“And now you have to baby-sit me,” she said, her lips pursing slightly in a pout as she extended her hand. “I have explained to everyone that I do not need an escort.”
“This is a big city, cara.” Antonio gave his niece a patient smile. The kind he reserved for nice Italian women from whom he expected obedience.
“Yes, Zio,” she said meekly, looking directly into Mike’s eyes as he accepted her hand. Small. Incredibly soft.
“It’s really no trouble. We have a terrific library in—”
Annoyance flickered in her eyes, and she withdrew her hand. “I have made a list of places I would like to visit.”
“Oh, okay. Sure.”
“Have you had lunch?” Antonio rubbed his meaty palms together. “Either of you?” He didn’t wait for an answer. “Let’s all go to Angelo’s. You two can get better acquainted over a nice bowl of linguini and clams.”
Gina made a slight face, but then said, “Yes, Uncle.”
Mike stepped aside and waited until she stood. She was petite, about five-three in sensible black-laced shoes, the kind Mike’s grandmother used to wear.
Antonio gestured for them to precede him out the door. “After we eat, Mike will take you to my apartment so you can unpack and rest awhile. Later, if you aren’t too tired we’ll have dinner together. Okay?”
“Whatever you say, Uncle Antonio.”
“And take off that coat before you die of heatstroke and your mother makes meatballs out of me.”
She touched the top button with reluctant fingers and then slipped it free. By the time she got to the third one, the sudden tension that had coiled in Mike’s gut about knocked him over.
What the hell was wrong with him? He didn’t have time to analyze this odd reaction. She was on the last button.
She pulled the lapels apart and shrugged the bulky fabric off her shoulders, revealing an unattractive, shapeless black dress over hose that were too thick.
Mike let out a disappointed breath and took the coat from her. But the smile she gave him made his insides tighten again. It was the almond-shaped eyes and full lips. He was a sucker for both. Good thing she wasn’t his type. As if he had one after such a long dry spell.
They all got to the hall and Antonio bellowed for Robert to join them. So much for the intercom.
The restaurant was crowded for midafternoon, but Antonio’s regular table was reserved and they were waited on quickly. Everyone ordered pasta but Gina. She wanted a cheeseburger and fries.
As soon as she excused herself to go to the ladies’ room, Antonio chuckled. “A cheeseburger.” He muttered something in Italian. “This is the rebellion my sister is so worried about.”
Robert shook his head. “I kind of feel sorry for her.” His gaze followed Gina. “She’s twenty-three and she looks like forty dressed like that. Maybe Mike should take her shopping.”
Mike snorted. “Yeah, right.”
Antonio tore off a piece of bread from the loaf in the center of the table and then peered at him with open curiosity. “You guys know how to do that kind of stuff, right?”
“Pop.”
Mike caught Robert giving his father the eye. “What do you mean?”
Antonio shrugged and busied himself with slathering enough butter on his bread to clog an artery. “I don’t want her to get crazy, but maybe a nice pink dress would be good. Black is so old-fashioned.”
Mike and Robert exchanged amused looks.
“It’s Sophia. My sister still thinks she lives in the nineteenth century. Black is for mourning.” He looked up and nudged his chin at Mike. “Help her find a nice pink dress. Just not too short, okay?”
Mike grabbed a hunk of bread before he said something he’d regret. Robert damn well better be right. Gina had better prefer spending time at the library or computer, and not Bloomingdale’s and Bergdorf’s. If she wanted to shop, she could find just about anything online.
Robert signaled the waitress for another beer. “Gina went to Catholic boarding school all her life. I’m sure the nuns had a lot of influence on her choice of clothing.”
“Here she comes. Stop talking about her.” Antonio reached for a second piece of bread, and Robert deftly grabbed the butter.
“Come on, Pop. Too much of this stuff isn’t good for you.”
“You, who ordered a second beer in fifteen minutes, is telling me this?”
