Page 9 of The Virgin's Dance with the Devil
Her stare darted over his shoulder, no doubt making sure no one she was close to, like her sister, was there to see her talking to the dastardly Federico Esposito. They never had that problem on their lunch dates. If Marisa was travelling for work, he joined her; if she was at her main office in Florence, they could lose themselves in the crowds. He didn’t care. If Marisa wanted to protect her reputation, that was fine by him. It wasn’t like he wanted to marry her. He just wanted to win his bet. That she seemed to have become a permanent fixture in his mind would be cured once he’d slept with her.
“Friends can take a walk to the beach together,” he reminded her lightly, even though he suspected she would prefer their ‘friendship’ to always be a secret one. Again, this didn’t bother him. Once he’d won his bet, there would be no need to continue the charade. He would never have to scratch his head over the perfect quote (and hope it had the appropriate context – he’d come within a whisker of quoting aboutlove from a book where the quote itself had come from a serial killer) or suffer cramp in his hand again.
Her cheeks flushed all over again, and then she nodded shyly. “A walk to the beach would be nice.”
“Great. I hear there’s a bar down there that makes excellent cocktails.”
They passed a sign that statedNo under 18s beyond this pointand stepped onto the path, which, to Rico’s great delight, was so narrow that within a couple of steps, their arms brushed Marisa immediately hugged her arms around her chest.
Suppressing a grin, he said, “How was your journey here? Did your father manage okay?”
“It was good, thanks, and Dad managed fine.”
“He has everything he needs here? The nursing team are in place?”
“Yes…” He felt her stare zip to him. “How do you know about the nursing…” She came to an abrupt halt. “Was thatyou?”
He met her wide, shocked stare and shrugged. “I hope you don’t think I’ve overstepped? They will only come if you need them. I just wanted you and your mother to have that extra peace of mind to be able to relax and enjoy yourselves while you’re here.”
“But…” She shook her head, a contortion of emotions flashing over her beautiful face. “Thank you. That is really, really kind of you. I don’t know how I can…”
Repay youwent unsaid as fresh colour stained her beautiful face, and she set back off down the path.
“Think nothing of it,” he dismissed, falling back into step with her. “It’s a gift from one friend to another.”
“That’s some gift.”
“I’m from one of the richest families in Italy.” Rico had no time for false modesty. “The cost means nothing to me.”
“The thought does, though,” she said softly, andfor a long moment his heart tripled in size as he felt himself basking under the light of her admiration. Truthfully, Rico had surprised himself with this selfless act, mainly because when he’d first thought of it, it had been with Marisa’s peace of mind in his mind, and not as a means of ingratiating himself further with her. Of course, once he’d struck on the idea and realised how many gold stars it would give him, he’d got straight on the phone to Leonardo to arrange it.
After a peaceable silence, she said, “So how was your trip here?”
“It dragged.”
Bemusement came into her voice. “I thought it was a twenty-minute helicopter ride?”
“Those twenty minutes were the longest of my life.”
“How come?”
He caught her eye and smiled meaningfully. “Because I knew those twenty minutes were taking me to you.”
She stopped walking again and sighed. “Rico, don’t.”
“Are you telling me you haven’t felt time drag the closer we’ve come to being here and having unlimited time together?”
She stared down at the ground.
Marisa, he’d learned, was incapable of telling a lie.
Placing a finger beneath her chin, he gently lifted her face.
“Don’t be afraid,” he said softly when her gorgeous dark eyes, brimming with apprehension, found his. “Neither of us can help how we feel.”
“But we can only be friends,” she whispered. “You know this.”
“Marisa, I will be whatever you want me to be.” He slid his finger from her chin to her cheek and lightly stroked her buttery-soft skin. To his delight, she trembled at his touch. “I just know that there’s no one else in the world I’d rather be with.” His sincerity was pitched so perfectly that for a secondhe even believed it himself, enough so that he resisted brushing a kiss to her deliciously plump lips.
