Page 39 of In Italy for Love

Her gaze snapped up to see Alex leaning in the doorway. He wore a tight cotton undershirt and baggy tracksuit bottoms that hung loose and, with his forearm propped against the frame and his other hand on his hip, Jules could do nothing but appreciate the definition in his arms, his big-knuckled hands, the height of him.

Wow. The attraction was really not going away.

Then her eyes lifted to his face and she scrambled to her feet. ‘Were you asleep? God, I’m sorry. My train was delayed and then I had to find a taxi and I really didn’t think I’d be home this?—’

‘You should have called me.’

‘Alex, it’s nearly midnight. If you were asleep?—’

‘I wasn’t asleep – well, not properly.’ His hair was unruly, his cheeks stubbled and his eyelids heavy.

‘Were you waiting for me? I should have sent you a message?—’

‘Eh, shh,’ he said, rubbing a hand over his face. She should have felt insulted at his brusque interruption, but it was somehow preferable to Luca’s smirk, which she’d been seeing behind her eyelids all day. ‘This is your house too. How I sleep shouldn’t concern you.’

That was the problem: she was concerned, even though she tried not to be.

‘Can I…?’Have a hug?She swallowed. ‘…come in?’

He straightened in surprise. ‘Of course. Sorry. Maybe Iamhalf asleep.’

As she brushed past him, a creak from across the courtyard made her glance up to see a shutter closing and she froze, remembering all the witnesses they had. Alex was looking in the same direction and with both of them squeezed in the doorway, she couldn’t help thinking about giving the nosy Signora Cudrig more of a show. She could just slip her arms around his waist and?—

Arco jumped up, scratching at her hip as though to remind her that he was supposed to be part of any snuggling that happened. She stumbled into the doorway, tripping over Alex’s foot and grabbing his shirt for balance, as he scooped an arm around her and staggered in after.

In a split-second decision she would never have made with a clear head, she leaned into him, pressing her cheek to his shoulder.

Breathing out for what felt like the first time that day, she didn’t even mind if he pushed her away after a second. His soft shirt, the warmth of his body was what she’d wanted and she’d found it.

But he didn’t push her away.

The arm around her tightened, then another joined it. He shuffled them inside and toed the door closed, sagging against the wall in the hallway, his head falling back. She wasn’t evensure if they were friends, but he definitely hugged her back – soft and real.

‘Today—’ he began, and she had to give him credit for picking up on her weird mood. ‘—was it…? How did it go?’

‘Fine. Processing the application should take about ten days.’

‘Ah.’

Those two words,ten days, seemed to be hanging in the air.

‘Did you see him?’

She shook her head against his chest. ‘Thankfully not. It was bad enough knowing he was there.’

‘It’s over. You did it.’

‘We still have to sell the property. I’ll have to call him soon.’ She wished her voice didn’t sound so thin.

‘If you want me to beat him up before you leave…’ He lifted his hand and flexed it and she couldn’t help but laugh.

‘Attila would probably do a better job of beating him up.’

‘True.’ He wiggled his fingers, his smile tight. ‘Accordion hands.’

She peered up at him without removing her cheek from his shirt. ‘Have you got the new one working?’

Shaking his head, he said, ‘I only just finished my student’s instrument.’

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