no way to know if you’re accomplishing anything or just meandering through life with no purpose.”

  “What about spontaneity, enjoying the moment, taking things as they come and seeing where they lead you?”

  “You sound like my sister Eliana.” Caterina rolled away from him and got out of the bed. “There’s nothing wrong with enjoying the moment. I just happen to believe that if you plan ahead, the moment’s not as likely to go wrong and disappoint you.”

  She picked up the dress he’d dropped on the floor after slipping it off her a couple of hours earlier. He watched her pull it over her head and shimmy it down that long, lean, gorgeous body, and was tempted to try and slide it right back off.

  She looked around, spied her heels. Balancing on one foot, she slipped one on, then the other. Liam followed her every move. He got a kick out of her efficiency. Now that she’d decided it was time for him to take her home, the clock had started ticking.

  Turning toward the bed, she put her hands on her hips and looked down at him. “As gorgeous as you are without them, I think you should put some clothes back on before you drive me back.”

  He pushed himself up to stand beside her. “I’d rather try to convince you to take yours back off and stay a while longer, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned through our past dealings, it’s that once you’ve made your mind up, it’s almost impossible to change it.”

  He went
into the closet, got out a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt, and dressed quickly. When they were in the living room a few minutes later, he glanced down at Caterina’s feet.

  “Are you going to be able to walk in those without slipping?” When he’d looked out the window a minute earlier, it appeared they’d already gotten an inch or two of snow.

  “It might be tricky, but I’m well skilled at walking in heels. Even in wet or slippery conditions. I’ll just hang onto you, in case.”

  Liam frowned. He’d enjoyed watching her walk around in heels on too many occasions to count, but he had no desire to see her land on her butt on his front sidewalk. “What size shoe do you wear?”

  “Nine and a half. Why?”

  He went over to the coat closet near the front door and pulled out a pair of snow boots. “Here, put these on. They’re an eleven but should fit you well enough, and they’ll be a hell of a lot safer than those.” He dipped his glance toward her four-inch spikes.

  Caterina took them without arguing, and after sliding out of her heels, slipped them on. “Thanks.” She struck a pose, hand on cocked hip, knee bent. “How do they go with my dress?”

  “Honey, in that dress, you could be wearing buckets for shoes and it wouldn’t matter. No one would be looking at your feet.”

  He got their coats from the couch and held hers up for her to slip into. “Now put this on before I try to take it off you again and risk your ire for ruining your plan.”

  The snow was wet, and the walkway wasn’t too slippery yet, as they made their way from the front door to the car. Liam held Caterina’s arm, anyway. It gave him an excuse to touch her. He liked touching her.

  After opening her door and waiting until she was settled in, he went around and got into the driver’s side. When he backed out, he noticed a dark-colored Jeep parked on the street across from his house. It looked like the one he’d seen a few nights earlier when he and Riley returned from the holiday tour at the winery. None of his neighbors parked on the street overnight, so it must belong to someone visiting one of them.

  From the corner of his vision, he saw Caterina wrap her arms around her middle. He reached down and turned on the seat heaters. She glanced over and smiled at him. The warmth of it flowed through him. He reached across the seat and took her hand, kept it in his.

  He was very, very glad he’d decided not to hold her past relationship with Gregory against her any longer. It had been unfair to prejudge her because of it. It would be no different, he realized, than someone basing their opinion of him solely on Sylvie.

  Gregory and Sylvie were a part of the past. One neither Liam or Caterina could change, but he wouldn’t let it come between them any longer, not now that he realized how wrong he’d been about her.

  SNOW CONTINUED TO fall, glistening in the truck’s headlights as they drove back to the winery. The forecast called for snow showers off and on throughout the weekend. That would make the shop and restaurant owners in the surrounding small towns happy.

  Snow this time of year always heightened people’s Christmas spirit. Put them in the mood to decorate more, shop more, get into the season more, and spend more money than they did when Decembers stayed warm. There were statistics to back it up. The romance of it, Caterina supposed, and she had to admit, it had that effect on her.

  “It looks like lights on in Serendipity,” she said, cocking her head and squinting through the snowy darkness as they drove past the construction site toward her home. “I didn’t know the electric was live yet.”

  Liam slowed the truck and looked backward, toward the building.

  “Jesus Christ,” he swore, his tone harsh as he threw the truck into reverse. “Those are flames!” He backed up past the entrance, then shifted the truck into drive and swung into the site.

  “Oh, my God!” Cat breathed, horrified, as she now saw the pulsating glow through the windows of the side wing. She pulled her phone from her purse. “I’m calling the police.”

  Liam parked, just as her call was answered. He flung open the door, jumped out, and took off at a run. Caterina’s heart pounded as she watched him sprint toward the front left side of the building, where the fire seemed to be located.

  After giving the dispatcher the address, she slid out of the truck and hurried after Liam. “Call Lucia,” she said into the phone’s mic.

  “Hey, Cat.” Her sister’s groggy voice came over the line a second later. “Where are you? It’s, like one in the morning. Are you okay?”

