Lost in Italy

by Stacey Joy Netzel

  But she could be alone now? She turned away to hide an instant, overwhelming surge of panic and told herself she’d be fine. No one knew they were here. Perfectly safe.

  Of course, that’s what they’d thought about his villa, too.

  “I’ll be right back,” he added.

  A firm nod did nothing to alleviate her anxiety. Her fingers clenched on her mug. Stop. You’re not helpless. She took a drink, mentally straightened her spine and reminded herself they’d be separated in a couple hours anyway, so she may as well get used to being by herself. Well, she’d have Ben and Rach—

  “Halli.”

  Trent’s softened tone made her turn around.

  “I’ll be right over there.” He pointed down the shoreline. “And I’ll be able to see the boat the entire time.”

  For the first time she noticed an open air market near one of the wharves. She rose up on her tiptoes for a better look. Hopeful curiosity took a stand next to her apprehension.

  “Can’t I just come with you?”

  “Ah…” He squinted toward the market while pulling a black ball cap from his back pocket. As he tugged it low over his eyes, he shrugged. “Sure, why not.”

  She grinned with anticipation. “Give me five minutes.”

  Before he could change his mind, she hurried below deck and did what she could to freshen up with soap and a washcloth, a comb she found in a drawer, and the very welcome toothbrush. She took an extra moment to survey her hair. Oh well. At least it was still shiny-clean, not greasy-shiny. Thankfully, she had an easy style that didn’t require a hair dryer like Rachel.

  Had she found a converter last night? Probably. She’d find out in a few hours, wouldn’t she? Halli smiled to herself. Today was already better than yesterday in so many ways.

  Back on the deck, she paused before joining Trent on the dock. “Maybe I should take care of your arm first.”

  “Halli, the Spaghetti O’s wore off about midnight.”

  Her own stomach growled and she laughed. “You’re right, let’s go.”

  He reached out a hand to pull her up, but didn’t let go when her feet hit the wood. Her lips parted in surprise when he caught her close and his mouth covered hers for a breathless, all too brief moment. She didn’t even have a chance to close her eyes, though he had.

  When he released her, it took a moment to remember to breathe. “What…was that for?”

  “Hell if I know.” He grinned, draped his good arm across her shoulders and steered her toward shore. “Let’s go eat.”

  God, he smelled good. Just like all day yesterday whenever she’d gotten close. It wasn’t fair. She needed deodorant.

  When they reached the edge of the market, she tried to distract herself by drinking in every nuance of the busy street laid out before them. Trent slid his hand down along her arm and laced their fingers together.

  “Cover,” he whispered in her ear. “We don’t want to stand out in case any of Lapaglia’s police connections are around.”

  Alarmed, Halli jerked her head up from where she’d been staring stupefied at their hands. His lips began to curve upward, but before his white teeth could flash, she moved close and placed her hand over his mouth.

  “Don’t smile.”

  Their eyes met beneath the shadow of his baseball cap and he smiled anyway.

  Wow.

  Her stomach fluttered as his lips moved against her palm to finish the expression in his eyes. She thought it’d been hard to resist his magnetism last night, but today he was really getting to her.

  “Wud ooh aunt to epth?” he asked.

  Lessening the press of her hand on his mouth, she tried not to smile herself.

  “What do you want to eat?” he repeated.

  She considered for all of two seconds. “Something sweet.”

  “Mmmmm. Me too.”

  The low, exaggerated growl vibrated his lips against her skin and she quickly lowered her hand. His eyes were still smiling; locked on hers and lit with an inner fire. The man was like a chameleon all of a sudden. Brusque on the boat, playful here.

  She tilted her head. “Are you sure you’re feeling okay?”

  “Oh, yeah.”

  “You’re starting to freak me out.”

  His hands lightly grasped her hips and urged her closer. “Not quite the affect I was going for.”

  He was flirting his ass off.

  “Whatever you were going for, knock it off.” Before I throw myself at you and embarrass us both.

