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thousand pieces,” he growled and bent to kiss her.
    His phone rang, startling them both. He swore in Italian, and then got it out of his pocket, looking at the display. It was Linda. He sighed, but answered.
    “ Pronto, bambina! Come stai?”
    “Hello, stranger,” his sister said into the receiver. “Where are you? As if I wouldn’t know…” she went on insinuatingly, and he could almost see her standing with a hand on her hip, cat blue eyes slanted, tongue in cheek.
    “I’m having breakfast.”
    “Breakfast, huh? It’s past noon for us, other people. When are you coming home?”
    “I’m not sure. Do you need me for anything?”
    “Well, the decorators made a mess in here and Gerard is at work. I could use a hand, but if you’re busy, I can call Mrs. Adams.”
    “No, it’s okay. I’ll be there in half an hour. Ciao, sorella !”
    “ Ciao, amore. Grazzie!”
    He put the phone back in his pants pocket and turned to Sonia.
    “I have to go. Linda needs help picking up after the decorators. Don’t ask.”
    She laughed.
    “Okay, I won’t. Don’t you want to finish your coffee?”
    He got to his feet. Taking her hand, he pulled her up and into his arms.
    “What I’d like to finish is a different thing entirely,” he said and kissed her intimately, tasting her excitement. “But it’ll have to wait. What do you want to do tonight?”
    She shrugged.
    “I don’t know. I don’t have any plans. All I know is that I have to wake up early tomorrow. I can’t skip work again.”
    His voice sounded husky and enticing even to his own ears when he told her, “Don’t worry, cara , I’ll have you in bed very early.”
     
    * * * *
     
    After Giovanni left, Sonia changed into soft pink pajamas and crawled into bed. She really needed a few more hours sleep after the sexual marathon she’d had last night. She curled under her thick blankets, smiling dreamily. Giovanni was an amazing lover, the kind she didn’t even know existed. She wondered if having Italian blood accounted for his virility and sensuality, for his unimaginable ardor and intensity—not only when making love, but even when he looked at her. His eyes seemed to burn from within, like his entire being.
    Thank God she was still taking her contraceptives. It had been a long time since her last lover—she couldn’t even remember what he looked like right now—but she kept taking the pills. For good measure, it seemed.
    Giovanni had asked her last night if he should use a condom, but she’d told him about the pills. It was true they didn’t offer protection against STDs, but somehow she knew a man like him could be trusted. Granted, instincts were muzzy when hormones took over. Still, the thought didn’t worry her. She trusted him.
    She fell asleep still smiling, feeling the pleasant fatigue melting off her bones and dissipating into nothingness.
    The sound of her ringing phone awoke her abruptly. She took it from the nightstand, squinting at the display for a few moments. It was Giovanni.
    “Hello,” she answered groggily.
    “Were you asleep, princess?” he asked, his voice sounding lazy and sexy.
    “Yeah, I was just… What time is it? It’s nearly dark,” she said rubbing her eyes, then looked outside.
    “It’s half past five. I slept a couple of hours myself, after playing cleaning boy for Linda.”
    Laughter tickled her throat as she imagined him vacuuming and dusting, wearing a silly outfit. Like one of those strippers women threw their panties at.
    He went on. “Linda asked me to invite you for dinner at seven. Since you told me you didn’t have any plans, I thought you might like to come. What do you think?”
    She heard herself saying, “Sure,” thinking that Linda Coriola wanted to take a good look at the woman her brother had spent the entire night screwing. “Uh, that would be nice. Should I bring something?”
    “Just your gorgeous self. I’ll pick you up at six-thirty.”
    “I can drive myself,” she protested