Swept Away by the Venetian Millionaire

They both answered at the same time, talking over each other. Leo came to stand between them, giving them curious looks.

“We met yesterday,” Vito supplied.

“Vito was kind enough to help me out of a rather precarious situation. It’s why I’m here. I realized that I should come back and thank him properly.”

“That isn’t necessary,” Vito said in a firm, steady voice, his eyes fixed on hers.

Leo spoke before she could respond. “Wait a minute. You look quite familiar. Have you and I met before, as well?”

Maya was finding it hard to focus on whatever Leo was saying. She couldn’t tear her eyes or her focus from Vito. He seemed surprised to see her. The only question was, was it a pleasant surprise or an unwelcome one?

“I don’t see how you would have,” Vito answered for her.

Leo rubbed his chin as he contemplated her. “Are you certain? Your face is quite familiar.”

Maya made herself form an answer. “Unless you’ve been to Boston and we somehow coincidentally ran into each other, I can’t imagine that we might have met at some point, Signor Rameri.”

“Call me Leo. I’m Vito’s cousin.” He’d barely gotten the last word out when he suddenly clapped his hands in front of his chest. “It’s you! That’s how I know you. You’re the young lady in Vito’s sketch.”

She could have sworn she heard Vito groan. “I think Maya might prefer if I destroyed the sketch, Leo. Or if it had never existed.”

Leo whipped his head around to glare at his cousin. “What? How can you even think such a thing?”

Vito shrugged as he walked in and set down the parcels he was carrying. He motioned with his chin in Maya’s direction. “The lady is unhappy with it.”

She cleared her throat. “Now, that isn’t exactly what I said. And that’s part of the reason I’m here.”

Both men gave her curious glances, then waited expectantly for her to clarify.

Maya should have better prepared herself for what she was going to say. Having Leo here didn’t exactly help matters. It would have been difficult enough to try and talk to Vito without an audience. But she couldn’t be rude enough to ask the man to leave his own cousin’s showroom, now could she?

She cleared her throat. “I just wanted to come back and tell you that I feel badly for the way I left here yesterday. I should have been more gracious, especially considering your kindness and hospitality.”

Looking at Vito’s face became disconcerting as she spoke the words. So she glanced to where Leo stood staring at her. His mouth had formed a small O of surprise. Clearly, Vito hadn’t told the other man about all that had transpired during her afternoon with him.

“And I shouldn’t have taken the liberties I did,” Vito responded. “We shall call dual mea culpa, then, Signorina Maya. And leave it at that.”

Leo’s mouth fell further agape. Based on his expression, he was clearly drawing some rather scandalous conclusions about what had happened between them.

“That sounds fair enough,” she replied, trying to insert a lightheartedness into her tone. As if this conversation wasn’t awkward in the least. “And please don’t destroy the sketch.” She wasn’t brave enough to ask for it. It was a professional work, after all. Lord knew, she wouldn’t be able to pay what an artist of his caliber was worth. “In fact, I wish I could take a picture of it to show the folks back home. But as you know, my phone fell into the bottom of the canal right before I did.”

Leo suddenly held a hand up to stop her. “Wait. Wait a minute, per favore. Did I hear correctly that you fell into the water?”

She nodded. “That’s right. Vito pulled me out.”

“He did?”

“Mmm-hmm. Then he brought me back here to help me get cleaned up.”

“I see.” To Maya’s confusion, Leo held a hand out to her. She hesitantly took it for lack of anything else to do. “You’ll be joining us for lunch, Signorina Maya. My cousin has just brought back some mouthwatering pancetta and homemade pasta. I’m sure there’ll be plenty for all three of us.”