Mike let the familiar argument fade into the background as he watched Gina approach the table. As conservatively as she was dressed, she didn’t have a timid way of walking or carrying herself. As unbecoming as her hairstyle was, the severity of it accentuated her exotic eyes and full lips, and a couple of heads turned when she passed a table of four men.
Antonio stood when she got to the table, and he gave Robert and Mike the evil eye until they gave in and followed his lead. Gina reclaimed her seat, pressing her lips together as if trying to hide a smile.
She caught Mike watching her and quickly looked away. When Antonio tried to take the butter, the other two started in again. The genuine affection between father and son always impressed Mike, and he barely paid attention to the petty squabbling.
Apparently Gina didn’t, either. She glanced around the restaurant, her hands folded primly on the table, yet barely able to contain the excitement in her eyes.
Poor kid. Had she really been hidden away at a convent school all her life? Mike didn’t doubt it. The Scarpettis clung to some odd traditional values. Even Antonio had his quirks in that department, although he’d never admit it.
Mike continued to watch how her eyes widened with interest as she took in the rowdy but good-natured interplay at the bar. The TV positioned high on the corner wall was showing a baseball game, and some fevered cheering escalated the noise level.
When Cindy, a cocktail waitress in a black miniskirt and a tight blouse endorsing the Mets walked by with a tray of mugs, Gina’s eyes widened even more. She watched the woman deliver the beer to a table and blinked in astonishment when the redhead leaned over to unload the tray. The way the skirt rode up, not much was left to the imagination.
“So, Gina, what kind of things do you like to do?” Mike asked to distract her. And himself.
Her gaze settled on him. “Me? Well, I read a lot.” Her shrug was apologetic. “I sew and I spend time on the computer. I am afraid I do not have a very exciting life.”
“Nothing wrong with that. Mine isn’t all that exciting, either.” Unfortunately that was the truth. All he did was work.
“But this is a city full of fun and excitement and…” Her voice rose with excitement, drawing her uncle and cousin’s attention. She gave them a serene smile.
Antonio gave her a patronizing one back.
Mike sighed. Poor kid. It wouldn’t kill him to show her the sights a little. He’d have to check the entertainment listings. Maybe The Lion King was still on Broadway.
2
GINA WAVED GOODBYE to her uncle and cousin and blew them a kiss as the elevator doors closed. She could not wait to get out of their office and go to the apartment. She loved her family, but she hated the black dress more. Mama had insisted she wear it on the plane, and Gina had figured it was a small price to pay for a month’s freedom in New York City.
“Where is your car?” she asked when they got outside.
Mike gave her a funny look as he stepped off the sidewalk onto the street. “I don’t have one. We’ll take a cab.”
“You do not have one? I thought everybody in America had two cars and two televisions.”
Laughing, Mike raised his arm to hail a cab. “Not in New York they don’t. It would cost too much for me to keep a car here. Anyway, I don’t need one.”
She liked the way his light-brown hair curled at the ends and touched the back of his white collar. He was tall, almost a foot taller than her, and she liked that, too. “Uncle Antonio…he does not pay you enough money?”
His sea-green eyes unexpectedly met hers, and she felt a tingle at the back of he
r neck. “I make a very good salary. Keeping a car simply isn’t sensible.”
Gina sighed. Sensible. She did not want to hear that word ever again. Regina Marie, please be sensible, Mama had said a hundred times since Gina had returned from school. You cannot have an apartment in the city, she had said. Living alone would not be sensible for a single girl about to be married.
Marriage. Gina cringed at the thought. She had nothing against the institution, but the family expected her to marry Mario, who owned the neighboring vineyard. But he was old, almost forty, and as exciting as shriveling grapes.
Sometimes when she was home from school she would stroll through the vineyards in the evening and she could see the lights in his house go out at ten o’clock. Her friends did not even leave their houses for the clubs until nine.
“Gina?”
She blinked and saw that a cab had pulled over and Mike was holding the door open for her. Arranging the bulky coat she had put back on over the dress, she slid across the back seat, where she stayed close to the middle of the seat.
