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She stared at him. She hadn’t thought about that. What would the neighbors think? Would they think she’d fallen prey to the notorious Antonio Di Giovanni? She was pretty sure everyone in this town knew who he was. “I’m not ashamed to be seen with you. I just don’t like the idea of them thinking I just joined the long list of your conquests.”
His face darkened.
“What? Don’t look like that, I was only joking with you. We both know it’s true.”
He shook his head. “I guess we do. It backfired on me though. I thought it was a good way to let you know that I want people to know we’re together. That I don’t care who sees what we’re up to.”
“Oh!” Wow. She hadn’t thought of it that way around at all. It was true. Word of who he went out with got around, but you never heard any tales of him with a woman the next morning—and from what he’d said earlier, there was a good reason for that. He was trying to do something nice for her. In his own weird way, he was trying to tell the world they were together. She smiled. “In that case, I shall wear your T-shirt and my panties with pride.” She got out of the car feeling strangely confident. Whatever people might think didn’t matter much. What mattered was that Antonio was trying to make a point to her. She wasn’t about to throw it back in his face.
She let them into the foyer and waited for the elevator to come down. She looked up at him and grinned. “Who knows, I might start a new trend.”
He chuckled. “I doubt it somehow, no one else could pull off the look like you do.”
The elevator arrived, and when the doors opened, Mrs. Jensen from the seventh floor stepped out and did a double take as she looked first at Mary Ellen, then Antonio. She recovered quickly and smiled at them both. “Good morning.”
“Good morning,” said Mary Ellen.
Antonio nodded and smiled politely as she passed. After a few steps, the older lady turned around and smiled back at them. “It’s a great day for it,” she said.
The elevator doors slid shut, and Mary Ellen burst out laughing. “She’s a hoot!”
Antonio laughed with her. “And she’ll no doubt have a hoot telling her tale at the bridge club.”
“She plays bridge?”
He nodded. “Yeah, with Aunt Madeleine.”
“Oh, my God!”
He laughed. “Don’t worry about it. Aunt Madeleine and Uncle Cole will know we’re seeing each other long before Mrs. Jensen gets chance to tell them.”
“They will? How?”
He shrugged. “News seems to travel fast around here. Why, do you have a problem with them knowing?”
She shook her head. She didn’t have any problem with it all. “I don’t, but I thought you might.”
The elevator reached her floor, and they stepped out. “Why would I have a problem? I want the whole world to know.”
She smiled to herself as she unlocked her front door. Was this really the same Antonio? It was hard to believe he was so different—and apparently so into her.
~ ~ ~
Mondays were always crazy at the Di Giovanni winery. He wasn’t sure why it was that way, but it always seemed to work out that problems cropped up, big orders came in, and surprises landed on his lap on a Monday. Today was no different. It was crazy, but he was handling it better than usual. Usually, he went into a frenzy trying to sort everything out as quickly and efficiently as possible. Today he plodded his way through one issue at a time. It felt like nothing could touch him, nothing could irritate him—he was too busy thinking about Mary Ellen. He kept smiling for no reason and chuckling about little things she’d said or done over the course of Saturday night and their day together yesterday.
“Are you okay?” His assistant Daniel had popped his head around the office door.
“I’m great, why?”
Daniel came inside looking puzzled. “Because normally by this time on a Monday you’re pulling your hair out and so is everyone else. Things are normally whipped up to a frenzy by now.”
“And you don’t like the new calmer me?”
Daniel scowled at him. “Like? Of course, I like it. How many times a day do I tell you to calm down, to have patience? I like it, but I don’t trust it. That's why I’m asking if you’re okay. Is this the calm before a storm?”
Antonio laughed. “Daniel, Daniel, Daniel. I’m sorry. You’re not up to speed. What you don’t know is that I am a changed man.”
Daniel eyed him suspiciously. “Really? And what changed you?”
