Page 35 of Ciao, Amore

“You wish you had a year with me,” she said insolently, and his grin softened.

“A year with you, huh?”

The sudden depth of emotion caught him by surprise at the image of that. He could so clearly picture the two of them holding hands in the local park. Teasing each other while at home watching a movie and arguing before going to his bed, their bed, to make love. That image made an unfamiliar yearning well up in him, showing him a chimera of happiness that seemed impossibly good and more than a little scary.

Clearly, she was waiting for the sarcastic joke that was sure to follow, but for once, he was fresh out. He swallowed down that rush of feeling and cleared his throat.

“Hey, the moms and the sister-wives are looking,” he said, his voice dropping lower as he gazed over her shoulder at the beach. “Kiss me and make it look good.”

“After what you did to me earlier, I should leave you hanging, but a deal’s a deal.”

Dani drew closer. Nico hooked an arm around her waist and smiled into her eyes. He quivered when she leaned in and pressed her lips against his, and against his chest, her heartbeat ticked faster. He’d only wanted enough from her to make it believable, but it was hard to stop there when his tongue couldn’t resist the temptation to push inside her mouth of its own accord, gentle yet insistent. She met it with her own tender strokes against his while he inhaled the very air she breathed, trying to get enough to last him until later.

Finally, Nico broke away, his voice unsteady when he exclaimed, “Wow. You really are a good kisser.” He shook his head, trying and failing to clear it from the daze she’d put him in with that kiss. “Somehow, I don’t think a year with you would be enough.”

For once, she didn’t have a smart comeback; she only smiled as her cheeks went a deeper bronze, tugging the pointed collar of his shirt between her fingers. She stared at her own hand, as if meeting his eyes would show him what she was feeling. The helplessly stupid pulse throbbing in his body and the fear were both stronger, vying for dominance inside him. He had to leave before he said anything else he shouldn’t.

“I know, it’s not in the contract,” he said with a wry smile. Then he slapped her ass and said, “Ciao, amore. I’ll see you tonight.”

Tongue-tied, she stepped back and watched him rev up the Vespa, then he turned the scooter in a circle toward the direction they’d come from and raced away.

11

GIRLS, GIRLS, GIRLS

DANI

“Oh my Gooooddd.That was the most romantic thing I’ve ever seeeen.”

The trio of sister-wives stared up at her, all dressed in swimsuits and sizing her up from their lounge chairs. It was them, the Three Fates, the women who held the power to make or break this trip: Victoria, Merelys, and Vanessa. Charming the brothers and the dads was easy, but clearly, she’d failed with Lina and was only marginally successful with Nonni. If the sisters-in-law didn’t like her, she’d be spending a whole lot of time in her room for the next two weeks.

Already, their eyes were sweeping up and down from her braids to her polished toenails. Thank God she’d gotten a top-notch pedicure the day before she’d left. Nearby, under a bright sky-blue cabana, Nonni bounced Angelo on her lap. Carolina had turned to the outcrop of islands in the distance and ignored her completely.

The one who’d spoken was Merelys, Tommy’s wife.

“I’m Merelys.” Her New York Spanish accent took Dani straight home to uptown Manhattan. After only days away, it was a welcoming sound.

“Hi. I’m Daniela. Dani.Mucho gusto.”

Dark eyes narrowing with unexpected excitement in her honey-brown face, Merelys asked her, “Habla español?”

“Sí.”

Before Merelys could open her mouth to start a conversation, the next wife interrupted.

“I’m Tori, Angelo’s wife.” Tori favored her with a sweet smile from behind her big Fendi shades while Merelys rolled her eyes and went silent.

“Hi,” Dani said, then remarked, “I love your suit.”

With her long black hair, she was curvy and petite. Tori grinned at the compliment. “Thanks. I like your dress. Sit down, grab a lounger, get comfy. We’re gonna be here a while.”

“This spot is gorgeous. I like how quiet it is,” Dani remarked. She did as suggested and pulled over a free lounger, settling it closest to Vanessa on the end.

“Yeah, we come down here a lot during the day. Gets the kids nice and tired. The boys can spend the whole day doing boy shit now that their captain has arrived.”

“They all love Nico,” Merelys offered, nodding sagely. “Too bad they don’t all listen to him.” That last statement was under her breath. “So why are you in that room across the hall from Nico?” she asked abruptly. “How come you’re not sleeping in Nico’s room?”

“Be…cause…”

---