Mike put her luggage in the trunk, got in, gave the driver an address and settled back and loosened his tie. His suit was made of a dark-blue lightweight material that clung to his thighs. He was thin, but not too thin, just right, really, with no spare flesh around his middle. Without the jacket his shoulders were broad and straight.
He was definitely the kind of guy the girls at school talked about when they had been lucky enough to sneak away to the city for a night. Gina had been brave enough only once, and she had almost gotten caught by Sister Maria Therese. Even though she had made it over the fence unseen, she had worried the entire night that her empty bed would be discovered and so had no fun at all.
Mike continued to look out the window and she edged an inch closer until their thighs nearly touched. He rubbed his shadowed chin, pushed a hand through his hair, but did not even give her a second glance.
Gina sighed. She hated being ignored almost as much as she hated the black dress. But that was all right. She would soon get a reaction from Mike Mason.
ANTONIO HAD CALLED ahead to alert the doorman at his building to let them in. Mike left one of Gina’s suitcases with the guy while he escorted her to Antonio’s apartment. Leaving the bag was a safety net. In case he had to make a quick getaway.
Something about Gina was giving him hot flashes. Maybe it was her subtle vanilla scent or her soft unconscious sighs. Or maybe it was the innocent way her thigh kept brushing against his as they’d sat in the cab.
Gina walked ahead of him, her swaying hips revealing a few curves. She had them in the right places, that was for sure, not to mention full high breasts not even the ugly black dress could hide.
Shit! What a jerk. He was supposed to be watching Gina. Not watching her.
Ever since he and Robert had noticed that blonde outside his office a few days ago, Mike had been acutely aware of how long it’d been since he’d been horizontal with some sweet young thing. Maybe he ought to lower his standards for a night. Be like Robert and pick someone up at a bar who had the same idea in mind.
But that wasn’t his thing. He’d have to be really horny, and the situation wasn’t that bad yet. But he had gone so far as to find out that the blonde’s name was Heidi and that she was a sales rep for one of their outside distributors. He’d also found out that she’d asked about him.
That gave him the green light. Now he needed time away from his baby-sitting duty.
“Do you know which bedroom will be mine?” Gina asked once they’d gotten inside the apartment.
“Why?” he asked quickly, his mind racing.
She blinked. “So we know where to put the suitcases.”
“Oh, right.” He flexed his shoulder, trying to loosen the mounting tension traveling to the back of his neck. “Maybe we should just leave them in the living room for now.”
“But I want to unpack.” She stepped closer, peering into his face. “Are you not well?”
“I’m fine.” He headed down the hall, not sure which bedroom to go to. He’d been to Antonio’s at least a dozen times, but had never made it past the living room and kitchen.
It ended up a simple choice. Besides the master bedroom, there was only one guest room. The third bedroom contained only a desk, computer and love seat.
He set down the suitcase between the white-oak armoire and four-poster queen-size bed. When he turned to leave, he ran into Gina. She stumbled backward and he caught her upper arms.
Her eyes widened. “Scusi.”
He stood, paralyzed by the sultry beauty of her eyes, how thick inky-black lashes highlighted the golden flecks. The firm muscle he found under his touch surprised him. He didn’t know what he expected, maybe more fleshy softness. But to be this toned and sculpted, she clearly worked out.
Man, she was in better shape than he was.
At the depressing thought he dropped his hands. He didn’t move back, though, and neither did she. They just stood looking at each other for a long heart-stopping moment.
“Uh, I’d better go get your other bag from the doorman,” he said finally, stepping back and then taking a wide swing around her.
“You will be right back?”
“Of course.” He made it to the door. “But if you want to start unpacking or take a nap or whatever, go ahead. I’ll leave the bag outside the door.”
“You will not leave me here alone?” Her eyes had gotten wide again and a little frightened.
