Madonn, what a woman!
I’d never seen a more beautiful girl in my life.
I mean, all the Rosolini brothers’ wives were really hot –
But none of them had blonde hair that shimmered like gold.
Emilia had acted distant, yes, but it was an act.
I didn’t let it bother me. I liked a challenge.
I wasn’t convinced about the boyfriend. At first I believed her, but then it seemed like she was insisting too much – like the wholeThat’s why I don’t respond to flirting from male customersthing.
Who says that?
Nobody.
I thought it was pretty funny, though, which was why I’d laughed.
Guess I wasn’t as smooth as Valentino Rosolini. Not as good-looking, either – though I wasn’t half bad.
What bothered me the most was the way she’d looked at my suit and immediately tensed up…
Almost like she knew what I did for a living.
Thatcould be a problem.
But it didn’t matter. I’d already made up my mind: I was going to get Emilia to go out with me.
Every chance I got, I was going to drop into the café and lay on the charm until she had no choice but to say ‘yes.’
If my line of work was the problem, I was going to show her that I was different.
And even if she put up more walls, I was more than willing to climb over them, dig under them, or go around.
Whatever it took, until she point-blank told me,GO AWAY.
But I was pretty sure she wouldn’t.
I felt a spark between us, even though she was trying to hide it.
“Emilia,” I murmured to myself as I drove away.
A beautiful name for a beautiful girl.
6
My thoughts of Emilia were the only pleasant thing about the next four hours.
I drove to Isolotto, far from Florence’s historic center. In Isolotto, all the buildings were 70 years old instead of 700.
It wasn’t a slum by any means, but it was definitely one of the poorer neighborhoods in the city.
A couple of streetwalkers were standing on the corner near a cheap hotel. I knew a lot more would come out once the sun went down.
Prostitution was legal in Italy, though there were limits to what was accepted.
Soliciting customers for sex was illegal, but as long as it was kept out of the tourist-heavy areas, solicitation was usually ignored by the cops.
