LITMIR.BIZ

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it wasn’t quite the small backward village he’d conjured up in his memory—the same village where he’d once got into a bit of mischief with harmless pranks. Those were the carefree days that he hadn’t known to appreciate as they flew by.

      “What are you smiling about?” Kayla sent him a curious look.

      He was smiling? He hadn’t realized his thoughts had crossed his face. “I was just recalling some antics I’d gotten into as a kid.”

      “Oh, tell me. I’d love to hear.”

      “You would?” He wouldn’t think something like that would interest her. When she nodded, he continued. “There was this one time when I glued a coin to the sidewalk outside the market. You wouldn’t believe how many people tried to pry it free.”

      Her eyes twinkled. “So you didn’t always play by the rules.”

      He shrugged. “What kind of trouble did you get into?”

      “Me? Nothing.”

      “Oh, come on, confess. There has to be something.”

      She paused as though giving it some serious consideration. “Well, there was this one time the neighborhood boys attached some fishing line to a dollar. It was similar to what you did. They’d lay it out in front of my parents’ market, and when someone went to pick up it up, they’d tug on the line.”

      “See, I knew you weren’t as innocent as you appeared.”

      “Hey, it wasn’t me. It was them. I...I was just watching.”

      “Uh-huh.” He enjoyed the way her cheeks filled with color. “It’s good to know you have some spunk in you. That will come in handy in this business.”

      * * *

      Kayla was in love—with the village, of course.

      Brilliant sunshine lit up the heart of Monte Calanetti. The piazza was surrounded by a wide range of small shops to satisfy even the most discerning tastes. But it was the large fountain in the center of the village square that drew Kayla’s attention. She tugged on Angelo’s arm, leading them toward it.

      The focal point of the fountain was a nymph draped in a cloak. She held a huge clamshell overhead. The sunshine sparkled and danced over the fine billowing mist from the continuous jets of water. Kayla stopped at the fountain’s edge. She smiled, loving the details of the sculpture that included a ring of fish leaping out of the water.

      “I take it you like the fountain.” Angelo’s deep voice came from just behind her. “You know there’s a tradition that if you toss a coin and it lands in the shell, you get your wish.”

      Her gaze rose to the clamshell—suddenly it didn’t look quite so big. “You’d have to be awfully lucky to get it all the way up there.”

      “Why don’t you give it a try?”

      “I...I don’t think so. I was never good at those types of things.”

      Angelo held a coin out to her. “Here you go.” His fingers pressed the money into her palm. “I made a wish once and it came true.”

      “Really?” She turned to him. “What was it?”

      He shook his head. “You aren’t supposed to tell your wish.”

      “But that doesn’t apply if your wish has already come true. So, out with it.”

      The corner of his very inviting lips lifted. “Okay. I wished that someday I’d get to travel the world.”

      “Wow. It really did come true.” She thought really hard, but was torn by what she should wish for. She could wish for the fund-raiser to be a huge success. Or she could wish for her promotion to ad executive. But fountains should be for fanciful dreams.

      “Don’t look so worried. Turn around.”

      She did as he said. The next thing she knew, his body pressed to her back—his hard planes to her soft curves. His breath tickled her neck. Her heart thumped and her knees grew weak. Thankfully he was there holding her up.

      His voice was soft as he spoke. “You make the wish and I’ll help you get the coin in the shell. Ready?”

      She nodded. Together with their hands touching, they swung. The coin flipped end over end through the air.

       Let Angelo kiss me.

      Plunk! The coin landed in the clamshell.

      “We did it!”

      At that moment, Angelo backed away. “Did you ever doubt it?”

      “I couldn’t have done it without you.” She turned around, hoping her wish would come true.

      “Did you make your wish?”

      Disappointment washed over her. Of course he wasn’t going to kiss her. She’d let herself get caught up in the moment. That wouldn’t happen again.

      “We should keep moving.” She turned to start walking. “We don’t want to miss anything.”

      “Wait.” He reached out for her hand. “Aren’t you going to tell me what you wished for?”

      “Um...no. I can’t.” When he sent her a puzzled look, she added, “If I tell you, it won’t come true.”

      “Well, we wouldn’t want that to happen.”

      Her hand remained in his warm grasp as they continued their stroll. Was it her imagination or was Angelo’s icy professional persona melting beneath the Tuscany sun? She smiled. He was definitely warming up.

       CHAPTER TWELVE

      SIMPLY CHARMING.

      At this particular moment, Kayla had no better word for it. And she wasn’t just talking about the village. She gave Angelo a sideways gaze. Handsome, thoughtful and entertaining. “Quite a combo.”

      “What?”

      Oops! She hadn’t meant to vocalize her thoughts. “I...I was just thinking Monte Calanetti has quite an amazing combination of old-world charm and modern day functionality.”

      They meandered away from the fountain. On the edge of the piazza, they passed by a well that she was certain had seen its days of women gathering to fill their buckets. While waiting for their turn, she imagined they’d shared the happenings of the village—the historic form of gossiping around the water cooler. It was so easy to envision how things used to be. Something told Kayla that this village hadn’t changed a whole lot over the years.

      The sunshine warmed the back of her neck, but it was Angelo’s arm beneath her fingertips that warmed her insides. She resisted the urge to smooth her fingers over his tanned skin. She was in serious danger of forgetting that he was her boss—the key to her future promotion.

      As the bell towers rang out, Kayla stared at the cobblestone path that wound its way between the brick buildings. A number of the homes had flower boxes with red, yellow and purple blooms. There were also flowerpots by the various shaped doors painted in every imaginable color. In other places, ivy snaked its way along the bricks. This area was quite picturesque and made Kayla forget that she was in the center of the village.

      A rustling sound had her glancing upward. She craned her neck, finding fresh laundry fluttering in the breeze. She couldn’t help but smile. It was a lovely, inviting sight. But as much as she liked it, it was the man at her side that she found utterly captivating.

      Angelo Amatucci might be icy cool in the office, but she’d found that once he thawed out, he was a warm, thoughtful man. Not that she was falling for his amazing good looks or his dark, mysterious eyes. Her priority was her career—the reason she’d left her home in Paradise. And she wasn’t about to ruin her future by throwing herself at her boss.

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