Mike sobered. He was supposed to be taking care of her, not running away because he couldn’t keep his libido under wraps. “I’ll be either in the living room or in your uncle’s office making some phone calls and checking my e-mail.”
“Good.” She smiled. “I would like to unpack, but do not need a nap. Perhaps we could go to Central Park?”
Mike checked his watch. No way was he getting in rush hour traffic all the way to Manhattan. “We’ll save that for another day when we can get an earlier start.”
“I understand,” she said, but her lips pursed in a pout. And then he realized she wasn’t pouting at all. The look was natural because of the fullness of her lips. A sexy look that women paid thousands to surgically duplicate.
He rubbed his clammy palms together. “Okay, I’m going to go now. Take your time.”
Mike got the hell out of the apartment before he said or did something really stupid. The elevator was slow to get to the tenth floor and that suited him just fine. Only a fool would be anxious to get back too quickly.
Gina was going to be more trouble than he anticipated. But not if he got a grip of himself. Oh, shit, he wanted to be gripped, all right. That was the problem. But she was a kid, and he should be ashamed.
Okay, so she was only five years younger than he was. But if age were measured in experience, she’d be a baby. Robert’s description of her wasn’t the only clue. Gina looked sexy—that was a quirk of nature—but she was still inexperienced and naive. A guy could tell that sort of thing.
Experienced or not, she was off-limits.
He gave the elevator down button another impatient jab and then wished he could recall the asinine gesture. No sense in hurrying back to temptation. Not that he’d act on any of his impulses. Unless he wanted to get his ass fired.
The elevator doors opened and as soon as he got in, the car shot down to the first floor as if it were a friggin’ express. The doorman was talking to someone, so Mike perused the building’s notice board. There was an ad for a dog-walking service and beside it, was a flyer for massage therapy. In the top corner was a picture of the busty blond masseuse. And she made house calls.
Mike groaned. He wasn’t that desperate. Was he?
GINA BEGAN UNPACKING the clothes her mother had insisted she bring. Those things she shoved in the closet, unconcerned about the wrinkles. She would only need them when she dined with Uncle Antonio or visited with him in the apartment. The rest of the time she would wear the clothes she had made herself or had bought with the a
llowance her mother had sent her while she was at school.
Carefully she unrolled the cropped T-shirts, Capri leggings and miniskirts she’d hidden beneath her assorted underwear. One dress in particular she shook out and then laid across the bed. It had wrinkled during the trip, but the material was stretchy, and once it was on her body, it would be so tight she would not have to worry about ironing it.
She kicked off her shoes and knelt on the floor to root through her second suitcase. Two pairs of strappy sandals had been hidden among her toiletries. She fished them out, along with the red nail polish for her toes.
Not even a sliver of guilt dampened her excitement. She was tired of wearing ugly dresses and having to act like an old woman. None of the other girls at boarding school or the all-girl university she had attended had parents as strict as hers.
And for what? She had been a good girl, studying hard, getting good grades, staying away from the boys who hung around outside the school’s stone wall. She had not gotten into trouble like some of the other girls, or at least nothing that her parents knew about. The two times Gina had made the sisters angry by staying out past curfew, she had been able to talk them into not writing her parents a report.
She pulled off the dreadful black dress, wadded it into a ball and threw it on the closet floor. She would not need it until her flight home. Just the thought of having to return to Tuscany to plan her wedding depressed her. She quickly chose an outfit that would lift her mood, and then sat on the floor and shook the bottle of red polish.
The scandalous color made her heart race so fast that her hands shook. She had to keep stopping to wipe the excess polish off the brush so that she did not make a mess of her toes. While letting the first coat dry, she leaned back, her arms outstretched for support, her legs straight out in front of her so she could admire her work. She wiggled her toes and was pleased when the light reflected off the shiny gloss.
She hoped Mike was not growing impatient. The thought of him made her smile. He was tall and handsome and she liked the way he smelled, too. Fresh and clean, like pine trees washed by the rain.
Educating Gina Page 2
