The Italian Effect

‘You want a reward?’ she whispered, the words barely louder than the sound of the water around their bodies as she tried to come to terms with the idea that he might be flirting with her.

It took several seconds before she realised that her own question had sounded flirtatious, and that he’d taken it that way.

‘Of course I want a reward,’ he asserted warmly, his eyes flicking from her eyes to her mouth and back again.

Lissa’s tongue moistened lips gone suddenly dry and she realised that for the first time in several weeks the idea of kissing a man was appealing…this man.

‘Come out with me for a meal,’ he demanded suddenly and she blinked.

‘A meal?’ she repeated unsteadily, aghast at just how disappointed she was that he hadn’t kissed her. ‘But…’

‘I want to thank you properly for what you did for my son, so…may I collect you this evening?’

Gratitude.

Her spirits fell and drowned around her. Of course, the only reason why he was asking her out was out of gratitude for helping his son. How could she possibly have thought he was interested in her personally? He would have done the same if she’d been a man.

‘But won’t you be on duty?’ she asked, grabbing for the first excuse she could while she turned away from him and slid out of his arms. It was so easy this time that she knew he hadn’t tried to stop her.

‘The hospital has finally given me some time off for good behaviour,’ he said as he swam smoothly and silently beside her, easily keeping pace with her more nervous strokes. ‘So…will seven-thirty suit you? Taddeo will be going to bed early as he’s still officially recuperating.’

The part of her that had been so recently hurt wanted to turn him down with a pleasant excuse, but the rest of her, the part that had come to vibrant life when he’d wrapped her tightly against his body, was urging her to accept.

What else have you got to look forward to this evening? said an annoying little voice inside her head. Why turn down the invitation to share a meal with a handsome man, especially as you know in advance that he sees it merely as a way of repaying a debt? It isn’t as if there’s any danger of becoming involved in a relationship with him. You’re nothing more than chance acquaintances, after all.

‘Make it eight,’ she countered as her feet finally touched solid ground and she stood up to wade away from him through the shallows. ‘Taddeo told me he’s looking forward to his daddy reading a story to him tonight.’

She walked over to retrieve her towel, overwhelmingly conscious of his eyes following her, but her deliberate mention of his son had worked very effectively as a reminder.

For all the forbidden attraction she felt towards him, she was nothing more than a transient holidaymaker and he was the local doctor with a little son to consider. There was no way their two lives could ever do more than touch fleetingly.

‘There is a gentleman waiting for you in Reception,’ the voice had said over the phone and Lissa’s hands were shaking visibly as she smoothed them one last time over the dress she’d chosen.

It wasn’t that she was uncertain about the suitability of the style or its fit; the honey-coloured slip of silk was cut on fluid lines and was close to perfect. After all, her whole holiday wardrobe had been chosen with just such events in mind.

They just hadn’t been chosen for her to go out with this man.

It didn’t seem to matter that she kept reminding herself that she’d decided to steer clear of men for the foreseeable future, or that the offer of a meal was by way of showing his gratitude. For the last couple of hours her pulse and respiration had rocketed each time she’d thought about his invitation, and much though she felt she ought to cancel, she knew she had no intention of doing so.

‘He’s waiting,’ she muttered, conscious of time passing while she dithered, and a lifetime of punctuality wouldn’t allow her to delay any more.

‘You already know he’s totally out of bounds, so there’s absolutely no danger in spending an evening with him,’ she reminded herself, resorting to a pep talk in the descending lift. ‘He’s just a man.’

The doors slid open and her first sight of him gave the lie to her assertion. Her knees grew weak just at the sight of him waiting for her in the reception area and she had to admit that Matteo Aldarini wasn’t just anything.

It really wasn’t fair, she wailed silently as she gazed at him in something close to despair.

He was wearing dark formal trousers that accentuated the long lean length of his legs and his slim hips, and an open-necked white shirt that contrasted starkly with the bronze of his skin. The suit jacket was casually suspended over one shoulder by the loop, but there was nothing casual in the expression in his eyes as they travelled over her from head to toe and back again.