  She averted her gaze only to see a young couple stop in the middle of the marketplace to do exactly what she’d just imagined doing to Trent. No one batted an eye at the R-rated kiss.

  “Sorry.” Trent’s dejected tone and little boy face made her feel bad. His hands dropped to his sides, his smile gone. “It was a stupid idea. I just thought we could have a little fun before the rest of the day takes over.”

  When he put it like that, she felt like a total killjoy. Live a little, Halli. He’s being nice. Enjoy your limited time together. She sighed. “No, Trent, I’m sorry. You’re right, again. Any fun on this nightmare vacation would be nice.”

  “Yeah?”

  Hopeful, boyish charm did her in the rest of the way. A sheepish smile lifted her lips. “Yeah.”

  His hands returned to her hips as he waggled his brows. A tug brought her flush up against him. She gave a nervous laugh, putting a restraining hand against his chest. “I said fun, not sex.”

  Trent’s eyebrows arched skyward. “Whoa-ho-ho. Who said anything about sex?”

  Not her. No. God, please let me take it back. Her face flamed redder than an over-ripe tomato straight off the vine, and she didn’t need a mirror to know it.

  He leaned back, which only served to put his hips in more intimate contact with hers.

  “Get your mind out of the gutter, sweetheart, I’m not that easy.”

  She fought the urge to bury her face in her hands. “I—”

  “Who am I kidding? Yes I am.” He gave her a roguish wink. “And believe me, I can make sex fun.”

  Of that she had no doubt. Sizzling heat had already zipped along her nerve endings, leaving a tingle of anticipation in its wake. But she was in way over her head here and nowhere near sophisticated enough to play this cool. She glanced around self-consciously. “Shut up.”

  “You’re the one who wanted to talk about sex.”

  “I did not!” She prayed no one was actually listening to their conversation. And if they were, hopefully they didn’t understand English. Still, she lowered her voice and spoke through clenched teeth. “I didn’t mean I wanted to…I mean, I…oh, darn it. Just forget it.”

  She shoved free of his grasp and lost herself in the crowd. Embarrassed didn’t even begin to cover how she felt. Mortified was closer. Combine the two and add some humiliation. She wandered past half a dozen stalls only to discover she’d separated from Trent and now what the hell was she supposed to do?

  Her feet stopped moving. Someone bumped into her from behind, sending her pulse into overdrive. A quick spin brought her face to chest with Trent. Relief warred with the full force of her embarrassment.

  Then he had the nerve to grin.

  “Talk about fun. Was that as good for you as it was for me?”

  She frowned in amazement. “My God, what are you on?”

  “I’m a little dizzy from pain, lightheaded from hunger, and weak from—”

  She smacked his good arm.

  “Aw, come on, Halli, you make this way too easy.” He pulled her into a one armed hug and turned her around. “Breakfast is this way, along with your surprise.”

  “I hate surprises.”

  “I’m pretty sure you’ll like this one. In fact, I predict you’ll kiss me for it.”

  Yeah, right. She had no plans to kiss him, what with trying to retain even a tiny scrap of common sense. Not to mention they came from completely different worlds, and they’d be saying goodbye in another three hours. At the most. Let’s
face it, her chances of never seeing him again beyond the silver screen were one hundred percent.

  But then he bought her the most tantalizing, melt-in-your-mouth pastries she’d ever tasted. And a new shirt, thank God.

  Died a rich royal blue, the silk, wrap-around blouse had short filmy sleeves and tied mid-point at her ribs before flaring just past her hips. First thing when they returned to the boat, she planned to change out of the Wet and Wild shirt.

  Bag in hand, pastry in the other, she reconsidered kissing him.

  Only he led her in the opposite direction of his boat as they left the market. She licked the remnants of a third pastry from her fingers, following him up a long set of stone steps. He knocked on the door of a quaint home tucked on a hill overlooking the lake and part of the town, then removed his ball cap as he turned to smile down at her.

  What was he up to? Was this the surprise? Apprehension over the unknown rushed to the forefront.

