“Really? Ididn’t know. Ijust love the scent.”
“Mmm. They mean eternal love.” Tina’s eyes filled with laughter. “Or innocence. I’ll let you decide which is more appropriate.”
Definitely not innocence. Francesca hastily returned the vase to her desktop. She took a seat and pulled out her sketchpad, determined to get straight to work. Not that she accomplished much. More times than she could count she found herself staring into space with a reminiscent smile on her face while she stroked the vase and inhaled the sweet scent of orange blossoms.
Saturday came and Francesca assumed she wouldn’t have to worry about Sev showing up at Starbucks, or sending her a gift at work, or finding some other way to tempt her into giving in to his blatant seduction. Or so she thought until she opened the door to her apartment to his latest surprise.
“What are you doing here?” she demanded.
Sev lowered the fist he’d been about to use on her door. “I came to talk to you.”
“I thought we decided we weren’t going to contact each other again,” she said. “Nothing can come of this, you realize that, don’t you? No matter how much I might want to see you, it means losing my job, and I won’t risk that.”
He stared down at her with such heat that it was a wonder it didn’t turn the air to steam. “I’m well aware of that fact. Not that it changes anything.” He glanced over her shoulder and into her apartment. “Aren’t you going to invite me in?”
“No, I’m not.”
“Please, Francesca.”
Just those two words and she felt her resolve fading. “What’s the point, Sev?” she whispered.
“This. This is the point.”
He cupped her face and took her mouth in a passionate kiss. Francesca closed her eyes as Sev made his point, as well as several others, in ways sweeter and more generous than any that had gone before. She gave herself up to sheer rapture, surrendering to desire over common sense. Without even realizing it, she backed into her apartment and Sev kicked the door closed behind them. Endless minutes passed before she surfaced with a groan.
“I can’t believe we’re doing this again. It’s not safe.” She fisted her hands in his shirt. “Listen to me, Sev. I’m telling you straight out. You can’t show up at Starbucks or send me flowers or any more gorgeous vases—thank you, by the way—or slip me notes in my lunch.”
“Fine. Iwon’t. Instead, why don’t I steal you away for the weekend?”
She had to give him credit for sheer brazenness, if nothing else. “Forget it. I’ve already told you—”
He nodded impatiently. “Yeah, yeah. Heard it all before. That still doesn’t change anything. We need time together in order to resolve our differences.”
“We can’t resolve our differences,” she emphasized. “There are simply too many obstacles.”
“Obstacles we haven’t made any effort to overcome. I’d like to try and correct that oversight. I’ve made reservations. We’ll be discreet. No one will find out we’ve been together.”
“And if I say no?” she asked, lifting an eyebrow. “Will you blackmail me again?”
“Would that make it easier for you to surrender?” His voice dropped, reminding her of a certain moonlit night when he’d whispered the most outrageous suggestions in her ear, suggestions he’d then turned from proposition to action. “Come with me, Francesca. Or I swearI’ll show up at Timeless and tell everyone who’ll listen that we’re lovers.”
“I don’t believe you. You’re just saying that because—”
He leaned in, stopping her with another endless kiss. “Don’t challenge me.” There was no mistaking the warning in his dark eyes. “When have I ever failed to follow through on my word?”
“Right now,” she informed him. “All this week. You said—” She hesitated, struggling to recall precisely what he had said when they last met. As far as she could remember, she’d done most of the talking that day. He gave her a knowing look and she blew out her breath in an aggravated sigh. “Okay, fine. You might not have come right out and said it, but you did agree to end the affair.”
He tipped her face up to his. “Does it look like I agree with our ending things?”
Not even a little. “Without question.”
His slow, knowing smile proved her undoing. “Go pack a bag. We can finish arguing about it in the car.”
She turned without another word and crossed to her bedroom. Five minutes later she returned with an overnight bag, more certain with every step she took that she’d completely lost her mind. And maybe she had, but after fiveminutes with Sev, she no longer cared. One more weekend and then she’d put an end to their relationship, she promised herself. Just these two days together and then no more. After all, who would ithurt?
To her delight, Sev drove them into wine country, where he’d booked a room at a charming bed-and-breakfast. They spent the day at several of the local wineries sampling the wares before enjoying an impromptu picnic that consisted of generous slices of the local Sonoma Jack cheese and freshly baked bread. That night they dined out at a small, elegant restaurant specializing in French cuisine, their day together one of the most enchanting Francesca had ever experienced. The sun had long since set when they returned to their room and silently came together.
She’d been waiting for this from the moment she’d agreed to spend the weekend with Sev, had been anticipating it, desire fomenting with each passing hour. And now that the moment had arrived, she tumbled, falling headlong into his arms and into his bed, if not into his heart. Because she couldn’t quite convince herself that what they felt could be anything more than physical.