‘Che bella!’ he murmured finally as he took her hand and lifted it to his lips, then brought it through the crook of his arm. He turned to usher her towards the door without taking his eyes from her. ‘I will be the envy of every man tonight.’

There was a heat in his gaze that almost seemed to scorch where it touched and she was quite grateful for the shadows once they were outside. Perhaps he wouldn’t see the heat in her cheeks that betrayed just how much he was affecting her.

The meal was everything she could have wished, and more.

How could she fail to enjoy an evening spent in the company of such an attentive host? From the moment they were shown to their secluded table and he held her chair for her everything was so perfect it was almost a fantasy.

It didn’t matter that she’d sworn never to be swayed by externals again. She’d already had her trust broken that way once.

But somehow this was different. The surroundings, the food, the music…everything was wonderful, but it all paled into insignificance before the man beside her.

His conversation was witty and erudite and not only did he take the time to ask her questions about herself, he actually listened to her answers with obvious interest.

It had been so long since that had happened that she felt herself relaxing and opening up like some rare flower under the warmth of his regard.

All too soon their meal was over and he was ushering her out into the starry darkness.

He could have wrapped an arm around her shoulders, making the excuse that the evening air might seem chill after the warmth of the restaurant. To her disappointment he seemed perfectly content to walk beside her, their only contact her hand on his arm.

He paused as they neared her hotel, just a few minutes farther along the sea front.

‘Is it too late for you to take a walk with me?’ he asked quietly with a gesture towards the beach beside them, and she had to suppress the urge to shout her agreement. She certainly wasn’t ready for their evening to end just yet.

He must have taken her hesitation for uncertainty.

‘Of course, if you’d rather I took you straight back to your hotel…’

‘No!’ she exclaimed, then added hastily, ‘No, a walk would be nice after all that food. I wouldn’t be able to sleep yet.’

He turned towards the nearest path that led in a shallow zigzag down to the sand.

It was hard to believe that it was the same busy, noisy place that she’d visited earlier that day.

By night it was all but silent and deserted, only nature providing the sounds.

At the end of the zigzag he stopped to slip off his shoes and socks and roll up his trouser legs.

‘Shall I help you?’ He crouched in front of her and wrapped warm fingers around one ankle.

She braced a hand on his shoulder and slipped each sandal off in turn, glad that she’d decided to go barelegged tonight. It wouldn’t have fitted into the moonlit fantasy to have to struggle to remove tights or stockings in front of him.

‘We can leave our shoes here,’ he suggested, placing both pairs in a patch of dark shadow beside some rocks and folding his jacket on top of them before he straightened up again and held out a silent hand.

In unspoken agreement they turned towards the water and walked until their feet found the hard-packed sand before they changed direction to follow the edge of the waves.

The sea was calm tonight, far calmer than her turbulent thoughts. Inside her head an argument was raging, with one part of her longing to spend more time with this fascinating charismatic man, while the other urged her to keep her vow of caution and restraint.

There was no argument about the fact that she was regretting that their evening together was nearly over.

They’d walked all the way to the rocks at the far end of the beach before he paused beside her to stare out over the sea. Without a word being spoken they stood side by side, the breeze gently fluttering hair and clothing, and she was aware of a strange feeling of contentment.

‘I wasn’t ready for the evening to end,’ he said quietly, finally breaking the silence. ‘I hope you don’t mind.’

Lissa was so startled to hear him voice her own feelings that she wasn’t quick enough to keep a check on her tongue.

‘Neither was I,’ she admitted fervently, then could have kicked herself. What on earth was wrong with her? Over the last few weeks she thought she’d become adept at hiding her thoughts and feelings from others. Surely an evening in his company wasn’t enough for her to lose that hard-won control. She’d really hoped that she’d learned not to reveal her thoughts so impetuously.

How humiliating to lapse now, she groaned silently, turning her face away. And he was probably only being his usual polite self, telling her what he thought she wanted to hear…

‘Ah, Melissa, it’s more than that!’ he exclaimed, breaking into her scrambled thoughts as he turned her back to face him. ‘Tell me that you feel it, too—this crazy attraction between us.’

