‘Me.’ He leaned closer, and this time Colette didn’t turn away. She kept still, caught between nerves and excitement, as his face hovered over hers and then finally their lips met.
His kisses were sweet, tender yet passionate, and it wasn’t long before her hands were touching his face, and she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer. Their kisses quickly grew deeper and more urgent, and Colette’s body screamed for his, unable to believe she could want anyone – or anything – as much as she did in that moment.
As she lowered her hand to the belt of his trousers, a little amazed at her own boldness, he stilled and moved to look into her eyes. ‘Are you sure?’
She nodded, surer of anything she’d been in her entire life.
Afterwards, Luca moved onto his back and pulled her closer to him, nestling her into the crook of his arm, while Colette’s body still trembled from the intensity of their love-making.
She had never felt so incredible, so alive as she did just then. As she rested her head against his chest, she felt the ripple of his muscles beneath the fabric and incredibly a fresh wave of arousal stirred.
She smiled to herself in the darkness. This was obviously what people were talking about when they joked about Italian men …
She’d had no idea what she’d been missing.
‘What are you thinking about?’ Luca asked.
‘Oh nothing,’ she lied with a grin, snuggling up against him. She wanted to stay here and listen to him forever.
The way he made he’d made her feel just now, how her insides turned to mush whenever he looked at her, how he spoke to her, and what he said just made her want to lose herself in him and never awaken from that dream.
Despite herself, she was falling for him and she didn’t know what to do about it. This could be nothing more than a holiday romance, the ultimate cliché.
But sometimes clichés were a very good thing.
‘I never want this night to end,’ Colette admitted with a sigh. ‘Is that silly?’
‘No,’ Luca replied. ‘I am wishing for the very same thing.’
She smiled in the darkness, deciding there and then to just go along with it, whatever it was and wherever it might lead.
She and Luca remained there, lying in silence in each other’s arms, the picture-perfect sky above them, when the sound of his phone buzzing broke the silence.
Groaning, Luca extricated himself to fish out his phone. He shook his head in frustration, but when he looked at the display she noticed a flash of something, besides annoyance at being interrupted, dart across his face.
‘Scusi,’ he stated, quickly moving away from her and continuing to speak hurriedly in Italian.
He was too far away for her to make out what he was saying, but the secretive way he’d moved to the other end of the boat instinctively made her stomach roil.
‘Everything all right?’ she asked when he returned.
‘All is fine,’ he replied distractedly.
‘Are you sure?’ Colette questioned as she studied his face. ‘I know you hate phones but I hope that wasn’t bad news or anything.’
But he seemed irritated by her questions, and just like that, the mood changed.
‘Nothing to worry about,’ he insisted, heading over to the wheel of the boat. ‘Let’s get you back.’
Chapter 32
Now
It was a manic day at #GlamSquad.
Several important clients had appointments all around the same time, which meant all hands on deck and Annie spending more time than usual out on the floor instead of in the office.
Unused to being on her feet these days, by the time four o’clock hit she was exhausted and almost ready to go home and collapse into bed when the phone rang.