  “We’re at Serendipity. There’s a fire! I called the police! The fire department should be on the way, and—Liam!” She screamed his name. Fear slammed into her, and she began running toward the building. “Liam!” She shouted again as he disappeared through the front entrance.

  What was he doing? He couldn’t hope to put out the fire. There was no water supply on site. What was he thinking, putting himself in such danger?

  Her cries went unanswered. Fear for his safety squeezed her heart. He should have come out. He should have come back out. Terrified that something had happened and he might be trapped, she went into the building after him.

  The large central entrance had filled with smoke, but Caterina saw no evidence that the fire had spread to this area. It seemed to be contained to the wing that was to be Lucia and Antonio’s private suite. She covered her nose and mouth with her coat sleeve and headed in that direction. The smoke stung her eyes, making it even more difficult to see.

  Liam’s clunky snow boots slowed her down, her feet sliding in them as they thudded against the floorboards. When she reached the doorway to the suite, she could barely see through the haze of smoke and flame. She swung her head from side to side and squinted. She saw Liam near the middle of the room, flames threatening all around him. He took off his coat and bent down. What the hell was he doing?

  “Liam, get out of there! It’s too dangerous!”

  Sirens wailed in the distance, only minutes away. “For God’s sake, Liam, we need to get back outside! Please! The fire trucks are on the way. I can hear sirens in the distance.”

  “There’s someone in here! He’s hurt. The fire department might not get here soon enough.”

  She started through the doorway. A blast of heat almost brought her to her knees, but she pushed forward. “Then I’ll help you.”

  “No! Get back outside!” He hefted up a bulk and started to drag it toward the doorway. “Caterina, get the hell out of here. Now! I’m right behind you!”

  She ran back through the building and outside, praying he followed close on her heels, as he said he would. The first fire truck barreled into view and onto the site. Red lights flashed, cutting the night like screaming harbingers of dread.

  A car pulled in right after them, slamming to a stop with a skid on the snow-covered dirt, next to Liam’s truck. Antonio and Lucia jumped out and raced toward her.

  Caterina glanced back at the building. A wave of relief flooded over her when she saw that Liam had made it outside. His arms were looped around a man’s chest as he walked backwards, pulling the body away from the building. When he’d gotten a safe enough distance back, he laid the man on the ground.

  Liam removed the coat he’d wrapped around the man inside the building, bunched it up, and put it under the victim’s head.

  An ambulance, blue lights swirling, pulled in behind Antonio’s car.

  “What happened?” Lucia asked anxiously, her expression full of anguish.

  “Liam was bringing me home, and we saw the flames. I called the police as soon as we realized it was a fire. Liam had already gotten out, and I saw him going inside while we were talking. I didn’t know what he was doing, and I started to panic. I went in after him, to get him to come back outside. But someone was in there. He made me go back out, then he dragged the person from the building.”

  Two EMTs raced past Cat, Lucia, and Antonio. Liam stood as they approached him and the victim.

  Cat’s chest heaved, her breathing heavy with worry. “That’s all I
know.”

  Lucia put her arm around Cat’s shoulder. They stood huddled together in the cold, dark night, snow continuing to fall around them, and watched as the first firemen aimed a hose at Serendipity and began drenching their dreams in a deluge of water.

  “Do you have any idea who it is that Liam pulled out?” Antonio asked, his brows knitted together with concern. “Was it one of the crew?”

  Caterina shook her head. She didn’t know, but whoever it was, she thought, intentionally or unintentionally, he must be responsible for the fire.

  Liam walked up to Cat. He took hold of her shoulders, his expression a mixture of concern and anger. “Are you all right?”

  “I’m fine. But more importantly, what about you?”

  Dark smudges and grime covered Liam’s face. His sweatshirt and jeans had visible charring. She took his hands and looked at them. “Your hands! Liam, you’ve got burns all over them, and your wrists!” she said, horrified, as she pushed back the sleeves of his sweatshirt.

  “They probably look worse than they are.” He pulled them back, but his wince told her they hurt more than he let on. “I can’t say the same for him.” Liam glanced over toward the man the EMTs were lifting onto a stretcher.

  “Is he going to be okay?” Lucia asked.

  “He’ll survive.” Liam’s jaw hardened. “I don’t think his burns are life-threatening, but he’ll probably have some extensive scarring as payback for what he tried to do.”

  Antonio followed the path of Liam’s gaze. “Tried to do? You think it was arson? That he intentionally set the fire?”

  “Yeah, I think he set it,” Liam said with conviction, his expression taut, angry.

  “Why?” Cat asked, grappling to make sense of such an act. “Who would want to do such a thing?”

  “Your old boyfriend,” Liam said in an acrid tone. “Mitch Gregory. That’s who I pulled out of the building.”

  Caterina stared in shocked disbelief. Her stomach roiled, making her feel like she might throw up. She brought a hand to her mouth. This was her fault. If she’d never gotten involved with Mitch, Lucia’s dreams wouldn’t be going up in flames along with her own. All the work—Antonio’s, Liam’s, hers and Lucia’s—turning to ashes as they stood impotently by.