He captured each of her hands in his and pressed them against the soft cotton covering his chest.

She was so overwhelmed by his unexpected exclamation and so aware of the warmth of his body and the rhythmic beat of his heart that she almost missed his next words.

‘Do you not know that ever since I saw you standing there in the hospital, all long bare legs and big dark eyes, you have filled my mind…my thoughts.’ He brought her hands up to his lips and pressed a kiss to each.

Lissa was lost for words, her own heart beating so loudly that she was sure he must be able to hear it over the sound of the sea.

‘But this is so crazy,’ he continued, his tone almost one of exasperation. ‘We’re not teenagers to be overtaken by lust in the blink of an eye. We’re both responsible professional people. This can’t be real.’

‘You’re right. It is crazy,’ she said, trying to hang on to logic in the face of almost overwhelming temptation. How was she supposed to resist when he was looking at her like that?

‘Matt, we only met a few days ago and under the most fraught conditions.’ She tried to pull her hands free but he wouldn’t release her, forcing her to stay close enough to breathe in the musky warmth of his body. It certainly didn’t help as she tried to put her thoughts into words.

‘I’m just a visitor here,’ she continued, trying to be logical. ‘And I certainly didn’t come here looking for a holiday fling.’ Ah, but the thought of it was so beguiling. For the first time, she could almost identify with those groups of girls she’d been watching.

‘I never thought it for a moment,’ he agreed gently. ‘I’ve seen the young men lurking on the beach and in the square. It’s probably the same in the discos and nightclubs, although it’s years since I last bothered to go.’

It was almost uncanny how closely his thoughts had mirrored her own and when the silence grew between them she somehow knew that he was wondering where they went from here, too. He was still holding her hands against his chest and she drew comfort from the fact that he hadn’t released her.

‘Can we be friends?’ she suggested quietly, but without much hope that he would agree. He was such a strong, decisive sort of man, so vibrant, that she was afraid he wouldn’t be interested in half-measures like friendship.

CHAPTER THREE

‘I DON’T think mere friendship will be possible between a man and a woman,’ Matt had said in a husky voice that had thrilled and dismayed Lissa all at once. ‘Especially when there is so much attraction between them.’

His softly accented voice had had an effect all its own as they’d stood in the moonlit darkness of the Italian night. She’d seen from his shadowy expression that he hadn’t been happy with his thoughts and had found herself holding her breath as she’d waited for him to finish. She could hardly have blamed him if he’d wanted nothing more to do with her, but something deep inside her had wanted to know more about the effect he had on her.

Not just the physical awareness, that had been easy to understand. It had been the indefinable ‘something’ she’d felt when he’d been near her…

‘But if that is what you wish,’ he’d conceded softly, ‘then that is how it must be.’

His words had repeated themselves so often in her head that they had become part of her dreams and her nightmares.

At the time, she’d been so relieved that he hadn’t dismissed the idea out of hand that she hadn’t commented or asked any questions. It hadn’t occurred to her until much later that she’d tacitly agreed to being attracted to him.

Had he been one of the unscrupulous Lotharios she’d seen on the beach, he would probably have taken advantage of that attraction in spite of her misgivings.

The fact that he hadn’t even tried was either proof of the fact that he was honourable enough to stick to their agreement, or that she’d effectively killed his interest.

It didn’t stop him being a pleasant, albeit platonic companion but it left her with a growing dilemma. The more time she spent with him, the more she enjoyed it, but the more she found herself reacting to his slightest touch. Unfortunately, he didn’t seem to feel the same way.

Now, nearly a week later, she was more than tempted to push the boundaries of their ‘arrangement’ but had no idea how to do it, or even if Matt still wanted anything more than her company.

Not that he’d given her any hint that he was bored; he was far too much of a gentleman for that.

She certainly wasn’t complaining about the turn her holiday had taken. There had been no time to lie on the beach wondering how to fill the hours when she knew Taddeo was going to arrive at any minute demanding her attention.

