“I saw his clothes in here. You know…like they’d been partying and got carried away. She’s only been in Italy a little while. He’s one lucky stud. If I were just a little older …”
“But you’re not.” He reached out and tousled his hair.
“Mama thinks maybe it was Basilio.”
“Basilio is a little too old for her, don’t you think?”
“Not if she’s after his money.”
“I guess anything’s possible.”
“Papa says Basilio is gaga over her. It’s all the talk at work.”
“What’s all the talk?”
“How gorgeous she is. You ought to see her, Uncle Lucca. Even you would have a coronary.”
Lucca had already come close to having a heart attack and quite a few other things as well at the sight of the silvery-gold tigress ready to attack him with the cane that first night. He grinned at his nephew. “Even me, huh?”
“Yeah, well, Mama says you can get any woman you want.”
Lucca hoped so, because he wanted Annabelle. “Aren’t you working in the shop this summer?”
“Yeah. I have to be there at noon every day. Guess I better get going. Mama will have dinner ready.”
“Do you want another plum on your way out?”
“Sure. Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.” Fortunato was growing up in more ways than one. Little did Annabelle know she was his nephew’s new fantasy, not to mention Lucca’s. He watched the boy walk out to his car. “By the way …” he called to him.
Fortunato turned to him. “Yeah?”
Before shutting the door he said, “I’m the lucky stud whose clothes you saw lying around.”
Annabelle let herself in the house and was clasped in a strong pair of arms. “At last,” Lucca whispered, burying his face in her hair. “I’ve been watching for you. Where have you been?”
“Walking.”
“I thought so.” He pressed kisses all the way to her mouth. She couldn’t deny that his hunger was as great as her own. Since his arrival in Ravello, they’d been thrown into an intimate situation. Lucca had never married and wouldn’t be a man if he didn’t want to enjoy his nurse until she’d gone. Annabelle didn’t blame him at all.
Thank you, Guilio, for the heads-up. After their conversation, she was afraid she was in a different place than Lucca emotionally. Guilio had indicated Lucca valued her medical assistance. If that was all, then the trick was to be her wisest self until the party was over and she went back to California.
She eased herself away enough to talk to him and cupped his face. “I have to know. How did it go with your father? He loves you so much.”
His gaze wandered over her features in the semidarkness. “Can’t I tell you later? To be honest, all I’ve been able to think about is getting you alone.” He began kissing the daylights out of her. Annabelle had never felt this alive before. Being with Lucca was like being reborn.
He started to maneuver her into the other room, but the fear that she would go on reading too much into his lovemaking prevented her from indulging herself for long. If he wasn’t starting to love her as intensely as she did him, then she was playing with fire. Slowly she eased out of his arms.
“Why are you pulling away from me?”
“I didn’t eat much today. Do you think we could go to dinner first? Then you can tell me everything.”
Lucca’s gaze swept over her. “I should have realized, but when I saw you come in the door, I only had one desire. Is there anything you need to do before we leave?”
“I’ll just freshen up. Be sure to bring your pills.”
He nodded. “I’m looking forward to the day I don’t need them anymore.”