LITMIR.BIZ

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forced himself to wake up. He lay there in the darkness and glanced over at the hotel’s bedside clock. Reaching over, he switched off the alarm. He had no need for it. He would not be going back to sleep.

      Bastiano knew the reason that Maria was back in his dreams.

      Well, she had never really left them, but that dream had been so vivid and he put it down to the fact that he and Raul were staying at the same hotel.

      He heard the soft knock at the main door to his suite and then the quiet attempt to wheel in his breakfast trolley.

      ‘Puzza!’

      Bastiano smiled when he heard the small curse as the maid knocked into something and knew from that one word that the maid was Sicilian.

      The door to the master bedroom had been left open but she quietly knocked again.

      ‘Entra,’ he said.

      Bastiano was more than used to room service. Not only was he considering the purchase of this hotel but he was the owner of several premium establishments of his own. He closed his eyes, indicating, as she came in, that he wanted no conversation.

      * * *

      Sophie could see that he had made no move to sit up so she did not offer him a ‘Good morning’.

      The rules were very specific at the Grande Lucia and the staff were well trained.

      Sophie loved her job, and though she did not usually do the breakfast deliveries she had been asked to do this one before her night shift ended. She had been called in to work late last night and so had missed the handover where the staff were told of any important guests, their idiosyncrasies and specific requests. Sophie, of course, knew that any guest staying in one of the presidential suites was an important one, and she had checked his name on his breakfast order.

      Signor Bastiano Conti.

      Being as quiet as she could, Sophie opened some heavy drapes and the shutters behind them so that the guest, when he sat up, would be greeted by the stunning view of Rome in all her morning glory.

      And what a glorious day it was turning out to be!

      It was as if the theatre curtains were opening on a beautifully set stage, Sophie thought.

      There were a few clouds high in the sky that would soon burn off, for it was going to be a warm summer’s day. The Colosseum was picture-postcard perfect and its ancient beauty gave her goosebumps.

      Oh, it was a good day indeed for had she not made difficult choices and declined her family’s desire for her to marry Luigi, today would have been the eve of her first wedding anniversary.

      For a moment, Sophie forgot where she was and stood there simply taking in the view as she reflected on the past year. Yes, hard choices had been made but she was completely sure that they had been the right ones.

      Oh, she was curious about men, of course she was, and though her mother would never understand it, she could readily separate that thought from marriage.

      When she had tried to picture her wedding night and sleeping with Luigi, Sophie’s blood had run cold. She had been out with a couple of younger men during her time in Rome but Luigi’s wet, whiskery kisses had left their legacy and, though curious, Sophie had found herself ducking her head from any male advances.

      Her parents imagined she was living a sinful life here in Rome.

      Sadly, that couldn’t be further from the truth!

      Sophie was naïve, she knew that, but she was strong too.

      Strong enough to say no to a man and a marriage she hadn’t wanted.

      ‘Buongiorno.’

      A deep voice snapped her to attention and Sophie turned around as she realised that she had just been caught daydreaming, and by an important guest in his own suite!

      She went to apologise but her flustered breath was literally taken away for there, lying in bed and idly watching her, was possibly a sight more arresting than the one she had just been feasting on. He was tall—she could see his length in the huge bed. His hands were behind his head and the sheet low on his stomach revealed his naked torso.

      He really was magnificent, with olive skin and jet-black hair. The only blot on perfection was a jagged scar on his cheek, yet it only seemed to make him more beautiful. Most of all, it was his eyes that drew Sophie’s. They were grey and piercing and as she met his gaze she found that her breath hitched in her chest and that she could not tear her gaze away. That was rare in itself for Sophie. In her job, she was very used to rich and beautiful men but with this one, with this one, she found that her eyes did not divert and, instead of an apology, her cheeks went a little bit pink.

      ‘I was just preparing the view for you, Signor Conti,’ Sophie said, and he gave a small smile in return as she made a little joke—as if she had been arranging the scenery outside specifically for him.

      ‘Thank you.’ He glanced towards the window and the million-euro view. ‘You did a good job.’

      And then he looked back at her.

      When he had thought her to be taking her time Bastiano had opened his eyes to tell her to hurry up and leave, but there was something about her that halted his usual impatience.

      And she mesmerised him now.

      The eyes that met his were a very dark brown. He already knew from watching that she was as slender as a blade and wearing a pale green dress and flat shoes, both of which looked to be a little too big for her. Now he examined her face and saw that her thick black hair was worn up in a messy bun with a few long strands escaping.

      She looked tired, Bastiano thought, and he guessed that her shift was just finishing rather than starting.

      She had made him smile, just a little, but that was a surprise in itself given the dream he had so far failed to banish from his mind. The bedroom was rather messy and he was quite sure that the very sumptuous lounge was not much better; no doubt it was a stray bottle of champagne in the floor that had caused her small expletive on the way in.

      ‘Would you like me to serve your breakfast?’ she offered, still a little flustered and not just from being caught staring. Sophie made her way over to the breakfast trolley and lifted one of the silver domes.

      ‘No, thank you,’ Bastiano said. ‘Actually, if you could bring me coffee that would be fine.’

      ‘Would you like some water, or juice, too?’ she offered, and then he saw the slight twitch to her lips and a certain knowing tone in her voice as she spoke on. ‘Or perhaps you would like both?’

      Again he smiled as she revealed her suspicions of his crashing hangover.

      ‘Please.’

      She brought over two glasses and Bastiano drank the cold water as she went back to the trolley and poured his coffee from the pot.

      Usually Bastiano poured his own coffee for he did not like attempts at idle conversation, yet it was he who was pursuing it now.

      ‘Sicilian?’ he asked as she carried the cup to his bedside. She nodded and then, as she placed it on the table, she gave a little grimace, realising that he must have heard her swear.

      ‘Me too,’ he said calmly, and something in the delivery of his words told her that he got it, for the air was a touch bluer back home.

      ‘What is that?’ he asked, gesturing to the trolley, for despite the fact she had replaced the dome and covered the food there was now a rich, spicy scent mingling into the air.

      ‘Shakshuka,’ Sophie said. ‘Middle Eastern baked eggs.’

      The gorgeous guest screwed up his nose and Sophie was worried that the kitchen had got the orders mixed up so she quickly checked the paperwork on the trolley but, no, it was correct. ‘You ordered it.’

      ‘What was I thinking?’ he drawled.

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