of daisies and dahlias to give him a warm smile. “You have the look of a man on a mission.”
“I am that. I had a long session in the studio today, and my back is stiff. Celeste is sending me to the hot springs, and she told me to drag Rose along with me.” He challenged Rose with a look and added, “You’ll come?”
Indecision glimmered in her eyes.
“Your feet must hurt after standing in those stilts all evening,” he added. “I’ll rub them for you,
Bellissima
.”
“Italian endearments,” Maggie observed, patting her hand rapidly over her heart. “You are a dangerous man, Cicero.”
“Training,” he replied, adding a bit of the devil to his smile. “I lived in Venice for two years. So, you’ll join me?” He waited a bit and added,
“Per piacere?”
She slowly nodded.
“Excellent.” He offered her his arm. “Shall we track down our hosts and say our good-nights?”
“I think they’re all out on the front porch,” Maggie said helpfully.
As they moved toward the front door, Rose murmured, “My feet don’t hurt. These are great shoes. I don’t need a foot rub.”
“Yes, they most definitely are great shoes.” He reached down and pulled an errant curl behind her ear and ranhis finger down the skin of her neck. “I’d like to see you wearing them and nothing else.”
She visibly shuddered and briefly closed her eyes, then asked rhetorically, “What are you doing?”
“Trying to take the edge off,
Sirena Bellissima
. Trying to take the edge off.”
Rose almost chickened out. The doubts that had assailed her before joining the party downstairs returned with full force once she went upstairs to change into her swimsuit. She wasn’t stupid. The man was looking to get laid. There was only one way this evening would end if she went with him to the dark, private hot springs. Yet, here she was wriggling into a swimsuit. Was she weak? Wanton? Both?
Both. She wanted this—wanted him. It had been so damned long for her.
It was only when she slipped the swimsuit strap over her shoulder that she remembered that this wasn’t a usual winter’s night in Eternity Springs. This was the evening between Ice Fishing Derby and the balloon race. Town was packed with people. The mineral springs would be packed, too.
Her stomach sank in disappointment.
Wait a minute. Crowded hot springs aren’t a deal breaker. You could always invite him up to your apartment to … see your manuscript
.
Before she could change her mind, she pulled on the boots and full-length down coat she used for her walks to the springs, grabbed a towel, and headed back downstairs where Cicero waited. With his earlier mention of Scarlett O’Hara planted in her brain, she had a sudden mental flash of the scene from
Gone with the Wind
where Rhett Butler stood at the base of the staircase looking up.
Except Hunt Cicero was better-looking than Clark Gable
.
And frankly, my dear, you’ve never had a fourteen-inch waist in your life
.
Who cares? He told me I look beautiful
.
The engagement party crowd had departed, and they were able to slip out the back door without any delay. A three-quarter moon shone in a clear, dark, star-studded sky. “I love the night sky here,” Cicero said, his breath fogging on the bitter air. “It’s something I missed during my time in Texas.”
“Too much city light?”
“Way too much. Bella Vita spoiled me.”
“I’d love to visit the island someday,” she said wistfully. “Gabi makes it sound like paradise.”
“It is. It was a great place to live for a little while.”
“But not forever?”
“No. I don’t do forever. I’ve been a wanderer all my life.”
A timely reminder, Rose thought, trying to ignore the little sting, then deciding the comment was exactly what she needed to hear in order to manage her expectations. They reached the fork in the path that led to the hot springs and Cicero turned the wrong direction. “No,” she said. “This way.”
“Actually,
“I am that. I had a long session in the studio today, and my back is stiff. Celeste is sending me to the hot springs, and she told me to drag Rose along with me.” He challenged Rose with a look and added, “You’ll come?”
Indecision glimmered in her eyes.
“Your feet must hurt after standing in those stilts all evening,” he added. “I’ll rub them for you,
Bellissima
.”
“Italian endearments,” Maggie observed, patting her hand rapidly over her heart. “You are a dangerous man, Cicero.”
“Training,” he replied, adding a bit of the devil to his smile. “I lived in Venice for two years. So, you’ll join me?” He waited a bit and added,
“Per piacere?”
She slowly nodded.
“Excellent.” He offered her his arm. “Shall we track down our hosts and say our good-nights?”
“I think they’re all out on the front porch,” Maggie said helpfully.
As they moved toward the front door, Rose murmured, “My feet don’t hurt. These are great shoes. I don’t need a foot rub.”
“Yes, they most definitely are great shoes.” He reached down and pulled an errant curl behind her ear and ranhis finger down the skin of her neck. “I’d like to see you wearing them and nothing else.”
She visibly shuddered and briefly closed her eyes, then asked rhetorically, “What are you doing?”
“Trying to take the edge off,
Sirena Bellissima
. Trying to take the edge off.”
Rose almost chickened out. The doubts that had assailed her before joining the party downstairs returned with full force once she went upstairs to change into her swimsuit. She wasn’t stupid. The man was looking to get laid. There was only one way this evening would end if she went with him to the dark, private hot springs. Yet, here she was wriggling into a swimsuit. Was she weak? Wanton? Both?
Both. She wanted this—wanted him. It had been so damned long for her.
It was only when she slipped the swimsuit strap over her shoulder that she remembered that this wasn’t a usual winter’s night in Eternity Springs. This was the evening between Ice Fishing Derby and the balloon race. Town was packed with people. The mineral springs would be packed, too.
Her stomach sank in disappointment.
Wait a minute. Crowded hot springs aren’t a deal breaker. You could always invite him up to your apartment to … see your manuscript
.
Before she could change her mind, she pulled on the boots and full-length down coat she used for her walks to the springs, grabbed a towel, and headed back downstairs where Cicero waited. With his earlier mention of Scarlett O’Hara planted in her brain, she had a sudden mental flash of the scene from
Gone with the Wind
where Rhett Butler stood at the base of the staircase looking up.
Except Hunt Cicero was better-looking than Clark Gable
.
And frankly, my dear, you’ve never had a fourteen-inch waist in your life
.
Who cares? He told me I look beautiful
.
The engagement party crowd had departed, and they were able to slip out the back door without any delay. A three-quarter moon shone in a clear, dark, star-studded sky. “I love the night sky here,” Cicero said, his breath fogging on the bitter air. “It’s something I missed during my time in Texas.”
“Too much city light?”
“Way too much. Bella Vita spoiled me.”
“I’d love to visit the island someday,” she said wistfully. “Gabi makes it sound like paradise.”
“It is. It was a great place to live for a little while.”
“But not forever?”
“No. I don’t do forever. I’ve been a wanderer all my life.”
A timely reminder, Rose thought, trying to ignore the little sting, then deciding the comment was exactly what she needed to hear in order to manage her expectations. They reached the fork in the path that led to the hot springs and Cicero turned the wrong direction. “No,” she said. “This way.”
“Actually,
Similar Books
