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“What does a girl have to do to be let in on these secrets?” Tia jokes.
Our hosts both laugh, and Signora Romney beams.
“I supposed you’ll just have to keep joining us for dinner and find out,” she says.
“We’d love that,” Tia agrees.
The rest of the evening goes smoothly, Tia winning over the mayor and his family with an ease I never thought possible. For years, I’ve had my sights set on forming a relationship with the Romney family, and my wife has managed to get us an extended dinner invitation after three short visits with them. I’m blown away.
At the end of the night, after the girls have gone to bed and we’ve shared a nightcap in the Romneys’ sitting room, Signora Romney wraps an arm affectionately around Tia’s shoulders, and they walk us to the front door.
This is my chance—the opportunity to move things forward with the mayor without sounding too aggressive or presumptuous. “Thank you, Luke, for welcoming us so warmly into your home. I think it did Tia a lot of good to spend some time in your family’s company.”
“It was our pleasure, my boy,” he says paternally, clapping me on the shoulder.
I suspect part of his unrestrained show of affection has to do with the number of drinks he’s had tonight—not enough to make him drunk, but just enough to make him more agreeable than usual. Perfect.
“You know, I would love to sit down with you sometime and discuss some ideas I’ve had that would help Piovosa grow as a town,” I say. “I have a vision for just how great we can become as a community—and an infrastructure—and you seem like the best man to include in that vision.”
And though the mayor has turned me down countless times before, when I’ve asked for a private meeting, this time, he seems more than willing. “That sounds wonderful. Why don’t you come by my office later this week? Perhaps we can grab some lunch. I’d love to hear about this grand vision of yours.”
“Wonderful, I’ll do that.” I grin as I extend my hand, and Mayor Romney grasps it, giving me a firm handshake.
“Such a lovely night. We’ll have to have you over again soon,” Signora Romney insists, giving Tia’s hands an affectionate squeeze.
“That sounds lovely. Or we could have you over as well, right, Leo?” she says, her megawatt smile dazzling as she turns it on me.
“Absolutely,” I agree, resting my palm on the small of her back.
And I can’t help but note the silky smooth warmth just moments before goosebumps rise across her skin at my touch. Once again, it awakens a hunger in me, that hunger I found at the start of the evening, when we were getting ready for this very important meeting.
“Good night,” Tia says, stepping through the doorway with a last smile.
And as I follow her, I can’t help but hope our night is only beginning.
20
TIA
Leo’s arm is steady, his hand gentle as he helps me from the car, and despite my best effort to remain unaffected by him, my heart skips a beat at the heat in his gaze.
“Luigi, send some broth and crackers to our room,” he says evenly as we walk through the front door, the butler holding it open wide for us.
“Signor,” Luigi agrees, with a slight inclination of his head.
I glance at Leo, taken aback by his request, but keep walking, my hand resting lightly inside the crook of his elbow.
He glances at me from the corner of his eye, and our gazes meet. “You hardly ate,” he says by way of explanation.
Butterflies erupt in my stomach at his observation. In truth, I’m starving because I couldn’t manage to swallow more than a few bites of my veal parmesan—delicious as it was. But I never imagined Leo would care enough to notice.
I managed to recover from my morning sickness without tipping off anyone in the mayor’s house to my pregnancy. I even made good headway with the mayor and his family. I could see Leo going so far as to notice and appreciate that. But to realize I wasn’t eating? He must have been watching me more closely than I realized.
My skin warms.
We step inside our room, and Leo closes the door behind us as I kick off my heel, sighing gratefully the moment my feet find the cool wood.
“I got a meeting, thanks to your charms,” he says behind me, his voice rich and warm.
