LITMIR.BIZ

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      Ah, hell.

      He wanted to kiss her better.

      No. Actually, he just wanted to kiss her again.

      And that would complicate matters beyond belief.

      He really ought to let her go right now. Put her in a taxi and pay the driver to wait until she was safely indoors. But he couldn’t drag himself away from her. So he just wrapped his arms round her again, held her close. Told her silently with his body that he was there, that whatever was wrong he’d do whatever he could to make it right.

      Dancing cheek to cheek with her like this meant that he could smell the sweet floral perfume she’d used. Summer roses. Like the candied petals his mother used on a trifle and that he’d always begged for, as a child. So sweet.

      His mouth was so close to her ear; he couldn’t resist pressing the tiniest kiss to her earlobe. The next thing he knew, his mouth was brushing a trail of kisses along her cheek. Her face turned slightly to meet his. And at last his mouth found hers. A tiny, gentle, questioning touch.

      A second’s pause.

      And then she tilted her head slightly, kissed him back. An equally tiny kiss. The barest touch of her lips against his.

      His mouth was tingling. And despite the fact they were in a noisy, crowded hall with people dancing round them, everything seemed to melt away. There was just the two of them. And an overwhelming need to kiss her properly, feel her mouth open beneath his.

      He caught her lower lip between his. So soft, so sweet.

      His head was telling him that this was a seriously bad idea, but his body wasn’t listening. Because this felt as if tiny stars had started to illuminate the black hole in the middle of his heart. The tiniest flickers of light, of hope.

      And when her mouth opened beneath his and the tip of her tongue touched his, the lights became brighter. She was warm and soft and her body fitted against his perfectly.

      Right here, right now, this was where he belonged. With Fran. No pretence, no act. And the way she was kissing him back made him feel as if he could conquer the world. Walk on air.

      ‘Put the girl down, Gio. There are children present,’ Ric teased, slapping him on the back.

      Oh, lord. However long had they been kissing? Fran’s mouth was slightly red and swollen, her pupils were enormous, and he could feel that her breasts had grown slightly fuller and heavier against him.

      He was turned on just as much. And he couldn’t get the words of that song out of his head. How much he wanted to make love to her. In a frosted garden. On a swing.

      Uh. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d fantasised about someone. His life had been too full with work. But Fran…Fran was different.

      ‘Your timing’s impeccable, cugino mio. Not,’he said ruefully.

      And Fran’s cheeks were crimson. He kissed the tip of her nose. ‘Sorry, honey. I got carried away. Give me a second to calm down.’ He bent his head slightly and whispered in her ear, ‘But please don’t move until then, because if you do I think we’ll both be extremely embarrassed.’

      ‘I was going to ask you if you were enjoying the party,’ Ric said with a smile, ‘but I don’t think I need to.’

      ‘Tact,’ Gio said to Fran with a sigh, ‘is not a Mazetti strong point.’ He coughed. ‘Would you mind not embarrassing my girlfriend?’

      ‘I apologise, Fran.’ Ric patted her shoulder. ‘For embarrassing you. Though not for embarrassing the birthday boy. Buon compleanno, Gio.’

      ‘Thanks, Ric. I think.’

      When Gio’s cousin left them alone again, Gio stroked Fran’s cheek. ‘Um. That wasn’t supposed to…’ He swallowed hard. ‘I can’t even blame it on too much champagne.’ It was just Fran. Her nearness. And how he wanted her.

      ‘Me, too.’

      Had he spoken that last bit aloud? Was she saying that she felt the same way?

      But right now he didn’t trust his judgement.

      Right now, he just wanted to get out of here. But the party was a quarter his—he knew he was expected to stay right to the end.

      Somehow, they made it through the rest of the evening. If anyone else had noticed them kissing—well, how could they possibly have missed it?—at least they had more tact than Ric and didn’t mention it.

      They were the last ones in the hall except Nonna, his parents, his sisters and their partners. Just short of a dozen of them: enough to make clearing up easy work.

      ‘Thank you,’ Jude said, hugging Fran.

      ‘We know you helped Gio choose our presents. And they’re perfect,’ Bella said.

      Marcie added, ‘But most of all, thank you for making our brother human again. I haven’t seen him look this happy in years.’

      ‘No pressure, then,’ Fran quipped, but inside her heart was heavy. This whole deception had started to avoid Nonna’s illusions being shattered. But the way things were going, when she and Gio staged their break-up, an awful lot more people were going to get hurt. His grandmother, his parents and sisters…

      And herself.

      ‘Come on, honey. Time to go home,’ Gio said, taking her hand.

      Once they’d made their goodbyes and climbed into the taxi, Gio let her hand go again.

      Well, what had she expected? That kiss earlier—it hadn’t been faked, but it hadn’t exactly been for real either. A dream that had caught them both up for a while, but now they were back in reality.

      They were silent as the taxi took them back to Fran’s house, but she was shocked when Gio actually dismissed the taxi. Was he expecting her to invite him in?

      As if he could read her mind, he said, ‘I just want to see you safely into your flat. And then I’m walking home.’

      ‘But you live ages away.’

      He shrugged. ‘It’s not raining and the fresh air will do me good.’

      He followed her into the lobby and she opened her front door. Her tongue felt as if it had stuck to the roof of his mouth, but she managed to get the words out. Even managed to get them to sound light and breezy, as if nothing had happened. ‘Would you like to come in for coffee?’

      In response, he moved closer and brushed his mouth against hers. ‘If I do, we’ll both regret it in the morning. Because right now what I want to do is take that beautiful dress off you and carry you to your bed.’

      That sexy, husky note in his voice was her undoing. He’d just voiced exactly what she wanted him to do, too.

      ‘Gio.’ She reached up to pull his head down to hers. Pressed her body against his, so close that she could actually feel his heartbeat. Hard and fast, like her own.

      And he was kissing her back, gently moving her so her back was against the front door. He nudged his thigh between hers, sliding one hand to cup her bottom and bring her even closer to him; she could feel his erection pressing against her, hot and hard.

      Fran had never wanted anyone so much in her entire life.

      And then he shuddered. Broke the kiss. Disentangled her hands from his hair. Took a step backwards. ‘We can’t do this. In the morning, I’ll feel guilty about taking advantage of you.’

      He wouldn’t be taking advantage of her. She’d be with him all the way.

      ‘So I’m going to leave now. While I still can.’ He closed his eyes. Embarrassment, or because if he looked at her, saw the sheer desire in her expression, his control would splinter?

      ‘I’ll see you Monday.’ He opened his eyes again, but didn’t look at her. ‘And

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