br /> “The suitcase is my territory.”
“Then you have no right to leave it where… Oh my! What-is-THAT?”
Emily followed the woman’s stare.
“That” was Sir Arrogant’s limo, pulling to the curb. Last night, it had looked big. By daylight, it was the size of a yacht.
The little dog woofed and trotted down the steps with Mrs. Flynn hanging on to the end of the leash.
The rear passenger door opened. Marco stepped from the car.
Mrs. Flynn gasped.
Who could blame her? Emily thought, as her mouth went dry.
He was, in a word, spectacular.
Not in a suit.
In jeans, a dark blue T-shirt, an open leather bomber jacket and scuffed leather boots with a light early-morning-I-forgot-to-shave stubble on his jaw. The jeans were faded; they clung to his narrow hips and long legs. The T clung to his chest and flat belly.
He was a fantasy come true, and if her pulse beat any harder, surely he would hear it.
“Good morning.”
His voice was early morning, too, rough and low and husky.
Emily’s heart jumped.
So did her libido.
Who was she kidding?
She’d nailed the truth last night. Of course she wanted to climb into bed with Marco Santini. Reality was that she’d climb into the back of the limo with him. She’d climb into anything with him, anything, anywhere, anytime…
“No.”
She stared at him in horror. Had she spoken her thoughts aloud?
She hadn’t.
Sir Arrogant had delivered the quiet command to The Mop just as it lifted a skinny leg against the limo’s front tire. The dog looked at him, lowered its leg, tucked its ratty little tail between its hindquarters and scurried back toward Mrs. Flynn.
Emily looked at Marco. He raised an eyebrow.
Laughter bubbled in her throat.
“You are,” she said, “very good at giving commands.”
He grinned. “So I’ve been told.” His gaze moved over her, slowly, from the top of her head to her toes and then back up again. “Ready for travel, I see, cara.”
“Where are you and this—this charming gentleman going, Emily?”
It was Mrs. Flynn. Until that moment, Emily hadn’t thought the woman knew her name.
Marco gave Emily a quick wink.
“And who is this delightful woman, Emily?”