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Chiara holds up the bottle like she just won a fucking trophy while I finish getting ready for tonight’s town fair.
La Fiera del Limone is the Lemon Fair, apparently a big party here in Ribera, and Matteo promised us we’d love it. Everything will be lemon-themed, from the food and desserts to delicious cocktails made with homemade limoncello. There will be music, dancing, stalls all along the beach and, according to Chiara, enough alcohol to make tomorrow’s flight extremely unpleasant.
“I’m only having one.”
“Sure.”
“I mean it.”
“Of course you do.”
I narrow my eyes at her through the mirror just as a knock sounds at the door.
“I’ll get it.” I walk over and pull it open.
Dex comes in first, followed by Lexy and then…
Oh.
Jude.
Dex and Lexy look gorgeous, both dressed entirely in white. Lexy has her hair pulled up, gold earrings catching the light every time she moves, while Dex somehow manages to make a white linen shirt look like something that should be illegal.
But Jude…
Jesus.
Jude is wearing a forest-green T-shirt, and apparently that’s all it takes to completely short-circuit my brain. The soft fabric stretches across his broad shoulders and chest before falling closer around his waist, and when he pushes one hand into the pocket of his cream-colored linen shorts, the sleeve pulls tighter around his upper arm.
Has he always looked this good?
Of course he has. I have eyes. I just apparently haven't been using them.
His skin has grown darker after two weeks in southern Italy, making the green of his eyes stand out even more. His hair is still wet from the shower, darker than usual and pushed carelessly away from his forehead, except for one stubborn piece that's already fallen forward again. A drop of water disappears somewhere behind his ear.
For some completely unnecessary reason, I watch it.
My eyes move lower, taking in his strong jaw covered in neatly trimmed dark stubble, that mouth I've been paying entirely too much attention to lately, and those big hands…
Oh, for fuck's sake.
I look up, and of course he's watching me.
And smiling.
That smile. The one I've apparently become an expert on.
Shit.
I look away.
Everyone starts talking at once about tonight, Dex complaining about how much food he’s eaten this week while simultaneously asking what kind of food will be at the fair, but I’m suddenly aware of the yellow dress Chiara convinced me to wear.
Very aware.
It has a deep V in the front and ties behind my neck. The skirt falls just above my knees and moves around my legs when I walk.
But the back…
