Page 44 of Italy Can Bite Me

She trips over her own heel, catching herself on a gargoyle. She immediately apologizes to the gargoyle, then continues her manic pacing.

“Careful, principessa. The church frowns on shedding blood on holy ground.”

Cristo.I’ve seen many sides of Katie Crawford. The uptight princess with her death glares. The hidden vixen in a red dress who makes my dick hard. The vulnerable woman whose sadness breaks my heart. But this Katie, with anxious energy crackling off her like a lightning storm? This is uncharted territory.

“Still not hearing a wish in this presentation.”

She stops dead, those green eyes locking onto mine with laser focus. “Be my fake boyfriend.”

My cock actually twitches at the wordboyfriend.What the fuck?

“Help me make Jared jealous. We’ll take pictures—”

“Ah, so now you want to take sexy photos with me?” I waggle my eyebrows, trying to lighten the moment.

“No!” She looks horrified. “I want… flirty pictures, not sexy ones. You know, the kind that make someone go ‘Oh, what’s going on there?’ Just enough to make him realize what he’s missing. I can’t seem like I’ve moved on, but I have to get his attention now. I have a very specific timeline—”

“Tesoro, that’s not how jealousy works.” I step closer, drawn in by her magnetic force. “A man only feels jealous when he can’t have what he wants.”

Like how my stomach burns every time she says Jared’s fucking name.

“So…” That pink tongue darts out to wet her lips, and my entire body notices. “Will you help me? Grant my wish?”

“No.” Her face crumples and it physically hurts. “I will be your fake boyfriend, but this doesn’t count. Your wish is something just for you to remember this trip. Promise me you’ll think of a real wish.”

“Yes!” She bounces on her toes, and suddenly she’s hugging me, all soft curves and strawberry scent and—

Merda.

Reality crashes into me harder than Lorenzo’s emergency braking. I just volunteered to be Katie Crawford’s fake boyfriend. To help her win back her fiancé.

Why the hell did I say yes?

And why does my dick keep twitching at the word boyfriend?

CHAPTER EIGHT

KATIE

GroupChat:CPKForever

Cam:Red alert! Your mom made a Pinterest board: “Katie+Jared= Destiny.”

Petra:I already followed.

Me:Please God, tell me you’re kidding.

Cam:467 pins and counting.

Petra:“Why Museum Men Make the Best Husbands.”

Me:Don’t worry, I have a plan.

Cam:Like mother like daughter.

“TAKE A DEEP BREATH,everyone. Can you smell the history?” Matteo’s voice carries over the harbor.

I’m currently vibrating at a frequency that could power a small Italian village. So what I smell isEVERYTHING. Fish. Sea. More fish. Coffee beans from that café six blocks away. Did someone crack open a jar of marinara back in Milan? Because I swear, I can pick up on that too.

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