  When the door opened, a small, weathered Italian grandma straight out of the cliché beamed at Trent. He greeted her warmly in Italian, placing a kiss on each weathered, wrinkled cheek. After another brief exchange between the two, Halli found herself enfolded in the ample arms of the woman Trent introduced simply as Concetta.

  Concetta ushered them inside where Halli met a gentleman named Giovani, who sat at a small kitchen table finishing his breakfast. Trent either missed Halli’s discreet questioning look, or he ignored it as he and Giovani settled into a discussion, also in Italian.

  She sipped the unsweetened tea Concetta placed in front of her, hard pressed to conceal her rising frustration. Trent’s masculine voice in a foreign language would’ve been about the sexiest thing she’d ever heard, except she wanted to know what they were saying. Especially when each of their elderly hosts took a turn to smile in her direction. Neither spoke nor understood English, Trent had deigned to inform her at one point.

  Giovani pushed to his feet and motioned Trent to follow. When Halli rose, Concetta stepped close to place a hand on either side of her face and spoke very seriously. Halli looked to Trent for translation.

  Trent’s lips quirked into a small smile. “She says you will be lucky in life and love.”

  Perfect, but currently proven so untrue. The kindness and conviction in the woman’s faded eyes prompted Halli to smile anyway. “Thank you. Um…grazie.”

  Trent placed his hand against the small of Halli’s back as he brushed another kiss on Concetta’s cheek. His touch remained steady on their way out the back door; Halli’s pulse did not.

  “What’s going on?” she asked to distract her hormones.

  “We now have a car to get us to Milan,” he told her.

  “We’re going right now?”

  “Shortly.”

  She was taken aback by an internal warring of emotion. She couldn’t wait to see Ben and Rachel again, God she longed for that. But the thought of saying goodbye to Trent brought a sharp ache to her chest. Completely crazy, given she’d only met him yesterday, and more than half the day she hadn’t even liked him.

  I ask you, Concetta, how lucky is that?

  Trent opened the passenger door of a small black car identical to the blue rental Ben had driven yesterday. Halli waved to Concetta, who watched from the doorway, and slid into the seat, thinking the woman was a little touched in the head. Giovani settled in behind the wheel, while Trent folded his long frame into the back.

  She looked at him over her shoulder. “He’s driving us to Milan?”

  “Not exactly.”

  “Where are we going?”

  “You’ll see.”

  “I wasn’t kidding when I said I hate surprises.”

  Trent simply smiled. The vehicle lurched forward and Halli faced forward in confusion. She didn’t like this at all. Surprises made her nervous. She didn’t know how to plan for them and the lack of control freaked her out. Hadn’t he figured that out by now?

  A minute later, the little car squeezed between two buildings lining the old cobblestoned street. An ancient, vine-covered stone wall rose up before them and Giovani brought the car to an abrupt halt. Halli leaned forward to search for a way out of the dead end, but Trent exited the car and reached for her door. Apparently, they’d arrived.

  Giovani withdrew a set of keys from his trousers and opened a door she hadn’t noticed under the leafy camouflage covering the wall. He pressed the car keys into Trent’s hand. They spoke only long enough for Halli to recognize Trent’s words of appreciation. Giovani responded with a low chuckle, nodded politely to her, and left them with the car and the open door in the wall.

  “Where’s he going?”

  “Don’t worry about it.” Trent faced her with a grin of anticipation. “Ready?”

  “No.”

  “Close your eyes.”

  “Absolutely not.”

  His hands landed on her shoulders and forced her gaze to meet his.

  “Do you trust me?”

  Despite all his outlandish teasing of the morning, his now sober gaze convinced her he wasn’t joking. She swallowed her uneasiness and answered honestly. “Yes.”

  “Then close your eyes.”

  She stared at him a moment more, took a deep breath, then did as he asked.

  “Okay, now breathe.”

  At the smile in his voice, a nervous laugh released the air from her lungs. He urged her forward, careful to forewarn her of any steps or uneven areas of the pathway beneath her feet. Still uneasy, she relied on her other senses to reveal clues as to what might be in store. They were outside, still near the water, since she could hear the gulls and bells and activity of the local wharves in the distance. A hint of something exotic teased her nostrils, but proved too elusive to identify.

