CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Mic almost spit out his beer. He wanted nothing more than to go back to Lily’s condo with her.
It was what she wanted. He could see it in her eyes. But something wasn’t quite right. They’d never made love just for sex. It had always been about love. And what she suggested now, a hook up, gave him an odd feeling he couldn’t quite interpret.
So he left the decision to chance. “How about if we play darts for it?”
She laughed. “What?”
“If you beat me, we do as you wish.”
She rose from the table. “Wow. I’ve never had a man turn me down before.”
Jealousy speared his heart as he also rose. “There have been many?”
She laughed and took his arm, leading him to the dartboard. “There was no one.”
He said, “What?” but she ignored him, walking to the board and removing the darts for them to play.
The thought that she’d spent eight years celibate rattled through him. Confusion destroyed his dart game, and she easily beat him. And he wondered if that hadn’t actually been her plan.
He met her gaze. “Looks like you get your wish.”
She smiled and reached for her coat on the hook, but he grabbed it before she could and held it for her to slide on. “So we go back to your condo now?”
She turned, her eyes bright with humor. “You must be invited again?”
His heart kicked. He hadn’t realized how much he’d longed for her smile, her presence, until that very second. With the pretense gone and all questions answered, he just wanted to be with her.
“No. I don’t need to be asked twice.”
She headed for the exit. He followed her, opening the door when they reached it, and she walked into the cold night.
Still, as much as he wanted to be with her, something about this troubled him.
“So you worked for Signor Bartolini for eight years?”
“Actually he died a while back. But Melony and I were there for years. He made his home our home.”
He took comfort in that, and relaxed a little. But her statement that there had been no one for her since their relationship popped into his head again, haunting him in a way he couldn’t quite figure out.
She’d spent the time they were apart truly alone. A sign that she’d had trouble forgetting him—forgetting what they’d had. She’d genuinely sacrificed so he could live his dream. The power of it humbled him.
He pulled the collar up on his jacket. “It’s really cold.”
She shoved her hands into the pockets of her simple black wool coat. “Our coldest January in a long time.”
Moonlight spilled over the streets and the glistening water of the fountain.
“You never did tell me your wish.”
“Because I want it to come true.”
He laughed and caught her hand, joy filling his heart. Maybe the thing to do would be forget the past and let this night happen.
They walked into her building bundled together like longtime lovers sharing secrets. When they entered the elevator, Mic caught her hand, swung her to face him and kissed her. She murmured her pleasure, and he deepened the kiss, sliding his tongue across hers, sending chill bumps to her toes.
The elevator bell rang. She heard the doors swish open, but they didn’t stop kissing. Feelings and sensations returned in long, elegant waves of arousal that wound through her, warming her and filling her heart with joy.
The elevator door swished closed again, but Rafe pulled away and swatted the “open” button. As the doors slid apart again, he scooped Lily into his arms.
“Which door?”
“Two,” she said, nuzzling her nose into his neck which was scented with a combination of aftershave and man. She would have thought this a dream, but the muscles beneath her fingers were solid and strong. He was solid and strong. She’d missed him in a way that had slowed her heartbeat and stolen her soul, and now he was here and she was in his arms.
Easy strides took him to her door. She rummaged in her jeans pocket for the key and, leaning back, punched it into the lock and opened the door.
He stepped inside, took a quick glance at her simple furnishings and said, “Nice.” But he didn’t slow his steps. He strode back the short hall to the last room and dumped her on the bed.
She squealed with delight and rolled away when he would have fallen on her, a game they used to play all those years ago. He caught her arm and brought her back to him, but she scooted away again. They tumbled across the bed like two kids before he finally stopped them by pinning her beneath him.
“You’re beautiful. You know that, right?”
It was so wonderful, so perfect, to feel his weight on her, to feel his heartbeat thrumming down into her breast. “Only you think so.”
He blew his breath out in a sound of disbelief. “You don’t look around. I see how the apprentices and cooks stare at you. Not to mention customers.”
“Then maybe you should kiss me to make sure I never notice them.”
He laughed and did as she’d asked, but not in the playful way she’d expected. The kiss was slow and deep, merging their mouths, awakening their souls. A lazy haze enveloped her. When he pulled away, she caught his arm to stop him.
“Coat,” he said, jerking off his jacket.
She quickly reached for the buttons of her black wool coat, but he nudged her hands away so he could undo them. As each popped, a piece of her coat slid away. His eyes darkened.
She levered herself up, so he could remove the garment. But she didn’t wait painstaking minutes he was taking. She sat up a little more, put her hands at the bottom of her sweater and jerked it over her head.
He kissed her then. Desire trembled through her, along with her first shadow of doubt. After their breakup, she hadn’t been able to even look at a man in eight years. Was it smart to spend one more night with the man who seemed to ruin her for other men?
Mic awakened hours later. He glanced at the clock. Three-thirty. He needed to be at Mancini’s at seven, but he couldn’t get himself to move. Snuggled into his side was beautiful Lily, the only woman he’d ever loved.
As he got out of bed to dress, he took in her simple bedroom. Airy lace curtains. A comforter of soft colors
