blue, I go there and satiate myself with all the cannoli I can eat.”
“Cannoli?”
“Oh, yes. They’re so good it’s almost sinful. What do you say?”
“I say you make a very tempting offer.”
“That’s the spirit.” She patted his cheek. “Just give me a minute to put these files away and we can leave. I’m so glad you stopped by to set things right between us.”
Jolynn turned toward her door, only to just miss running into a tall, lanky man. Her stomach lurched. She hadn’t realized how edgy she still was from the close call with the peeping Tom. Her mind raced back to the man on the balcony this morning and quickly realized this guy was taller, lankier. She must just be paranoid.
“Excuse me,” the guy said with a distinctly Texas accent.
A familiar guy. She searched her memory and knew his voice sounded familiar. Someone from home?
Alarms blared louder in her head. She’d never thought to worry, but this was strange how she kept bumping into him. At least she had Charles with her.
He nodded crisply to her, to Charles, then circled past. Her eyes followed him to the next stateroom. The door flungopen before he knocked and the singer, Livia Cicero, stepped out. Her exotic perfume swelled down the hall.
The lounge singer hooked arms with the Texas stranger and waved to Jolynn. “This is the new man in my life. His name is Rex. Isn’t he yummy?”
The tips of Rex’s ears turned red.
Livia hugged his arm closer to her side as she leaned into him even as she talked to Jolynn. “Come catch the show tonight. Keep him company while I sing and make the other women stay away.
Ciao!
”
As quick as she’d arrived, the woman sashayed off in a swirl of perfume and body-hugging turquoise silk.
Jolynn turned back to Charles, only to find his eyes lingering on the singer as she swished away. Jealousy surged through her. Unmistakable. Strong. And nothing a mere “friend” should be feeling.
Maybe the time had come to take a risk and follow up on her attraction to this man. She would show Charles Tomas that friends made the best lovers with no risk to the heart.
* * *
Jolynn strolled down the narrow side street in the seaside village. No matter how many times she came here, the view still took her breath away.
As did the man beside her.
Excitement tingled along her arms at the prospect of a whole afternoon with him. The world around her seemed brighter, more optimistic. She soaked in the differences in the locale around her as opposed to her flatlands Texas home with its high-tech steel city and wide-open ranches. Here everything was bordered by mountains or the sea. The shopsand homes were packed together and crammed with history.
Arm swinging at her side, Jolynn kept the bag of pastries tight in her grip. Her other hand was tucked in the crook of Chuck’s arm. She’d been surprised when he put it there, but he’d just shrugged and said something about not wanting to lose her in the crowd. He’d been distracted since they left the
Fortuna
.
Still, she wasn’t arguing. Instead, she decided to just enjoy the day, her food, and the warm play of muscles under her fingertips. “History says that
cannolo
—that would be the singular of
cannoli
in case you didn’t know— originated in medieval times when the Arabs brought sugarcane to Sicily. Prior to that, they only had honey as a sweetener.”
“You don’t say.”
“I do say,” she bantered back. “They rolled the dough around a piece of sugarcane and voilà. They were most popular in the spring.”
“When sheep produced more milk for the ricotta filling.” He angled past college students with ID packs dangling from around their necks.
“You do know about them then.”
“A little bit. But I enjoy hearing you talk.” Charles kept walking, staring ahead with his ear tilted toward her as if waiting to hear what she would say next.
He wasn’t particularly chatty, she’d noticed. Her first friendship with a man was
“Cannoli?”
“Oh, yes. They’re so good it’s almost sinful. What do you say?”
“I say you make a very tempting offer.”
“That’s the spirit.” She patted his cheek. “Just give me a minute to put these files away and we can leave. I’m so glad you stopped by to set things right between us.”
Jolynn turned toward her door, only to just miss running into a tall, lanky man. Her stomach lurched. She hadn’t realized how edgy she still was from the close call with the peeping Tom. Her mind raced back to the man on the balcony this morning and quickly realized this guy was taller, lankier. She must just be paranoid.
“Excuse me,” the guy said with a distinctly Texas accent.
A familiar guy. She searched her memory and knew his voice sounded familiar. Someone from home?
Alarms blared louder in her head. She’d never thought to worry, but this was strange how she kept bumping into him. At least she had Charles with her.
He nodded crisply to her, to Charles, then circled past. Her eyes followed him to the next stateroom. The door flungopen before he knocked and the singer, Livia Cicero, stepped out. Her exotic perfume swelled down the hall.
The lounge singer hooked arms with the Texas stranger and waved to Jolynn. “This is the new man in my life. His name is Rex. Isn’t he yummy?”
The tips of Rex’s ears turned red.
Livia hugged his arm closer to her side as she leaned into him even as she talked to Jolynn. “Come catch the show tonight. Keep him company while I sing and make the other women stay away.
Ciao!
”
As quick as she’d arrived, the woman sashayed off in a swirl of perfume and body-hugging turquoise silk.
Jolynn turned back to Charles, only to find his eyes lingering on the singer as she swished away. Jealousy surged through her. Unmistakable. Strong. And nothing a mere “friend” should be feeling.
Maybe the time had come to take a risk and follow up on her attraction to this man. She would show Charles Tomas that friends made the best lovers with no risk to the heart.
* * *
Jolynn strolled down the narrow side street in the seaside village. No matter how many times she came here, the view still took her breath away.
As did the man beside her.
Excitement tingled along her arms at the prospect of a whole afternoon with him. The world around her seemed brighter, more optimistic. She soaked in the differences in the locale around her as opposed to her flatlands Texas home with its high-tech steel city and wide-open ranches. Here everything was bordered by mountains or the sea. The shopsand homes were packed together and crammed with history.
Arm swinging at her side, Jolynn kept the bag of pastries tight in her grip. Her other hand was tucked in the crook of Chuck’s arm. She’d been surprised when he put it there, but he’d just shrugged and said something about not wanting to lose her in the crowd. He’d been distracted since they left the
Fortuna
.
Still, she wasn’t arguing. Instead, she decided to just enjoy the day, her food, and the warm play of muscles under her fingertips. “History says that
cannolo
—that would be the singular of
cannoli
in case you didn’t know— originated in medieval times when the Arabs brought sugarcane to Sicily. Prior to that, they only had honey as a sweetener.”
“You don’t say.”
“I do say,” she bantered back. “They rolled the dough around a piece of sugarcane and voilà. They were most popular in the spring.”
“When sheep produced more milk for the ricotta filling.” He angled past college students with ID packs dangling from around their necks.
“You do know about them then.”
“A little bit. But I enjoy hearing you talk.” Charles kept walking, staring ahead with his ear tilted toward her as if waiting to hear what she would say next.
He wasn’t particularly chatty, she’d noticed. Her first friendship with a man was
Similar Books
