“I’m awake, Fabio.”
His palm pushed the door open. His smile was the first thing I saw of his face before all of him was standing in the room. “Buongiorno.”
“Back at you. Please tell me you have coffee.”
“I do. Would you like to have it here or on the way?”
“What do you think, Tiara? Are you hungry?”
Her jaws parted, and her tongue dangled out, her breathing fast.
I glanced up at Fabio, giving him a small shrug. “Okay. Breakfast it is.”
His smile grew into a bright grin, too bright for mornings. “Coming right up. Any special requests?”
“Bacon. Lots of bacon. And chocolate. Right, Tiara?”
She drooled all over my head, and he laughed. Then his look turned more pensive. “You look so nice in my shirt, holding my dog…”
I petted her, ignoring the flash of heat rising to my neck. “She’s beautiful.”
“So are you.” He didn’t follow with the usual wink he was used to when he flirted out of his ass. “I got you a new toothbrush if you need it,” he said on the way out.
“Yes please.”
He brought it to the bed and headed back out without a word. I was grateful for the awkward silence, certain it was way less awkward than thetalkwe were about to have.
I put Tiara down and went to the bathroom. The disinfectant scent lingered in the air, yet there were still traces of the smell of puke even though the floor was clean. I freshened up to the best of my hungover ability, and as I may or may have not snooped into Fabio’s cabinet, smelling his aftershave and finding his condom and sex toys stash—how many vibrators did one man need to own to please a woman? Unless it wasn’t just one woman—the aroma of bacon and eggs made my mouth water.
I went back to the bedroom, catching my reflection in the mirror next to the closet. His t-shirt barely covered my ass, but he was right. I looked nice in it.
Bringing the fabric to my nose, I inhaled, and a smile stretched my lips. I’d missed this. A manly scent on me, a manly voice waking me up, simply a man in the same apartment where I was.
I tiptoed out of the room and followed the aroma of breakfast to find the kitchen, Tiara guiding me, too. When we reached our destination, shirtless Fabio had earphones on his head, singingAdore Youwhile shaking his hips to the tune, his hands busy with a pan.
As if a new level of sexiness opened up to me, I stood there, mesmerized by the sensual way his body undulated and the firmness of his muscles flexed. My gaze dropped to Tiara. She was wiggling her little tail, and I swore she was trying to shake her ass like he was. I got her off the floor. “You watch this every day?”
Her tail wiggled faster.
“You’re too young to watch this.” I covered her eyes and smiled. “I’m old enough, though.”
He looked like he was about to make love to the fridge with his next steps, so I coughed loud enough for him to hear.
He flinched back a step, yanking the headphones off, smiling sheepishly at me. “How long have you been standing there?”
“Long enough.”
“Go wait in bed. I’ll be there in a minute…naughty girl.”
My cheeks warmed, but I complied. It didn’t take long for him to come carrying a tray and place it on the bed. He commanded Tiara to get her bowl in Italian, and she did. Daddy’s good girl. Unlike me. I was Daddy’s naughty girl.
He served her a portion of bacon and eggs and promised her a chocolate treat if she was good and didn’t jump on the bed while we ate. Then he handed me a fork.
I started to dig in, an annoying—rude—question wouldn’t leave me be. “Are these sheets clean?” Who was I if I didn’t ruin every nice beginning we had?
He looked like he was about to stab me with his fork, but he forked scrambled eggs instead. “Yes. Thanks to you, I haven’t had any action since I met you, Lady Brighton. Not even on Wednesday.”
I felt as if someone reached and tickled my heart because that was how ridiculously happy I felt to know he didn’t sleep with someone else. “Not even on Wednesday?”
