Page 17 of Tempted By the Devil

He hums, swallowing another taste of wine. “But he’s out of the picture now. Which is good for you, right?”

“Very. I’m relieved. It’s for the best. What about you?”

“What about me,dolcezza?”

“I’ll admit I don’t know much about you. But I’d be remiss if I pretended not to know you’re some world famous businessman. You’ve been on the cover ofForbes, right? You do business in numerous countries. I’m sure you have plenty of women dying to be with you. Is there anyone special?”

He lets a moment pass before he answers. Setting his glass of wine down first, he turns to face me and then slips my glass out of my hand to do the same. I’m left defenseless under his probing gaze as he steps closer and eliminates the space between us.

“There is,” he answers mysteriously. “She’s very, very special.”

I can’t bear the weight of his stare, so I look away. I glance to the side, pretending to find something fascinating on the shoreline.

But Rafael Calderone refuses to let me escape his advances. He cups my chin and turns my face back toward his.

“Sicily has some of the most beautiful women in the world,” he says matter-of-factly. “Yet you put each one to shame. I can’t keep my eyes off you,dolcezza.”

The nervous laugh I’d held back earlier spills out of me. “Rafael?—”

“You caught my eye the first moment I saw you,” he says. “But it’s not just your beauty. There’s more to you, isn’t there? You said it yourself. You’re analytical and a thinker. Do you know how sexy that is to a man like me?”

Rafael encourages me to tell him more about my work as a field reporter for Newport Metro News.

I’m hesitant to give details at first before he goads me on. Before he makes it clear he means it when he says he’s actually interested.

Lincoln enters my mind. I think about the many times I’d tried to tell him about my work and he’d hummed emptily as if each word went in one ear and out the other.

But Rafael happens to be the opposite—he listens with intention. He asks questions. He makes comments, some of them amusing enough to draw a laugh out of me.

I tell him about my aspirations to make it to the evening news.

Prime time reporting.

So far I’ve been relegated to the morning, where I’m mostly reporting on traffic accidents and incoming bad weather.

It’s the evening time slot that I truly covet. That I’ve been working years toward.

“You’ll earn it soon,” Rafael says, sounding so certain. “I’m sure your boss will realize you deserve the promotion. I’m sure you’re excellent at what you do.”

My cheeks heat up more than they already have. Partially due to the wine I’m sipping on, but also due to his encouraging words. “You’re just saying that because you think I’m beautiful.”

“No,dolcezza. I never tell a lie. If there is one thing to know about me. It’s that I will never lie.”

He says it so sternly, his tone serious. His eyes bore into mine, as honest and genuine as can be.

A shiver racks its way down my spine and I’m the first to blink and look away.

“I didn’t mean to imply you’re a liar…”

“Tell me more about your work. You said you want to go into crime reporting?”

Before either of us realizes it, an hour passes. The breeze chills, producing goosebumps on my skin.

Rafael pulls off his blazer and drops it over my shoulders to warm me up.

“Better?” he asks.

I smile. “Yes, thank you.”

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