  As they continued, though, everything slowly faded into the background. Everything except Trent. The low timbre of his voice. The warmth of his body against her back. The alluring scent of whatever understated cologne clung to his skin. It dawned on her that maybe it was just him. He’d been dunked in the lake last night and still his heated masculine scent nearly overwhelmed her good sense when she’d given him that comforting hug.

  “Okay. You can open your eyes.”

  The rest of the world rushed back in, overloading her brain. She allowed a few heartbeats to settle her nerves, then lifted her lashes. Unexpected beauty robbed her of adequate words. Only a soft gasp passed her lips.

  “Halliwell Sanders, I give you the Japanese gardens of Villa Melzi.”

  They stood in the center of a stone bridge spanning the middle of a long, narrow lily pond. Intricate scrolled ironwork provided railings on either side. Colors from shoreline flowers and surrounding trees reflected on the glass-smooth surface of the murky, sun-lit water.

  Hand over her mouth, she slowly spun in a circle to take it all in, noting they were completely alone. Too early for the popular tourist attraction to be open to the general public she distinctly remembered from her hours of trip planning. Through the red, yellow, and green leafed branches, she could just make out the mountains standing sentinel over the small villages and shimmering waters of Lake Como.

  Lago de Como the Italian’s preferred, and today, it sounded better to her, too.

  “Good surprise?” Trent asked from behind.

  She blinked away the mist blurring her vision. “The best ever.”

  “You said you were hightailing it back to the States, so while it’s not the Villa Carlotta, I thought you might still enjoy it. We’ve got about a half hour to explore before we have to leave for Milan.”

  Still slightly breathless, she turned to face him, hands clasped together in front of her. “Believe me, it’s so much better than the Villa Carlotta.”

  He lounged casually against the railing, thumbs hooked in the front pockets of his jeans. Standing there, sunlight glinting off his tousled hair because he had yet to put his baseball cap back on, he rivaled the magnificence of their surroundings.

  He also looked like the cat that
ate the canary, thoroughly satisfied with his good deed. She decided she didn’t care.

  “Do I get my kiss now?”

  His cocky confidence brought her up short. “No.”

  “You know you want to.”

  Maybe she did care. She’d seen the women he dated and knew she didn’t come close to their beauty or sophistication.

  Again, she reminded herself his interest was nothing more than an answer to the challenge she presented and she did her best to resist his magnetism. “You’re a real piece of work, you know that?” She kept her tone light.

  “What?” he asked innocently.

  “Don’t what me. Once we get to Milan, that’ll be it, we won’t ever see each other again. You’ll continue your investigation, I’ll go home. Just because you’ve charmed me with this last ditch effort to get a little something doesn’t mean I’m going to simply fall into your arms.” No matter how much I want to.

  “Are we talking about sex again?”

  Her face heated, but she forced a smile while walking across the bridge. “We weren’t talking about it the first time.”

  He laughed after her. “You know, I think I might actually miss you.”

  She snorted.

  “I’m serious,” he insisted as he fell into step beside her.

  “You said I was a pain in the ass.”

  “Well…yeah.”

  “You’re no picnic, either.”

  “I believe the correct terminology is egotistical jerk.”

  Did she detect a hint of bruised ego under his smiling sarcasm? No. Of course not. Trent Tomlin wouldn’t care what she thought of him, though it wasn’t even true anymore.

  The two of them walked together, enjoying the quiet, perfectly manicured gardens for a little while before she asked, “So how do you know Giovani and Concetta?”

  “They’re George’s parents.”

  “The non-Clooney George?”

  “Yeah. Giovanni has tended these gardens since he was a teenager.”

  Explained where Giovani had disappeared to. “Everything is just so beautiful.”

  Rounding a corner of the walkway, Halli stopped short at the top of a long stone stairway, lit by sunlight. The view over the lake took her breath away and her hand rose to her heart. “Oh, wow.”