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And then she had to remind herself that business was the whole reason she was in Eldovia.
And also to stop thinking about him in his little swim trunks.
“Perhaps we can go to your room when you’re done eating?” He was looking around at the crowded bar.
“Sure.” She followed his gaze with her own, trying to see if anyone was close enough to overhear them. “I feel like a spy.”
“One thing I’ve learned in my line of work is that walls have ears. It doesn’t matter if they’re palace walls or pub walls.”
She settled the bill with Imogen, who handed over Cara’s gray suit wrapped in plastic. “Grabbed it for you when I went to pick up my own things at the cleaners.”
“Oh, thank you.” To Matteo, she said, “Ready?” He nodded and headed for the back door.
“Where are you two going?” Imogen raised her brows after the departing Matteo in an exaggerated fashion.
“Oh come on,” Cara said. “We just need to have a private chat.”
“Oh, is that what they’re calling it these days?”
“That isnotwhat they’re calling it these days,” Cara said emphatically, but her face flamed. She wasn’t even sure why. This certainly was not “it.”
It had been so very long since she’d had “it.” That must be her problem. Maybe it was time to recall the lonely goatherd.
She followed Matteo up the stairs and tried not to look at his butt.
He took the suit from her while she unlocked the door, and the inadvertent brush of their hands that resulted made her suckin a breath. She was becoming problematically obsessed with this dude’s hands. She ordered herself to get a grip and unlocked the door. Inside the room, she pointed to the armoire. “Do you mind hanging that?”
“You really do pack light, don’t you?”
“Pardon?”
Matteo was contemplating the interior of the armoire, and yes, it was nearly empty.
“I have it down to a science.” She’d been an involuntary minimalist as a kid, but as an adult, she embraced an unencumbered approach. Even though she could buy pretty much whatever she wanted these days, she was careful not to accumulate too much stuff. Stuff tied you down. Stuff was for later. “What do you need, really need, that can’t fit into a suitcase?”
“I don’t know, a place to live?” He was smiling as he spoke, teasing her.
“Well, I have a place to live.”
“Is it one of those absurdly tiny homes one sees on American television? Is it a house you can tow around? Then perhaps it does qualify as packable.”
“No, it’s a house in New York, and believe it or not, it’s too small. As soon as I can afford it—and I’m aggressively saving toward it—I’m buying a duplex. I’ll put my parents in one side and I’ll take the other.”
“That sounds lovely.”
“I don’t know many people who would say that living with your parents sounds lovely.” But he would. He did. She loved that about him. Well, no, sheappreciatedthat about him.
“Well, you’re not going to be living with them; isn’t that thepoint? You’ll be very near, but not actually with them. Sounds ideal.” He shrugged. “But I think perhaps I like my family—my father excepted—more than most people do.”
“I think I do, too. It’s funny. I’ve watched colleagues buy their dream homes. They’re generally either Manhattan apartments or houses in the Hudson Valley. But not me! I’m looking for a duplex in the Bronx.” She realized that the only place to sit was the bed. At least housekeeping had been in, so it was made. She kicked off her shoes and settled herself on one side, leaning back against the headboard and extending her legs. “I’m sorry I can’t offer you a proper seat. This is quite no-frills compared to the palace.”
“Yet you had no qualms about making the switch.”
“Don’t get me wrong, given a choice, I’d rather be at the palace, but the project comes first. I do miss that bathtub, though. I’m a sucker for a hot bath at the end of the day, and my house in New York only has a shower stall. I think that’s why I enjoyed the spa in Biel so much.” She was babbling. To her great horror, she was pretty sure it was because she was nervous. She patted the bed next to her. He hesitated. Was he nervous, too? No, he was probably worried about propriety or decorum or something. But there was literally nowhere else to sit.
He surprised her by kicking off his shoes, as she had, mimicking her position on the other side of the bed, and saying, “So your real estate ambitions are a duplex with a suitable bathtub.”
“Yes. Or a bathroom I can rip out and rebuild centered on the tub of my dreams.”
