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Authors: Caroline Anderson
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me.’
She shook her head. ‘I didn’t know where I was being moved to and, anyway, it didn’t seem relevant. I had other things on my mind.’ Things like him. Things like his smile, and the scent of his body close to hers, and the feel of his lips on hers.
She yanked her thoughts back in line. ‘But, anyway, that’s all beside the point, Luca. I had reasons for not wanting to see you again, that’s why I didn’t give you my number.’
‘What reasons? Is there another man in your life? This guy that hurt you? Or is it all in the past?’
‘Is it any of your business?’ she asked a little desperately, and he shrugged.
‘I don’t know. Maybe. If it affects the way you relate to me—and certainly if there’s someone else. I don’t poach from another man’s territory, and I don’t do infidelity, mine or anyone else’s. Ever—at least, not knowingly, so if there is someone…’
‘There isn’t. Well, at least, not for me. I told you, I don’t—’
‘—do relationships. I know. I don’t either, not recently. But you—you got under my skin, Isabelle. I’ve had affairs, but they don’t last. They leave me cold—well, not cold, but certainly not hot,’ he added, his voice dropping sensually, his accent more pronounced, ‘not so hot I thought my clothes would catch fire, so hot I thought I’d die if I didn’t have you right then, right there on the walkway above the Duomo in front of the entire city. Not so hot I could hardly get you through the bedroom door before I tore your clothes off so I could feel your skin against mine.’
‘Stop! Stop it!’ she begged, her hands shaking so much she slopped her tea over her legs. ‘It was just craziness.’
‘Si, I know. But I’ve never felt like that before. It was the first time in my life I’d lost control, and the first time in my life I felt really, truly alive. And I realised that, after feeling like that, despite whatever might or might not happen with us in the future, I could never settle for less. That’s why I wanted to find you—to know if it was real, because it felt real, cara. It felt more real than anything ever has before, and I wasn’t ready to let it go.’
She didn’t know what to say, so she said nothing for a while, just stared into her tea while he ate toast and sipped his tea and his words went round and round in her head.
‘Isabella?’
She looked up at him, shocked by his honesty and the strength of his reaction. And her own. ‘Luca, I don’t know what you want me to say.’
‘I don’t want you to say anything particularly. I want you to keep an open mind. I have no idea if this could last, but I want to find out. I want to get to know you, give you a chance to get to know me. Give us a chance.’
‘You want to have an affair?’
He gave a soft grunt. ‘Perhaps? Maybe not, not yet. But I feel as if I’ve lost my mind, having a crazy, white-hot fling with a beautiful Englishwoman who’s bewitched me and turned my brain to mush. That why I tried to find you, and why I decided to come stay in London for a while longer.’
She frowned and ignored the crazy white-hot nonsense because she didn’t dare think about it, and focussed instead on the one fact she hadn’t registered. ‘Longer? What do you mean, stay longer?’
‘I’ve worked here off and on for years. I was doing some research here from October, then I went home for Christmas and someone told me about the job in Florence. I’d nearly finished my research, I was ready for the next step in my career, and I went for an interview. They offered me the job, I walked out of the hospital—and then I met you.’
‘So—what happened with the job? Didn’t they mind delaying your start?’ she asked, irrationally disappointed at the thought that he’d be going back to Italy soon, but he shook his head.
‘It’s irrelevant. I turned it down. I wanted to find you.’
‘But—why, Luca?’ she asked, stunned. ‘Why throw away your job in
She shook her head. ‘I didn’t know where I was being moved to and, anyway, it didn’t seem relevant. I had other things on my mind.’ Things like him. Things like his smile, and the scent of his body close to hers, and the feel of his lips on hers.
She yanked her thoughts back in line. ‘But, anyway, that’s all beside the point, Luca. I had reasons for not wanting to see you again, that’s why I didn’t give you my number.’
‘What reasons? Is there another man in your life? This guy that hurt you? Or is it all in the past?’
‘Is it any of your business?’ she asked a little desperately, and he shrugged.
‘I don’t know. Maybe. If it affects the way you relate to me—and certainly if there’s someone else. I don’t poach from another man’s territory, and I don’t do infidelity, mine or anyone else’s. Ever—at least, not knowingly, so if there is someone…’
‘There isn’t. Well, at least, not for me. I told you, I don’t—’
‘—do relationships. I know. I don’t either, not recently. But you—you got under my skin, Isabelle. I’ve had affairs, but they don’t last. They leave me cold—well, not cold, but certainly not hot,’ he added, his voice dropping sensually, his accent more pronounced, ‘not so hot I thought my clothes would catch fire, so hot I thought I’d die if I didn’t have you right then, right there on the walkway above the Duomo in front of the entire city. Not so hot I could hardly get you through the bedroom door before I tore your clothes off so I could feel your skin against mine.’
‘Stop! Stop it!’ she begged, her hands shaking so much she slopped her tea over her legs. ‘It was just craziness.’
‘Si, I know. But I’ve never felt like that before. It was the first time in my life I’d lost control, and the first time in my life I felt really, truly alive. And I realised that, after feeling like that, despite whatever might or might not happen with us in the future, I could never settle for less. That’s why I wanted to find you—to know if it was real, because it felt real, cara. It felt more real than anything ever has before, and I wasn’t ready to let it go.’
She didn’t know what to say, so she said nothing for a while, just stared into her tea while he ate toast and sipped his tea and his words went round and round in her head.
‘Isabella?’
She looked up at him, shocked by his honesty and the strength of his reaction. And her own. ‘Luca, I don’t know what you want me to say.’
‘I don’t want you to say anything particularly. I want you to keep an open mind. I have no idea if this could last, but I want to find out. I want to get to know you, give you a chance to get to know me. Give us a chance.’
‘You want to have an affair?’
He gave a soft grunt. ‘Perhaps? Maybe not, not yet. But I feel as if I’ve lost my mind, having a crazy, white-hot fling with a beautiful Englishwoman who’s bewitched me and turned my brain to mush. That why I tried to find you, and why I decided to come stay in London for a while longer.’
She frowned and ignored the crazy white-hot nonsense because she didn’t dare think about it, and focussed instead on the one fact she hadn’t registered. ‘Longer? What do you mean, stay longer?’
‘I’ve worked here off and on for years. I was doing some research here from October, then I went home for Christmas and someone told me about the job in Florence. I’d nearly finished my research, I was ready for the next step in my career, and I went for an interview. They offered me the job, I walked out of the hospital—and then I met you.’
‘So—what happened with the job? Didn’t they mind delaying your start?’ she asked, irrationally disappointed at the thought that he’d be going back to Italy soon, but he shook his head.
‘It’s irrelevant. I turned it down. I wanted to find you.’
‘But—why, Luca?’ she asked, stunned. ‘Why throw away your job in
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