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Wow, the little blonde was really enjoying this wasn’t she? Louisa shook her head, despite Dani’s not being able to see her. “I’ll try to track him down.”
As if on cue, no sooner did she speak than the bedroom door opened and Nico strolled in wearing a shirt that should have been tossed several washes ago as it was at least a size too small. The fabric clung to his biceps and flat stomach.
When he saw her sitting up, he gave an exaggerated pout. “Dani,” she mouthed. Her breath was too short to talk anyway. That shirt left nothing to the imagination, especially to a woman who knew exactly what lay beneath the cotton.
She watched him putter around the bedroom only half listening while Dani talked on about the meeting. Finally, guessing that a pause meant the conversation had ended, Louisa told Dani she had to go.
“What did Dani want?” Nico asked, when she tossed the phone aside.
“To give me grief for not telling her about our affair.”
“But we weren’t having an affair until...”
“I know,” she replied. “And you didn’t think people believed the tabloids.”
“People will definitely believe them now,” he commented. Hard to call them liars, that was for sure. “Does it bother you?”
He looked so serious, standing there smoothing the wrinkled duvet. “Don’t have much of a choice now, do I?” she replied. “I mean, the time to object would have been before I kissed you, and if I recall...”
She rolled onto her stomach, and hugged his pillow beneath her, grinning to herself at how the movement left her shoulders and back exposed. “As I recall, I wasn’t doing all that much objecting at the time.”
“That is true. I did not hear an objection,” he replied. To her surprise, however, his smile didn’t last. “I hope I don’t hear one today.”
An odd question considering she lay naked in his bed. “What could I possibly object to? That yesterday wasn’t perfect enough?”
“This.”
* * *
Louisa sat up as Nico pulled a rolled-up newspaper from the back of his waistband. The pages had been folded to a gossip column. Near the bottom of the page, she saw a brief mention of her holding court at the harvest festival with her latest millionaire boyfriend. Two lines. No more. Her fifteen minutes of notoriety was fading. A weight lifted from her shoulders.
“Looks like I’ve been replaced by bigger news.” Finally. Heaven help the poor person who took her place, whether they deserved the attention or not.
“So you don’t mind the mention?” Nico asked.
Honestly? She’d rather they not mention her at all, but given how bad things had been? “Two lines on page thirteen I can handle.”
At last, a true smile broke across Nico’s face. “Good. I’m glad. I was concerned...”
“About what? That I would freak out?”
“You did before.” He pressed a knee to the edge of the bed, and leaning close, cradled her face in his palm. “I never want anything to hurt you that badly again.”
“Never is a very big promise,” she told him.
“Not where you’re concerned. If I have to buy up every newspaper in Italy to keep the paparazzi from hounding you, I will.”
A shiver ran down Louisa’s spine. He’s just trying to make you feel safe and special. Even so, when he said things like that she couldn’t help thinking of Steven.
“No need to do anything so drastic. I’ll settle for your arms around me.”
“Ask and you shall receive, bella mia.” A twinkle appeared in his eye. “Is a hug all you need?”
Well, when he looked at her like that... She grabbed the neck of his T-shirt and tugged him forward. “Now that you mention it, I might have a few other requests.”
* * *
Following their lovemaking this morning, he’d wanted nothing more than to burrow with her beneath the sheets and, maybe after some rest, make love again. Unfortunately, Louisa insisted they needed to make an appearance at the winery before the gossip got too out of control.
As he leaned back against the bed watching her dress, he marveled at how light and full his chest felt. Never in his entire life could Nico remember feeling this way. It was as though overnight the entire world had grown brighter: every color more brilliant, every smell and sound more pronounced. And Louisa—beautiful, beautiful Louisa—he couldn’t get enough of her. Not sexually, although making love with her was amazing, but of her. Her company, her presence, her happiness. It overwhelmed him how much he wanted to keep her close and protect her.
Suddenly, it hit him. He was in love.
For the first time in his life, he, Nico Amatucci, was truly, madly and deeply in love. The knowledge swelled inside him, inflating his heart until he thought it might burst.