Each day they would explore the rock pools left behind by the tide, then embark on the building of yet another of her young friend’s individually designed sand castles.

Her swimming ‘lesson’ came next, as he coached her about her style so that, ‘if you practise hard enough, one day you might be able to swim as fast as me’.

Lissa hated to admit it, but her swimming had actually improved since she’d started taking his advice. Tonight, she would have to remember to thank Matt for the secondhand tuition.

Just the thought of seeing Matt was enough to send her pulse rate up several notches and put a smile on her face.

Spending so much time in his company was rapidly becoming one of the most frustrating things she’d ever done, but she’d never enjoyed herself so much.

After the chaos of the food-poisoning episode, his workload had apparently settled down into the usual madness of the summer season, but at least he’d been able to take his proper off-duty hours for the last few days. And it seemed as if he was just as keen to spend those hours with her as she was to have his company.

Several afternoons they’d taken Taddeo with them when they’d gone exploring the countryside, looking for the places she remembered her grandmother talking about.

Some areas were still so relatively unspoiled that she felt she could almost be seeing them exactly as Nonna had when she’d been a girl.

Away from the coast, the region was largely a gently rolling plateau covered by farmland and pasture. The wheat fields had already been harvested, this late in the season, but some of the olive groves were still a hive of activity.

Taddeo was more interested in the land closer to the coast with its belt of orchards. It was almost impossible to drive past a wayside stall without giving in to his pleas to stop to sample some of the luscious peaches, apples or plums.

But it was the evenings she enjoyed the most, when she could have Matt all to herself.

Already he’d taken her to an open-air concert and an art gallery as well as a selection of the finest restaurants the area had to offer. Finally, she’d had to put her foot down.

‘I can understand that your Italian pride won’t let me pay for you,’ she’d said last night when they’d arrived at yet another obviously expensive bistro. ‘But I can’t let you pay for me all the time either.’

‘You don’t enjoy being taken out for a meal?’ He had seemed almost affronted and she’d hastened to smooth his ruffled feathers.

‘I love being taken out for a meal, especially when the company is good. But I don’t need expensive entertainment and wining and dining all the time. I also like spending time peacefully…away from other people,’ she’d explained, hoping she hadn’t sounded ungrateful. ‘I have enjoyed every minute of the last week, but sometimes it’s good to relax informally rather than having to dress up to go out.’

So here she was, dressed to order in a pair of lightweight trousers and a shirt and waiting for her escort to arrive to take her to a mystery destination. She had a fleece jacket in her bag and a pair of trainers in case her sandals were too flimsy.

She was filled with a mixture of guilt and excitement at the promise this evening held. Excitement that they were going to be spending time together and guilt that she’d almost engineered the fact that they would be alone.

A gentle tattoo at her door made her heart leap into her mouth and she hurried across to open it.

Matt bit his tongue and concentrated on drawing in a steadying breath.

What was she trying to do to him with her dark hair tumbling around her shoulders? Her body looked slender and willowy in those dark trousers and as for what that white silk shirt did to her skin…

It had been a week since he’d agreed to limit the two of them to friendship and he’d regretted it the very second he’d opened his mouth to say the words.

How was he supposed to stay sane when every hormone in his body ached at the thought of her, and as for spending time in her company…

It was obvious that the five years since he’d wanted to be close to a woman had been far too long. It was true that the events surrounding Taddeo’s birth had left him more than wary, and the excuse that he had a son to care for was legitimate up to a point, but the way he felt at Lissa’s slightest touch was turning him inside out.

Was it just that she was forbidden fruit? He knew that she would only be in San Vittorio for a little while longer, and that she wasn’t the type to indulge in a mindless holiday romance, but…if he’d taken her to bed would the urgency have faded…disappeared?

He looked into those dark honey eyes and when he felt the familiar tension begin to rise he knew the very idea was crazy. Making love with her once would only make him want to do it again, and it didn’t help that he could see two beds at the other side of the room. If he didn’t say something now, he could end up ruining the little they had together.

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