Read Online To Tuscany with Love by Gail Mencini - Free Book Online Page B

only one girl I want to use the signal for, and you’re it.”
     

     
    Hours later, Lee walked her back to her own room. His mouth probed hers again. Meghan rested her palm against his damp chest. “You can’t come in. I don’t know if Karen’s back yet.”
    “I know.” He sighed. “Tomorrow?”
    Meghan bit her lower lip. She nodded.
    Inside her tiny room, the still air smothered her. Karen hadn’t returned yet. Meghan ran to open the window, then flicked on the fan. Now the hot air moved. Sweat covered her face and body. She stripped to her bra and panties and danced around the narrow beds. Her hands moved to their own rhythm, the rhythm they had discovered together. How had she not seen this coming? She had been drawn to Lee since the first afternoon they met, but never imagined she’d lose her virginity this summer.
    The warm stickiness between her legs made her look down. A sheer smear of blood crossed her thigh. She remembered a bit of pain, but her passion had made her forget it. Karen seeing blood on her leg was not the way Meghan wanted to tell her twin about Lee, and how much she cared for him.
    Karen knew all about having a boyfriend. Ed and Karen had dated for two years and had been having sex for over a year. Karen teased Meghan that if she didn’t get busy, Meghan would be a virgin when they turned thirty.
    Meghan grabbed a towel and fresh panties and threw a sundress over her head. At this hour, her odds with the communal bathroom looked promising. As she moved through the door, Karen’s foot accidentally stepped on hers.
    “Where were you?” Karen’s lips pinched together. “You canned the museum. And I didn’t see you at the Calcio, or at the phone booths.”
    Meghan grinned. “I had the most amazing time.” With her wide smile, she probably resembled a circus clown, but Meghan didn’t care. She waited for Karen to pump her for information. But instead of questions, Karen gave a whoop and her words rushed out.
    “Meg, you won’t believe it.” Karen spun in a circle, her arms waving over her head. “Ed proposed.” She stopped her spin and grabbed her twin by the arm. “I'm engaged.”
    The warmth of the lovemaking evaporated from Meghan’s body. She froze. She couldn’t tell Karen about Lee now. Karen’s engagement trumped her news.
    Disappointment washed over her as if it were a cool, slimy gel. Then, like she had so many times before, Meghan thought about Karen, about her twin’s excitement. Meghan had a lifetime of Karen’s triumphs outshining hers. Karen’s part in the play was bigger. Karen, not Meghan, was soccer team captain. Karen’s prom dress was more elaborate, and more expensive.
    Meghan tossed her towel and panties onto the closest bed. She hugged Karen and pulled her close.
    The twins sat together cross-legged on the bed. Meghan had her face in control now. She widened her eyes. “Tell me everything.”
    Partway through Karen’s recounting of her brief phone conversation with Ed, Karen stopped mid-sentence. “Hey, what happened to you?”
    Meghan inhaled a deep breath. This was Karen’s moment, not hers. “Lee and I watched a man make leather jackets and gloves. A real artisan.”
    Karen grinned. “Get some ideas we can use in the States?” They had long planned to open a boutique together someday.
    “Of course.” Meghan patted her sister’s hand. “But tell me more. When are you going to tell Dad?” While Karen chatted on, Meghan’s mind drifted back to her time with Lee. She thought of his gentle touch, his quiet whispers, and the fairy-tale future she had imagined while lying naked in Lee’s arms.

10
     
    Night train Milan, Italy to Paris, France
     
    A fter running to catch the train, Bella and Karen collapsed onto a lower bunk. Stillman and Rune swung themselves onto the two top berths of the six-person couchette. The train jerked, then swayed side to side as it lumbered away from the loading platform in Milan.
    Karen giggled. “I didn’t