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“Ouch. Hawaiian is for wimps.”
Matteo took a bite of the pizza. Within a few seconds the hot sauce hit his taste buds and his eyes started to water. “Wow.” It came out kind of high pitched and he followed it with a deep, hearty laugh and a cough.
Phoebe laughed too and slapped his back. “Too much for you?”
He met her gaze straight on. “Not a chance.” He eyed the pizza again. “I can do this. Hot sauce is nothing. I eat this kind of thing for breakfast.”
“Well, don’t eat it all,” said Phoebe quickly. “We’ll need to have it for breakfast too.”
He hadn’t even said the words out loud, but clearly she knew there was no way he was getting out of here tonight. Trying to travel in that thick snow would be stupid. And it was New Year’s. Last thing he wanted to do was get stranded somewhere and have to call on any emergency services. Traveling now would be stupid and selfish. Matteo was neither.
He held his hand out for the soda that Phoebe passed with a laugh. “Should I have got you Hawaiian?”
He shook his head as the soda finally cooled the explosions in his taste buds.
Phoebe had pulled her knees up in front of her and leaned her head on her elbow. “So, it might be a little late, but I’m not that tired. You might not know this, but the TVs aren’t working yet, and the wi-fi doesn’t get fitted until next week. So, it’s books or nothing.”
Matteo leaned back on his hands and stretched his legs out in front of him. He might have taken his jacket off, but he was still wearing the suit he’d been dressed in all day. After sixteen hours his handmade leather shoes were starting to pinch. Phoebe looked much more comfortable than he did. “I’d kill for those sweatpants,” he murmured.
Phoebe nodded and pulled at the stretchy material. “There’s a reason I always have fall-back clothes.” She held up her hands. “And this, is it.”
Matteo shook his head. “How often do you get stranded or snowed in at work?”
Phoebe grinned. “You’d be surprised. Quite often I’m working at a place that is a bit out of the way. Or, is in the midst of renovations that means the water is turned off, or the electricity.” She lifted her hands higher. “So, this is really a palace in comparison to some of the other places.”
Phoebe was just so easy to be around. She was relaxed—comfortable in her own skin, and much more beautiful than she clearly realized.
But it was her manner that came over most. She had a good heart. Five minutes in her company virtually told you everything you’d ever need to know. She’d never be the person who was thoughtless or insincere. Business had made him hard. He was used to ruthlessness and backstabbing. It was refreshing to be in different company.
The only light in the room was the flickering flames and right now they were reflecting off Phoebe’s dark brown eyes. The noise from the fire—and the occasional spark—was actually very peaceful. For a few seconds he was sorely tempted just to sit here.
But Phoebe had already said she wasn’t tired—clearly, because she’d already slept. But how to spend the next few hours?
He took a deep breath. He only had one reason for being here. And the truth was, he didn’t even know where to start looking. Would it really be so hard for him to actually ask for a little help? He met Phoebe’s gaze again. “How about we play a game of hide and seek?”
* * *
She gave herself a shake. Had she just heard him correctly? It was possible she was hallucinating. In fact, it was possible she’d gone back to that dream state she’d thought she was in last week when she’d first met Italian stallion, Matteo Bianchi.
She tried not to smile at the nickname her brain had automatically conjured up for him.
Chances were, she was still sleeping in front of that crackling fire after getting snowed in. Matteo Bianchi wasn’t really sitting by her side, with his shirtsleeves pushed up and his dark hair flopping over his mesmerizing eyes. That would just be too good to be true. Really.
His hand closed over hers. Warmth. Heat. “What do you say?”
Nope. She wasn’t sleeping. She was definitely awake. A dream wouldn’t be making her heart beat so fast she couldn’t breathe.
“Hide and seek?” Her brain couldn’t really compute. He wanted to play a childhood game with her?
He nodded and changed position so he was kneeling next to her. “I told you that I came here to find something. Truth is, I’m not even sure where to look.”
She frowned. “What do you mean?”
His voice was steady. “I’m looking for an old photo album. There’s no guarantee it’s even here, but my family think it could be in a cupboard somewhere.”
