“Take it back,” a man’s voice cut in from behind her.
The waiter looked surprised, and Kathleen started to turn just as the man came around the table. He was tall and well-dressed in tan, linen dress pants and a white button-down with rolled-up sleeves that looked snowy white against his sun-bronzed skin. His hair was short but wavy. Kathleen was sure it would be curly if the man let it grow out. Also, he had the most compelling green eyes she’d ever seen. He was, in a word, gorgeous.
“I’m sorry, who are you?” Kathleen asked, bluntness creeping into her tone. Normally, she wouldn’t have been so abrupt, but after the day she’d had, she found she couldn’t dig deep enough to find her innate politeness, no matter how attractive the man was.
The man spoke in Italian to the waiter, his words coming too rapidly for her to try to translate. The waiter immediately scooped the glass off the table and headed back toward the bar.
“Who are you?” Kathleen demanded again, growing slightly upset. She glanced around the room. Where was security when she needed it? And why had the waiter just listened to this stranger without question?
The man offered his hand. “My name is Enzo Valardi.”
Kathleen stared at it and then looked up at the man, who was even better looking than she first thought. He was definitely Italian, but those eyes threw the look off just enough to make him striking.
Kathleen reluctantly took the man’s hand, and a jolt of electricity danced across her skin. “Valardi,” she repeated slowly. “Why is that name familiar?”
He offered her a smile, then pulled out the chair opposite her and sat down.
“Did I miss the part where I invited you to sit with me?” Her words were light, but her tone was heavy and cold.
Enzo smiled, unbothered.
“What is it you want?” she asked, her voice far more direct now.
“I want to know that you’re okay after what happened today.”
Kathleen’s heart started pounding. “Why the hell would you care? And how do you know anyway?” She frowned. “What is this? Some sort of weird pickup? Or are you going to threaten me to get to him?” She searched frantically for Antonio, but of course, the waiter was nowhere in sight.
Enzo held up a hand. “No, don’t panic. Your brother called me. We’ve been friends since we were in our twenties. He asked me to check in on you.”
“For Christ’s sake,” she muttered, exhaling hard. “That’s so unnecessary. I told him I was fine.”
“I’m sure you did,” Enzo said easily. “But your brother worries about you. And I don’t blame him. It’s… odd, you getting mugged here. Lake Lugano is not exactly known as a criminal hotspot. If you’d told me you’d gotten mugged in Florence, I would have believed it.” He shrugged. “But no matter, I’m glad you’re okay. Your brother will be equally pleased to know that you’re unharmed.”
“Jamie needs to believe me when I tell him things. I am an adult. I can take care of myself.” She didn’t know why she was telling him this. With a mental sigh, she attempted to relax her shoulders again.
“I’m sure you can,” Enzo agreed smoothly. “But here’s the thing, you would tell Jamie you were fine if you were half dead, and he knows that.”
Kathleen gritted her teeth. This man was too smug, too smooth, and, even more annoyingly, completely correct.
The waiter reappeared then with two glasses and a bottle of red wine. He set the glasses down and then offered the bottle, label out, to Valardi. Kathleen wanted to yell,just pour the damn wine already,but she bit her tongue as Antonio opened the wine and then poured a mouthful into Valardi’s glass. The man took a sip, and his lips curled into an intriguing, satisfied smile. He set his glass back down with a nod, and the waiter immediately filled Kathleen’s glass, then refilled Valardi’s glass.
“Is there anything I can get you? Are you ready to place a dinner order?” Antonio addressed Valardi.
He gave a brief shake of his head. Antonio nodded and left quickly.
“What did the waiter just do?” Kathleen asked.
“Do?” Enzo arched an eyebrow.
“There’s a certain level of deference they seem to have for you.”
“No, no,” he said with a small, placating smile. “I’m sure he’s like that with everyone.”
She didn’t buy that for a minute. Every man, maybe, but he wasn’t like that with her. Of course, she didn’t exude the same level of confidence as the man sitting across from her. Hell, she couldn’t even decide on what to drink.
“Well, thank you, I guess, for getting me what I assume is a better wine.”
“You are welcome,” Enzo said smoothly.
