A few more guests arrived, including more beautiful women with dark hair and names I couldn’t remember once they’d said them. I laughed, unsurprised that they had all braved the steep ascent in volatile weather for a crack at the elusive Gianluca. Everyone seemed so comfortable with one another, going around and laying on double kisses and big hugs. I felt a little out of place as everyone fell into spoken Italian. Even Katerina knew a bit, loads more than I did at least, and I felt bad having to cut in and ask people to translate all the time. After pretending to get on with a bit of the conversation, I went back into the kitchen to prepare a charcuterie board for everyone to munch on while the meat cooked. I piled cheeses, grapes, almonds, slices of flaky bread, and some olives I’d picked up from the shop next door to Katerina’s. Everyone moaned in thanks as I set it on the small antique table in the courtyard.
The group lingered around Gianluca and the cooking meat, and though I wanted to go over and sidle up beside him, I made a point to keep my distance. I didn’t want him to think I couldn’t fend for myself at a party. I kept myself busy refilling the bread and olives when they were in danger of running low. I was laying out a bit more bread when one of the Italian women came to stand beside me. She was the tallest of the bunch, long limbed and gorgeous. She stood nearly a foot taller than me, and I found myself straightening my shoulders before realizing how silly that was.
“How did you come to know Gianluca?” she asked, sliding her gaze down my dress when she thought I wasn’t looking.
“I met him through Katerina.”
She nodded, seemingly pleased with the answer.
“Are you a friend of his?” I asked.
“You must not know him very well to think he keeps friends besides Massimo and Katerina.”
I laughed. “Very true.”
I glanced over and watched him take a long sip of his beer and then grin over at Massimo.
“I’ve only ever been around him a few times and I’ve never seen him as happy as he is tonight.”
It was true; he was getting on well with the group. I glanced back to the woman and smiled, becoming aware for the first time that her English was good, much better than a few of the other guests I’d spoken with that night.
“Your English is fantastic, by the way. Have you taken courses on it?”
She grinned. “My boyfriend is English. I knew two, maybe three words before we met, but I learned for him.”
“So romantic.”
She shrugged and reached down for a few olives, but I could see the wide smile she was trying to conceal. “It’s astonishing, the things we do for love, yes?”
Like completely redoing a bed and breakfast just to spend time with someone?
I sighed and nodded before turning away. I needed more wine and I’d left my glass in the kitchen. I excused myself and promised to find her later.
A bolt of lightning split the horizon as I stepped into Gianluca’s house, and the following clap of thunder concealed the sound of him coming up behind me. His hand wrapped around my elbow and he tugged me around the corner into the abandoned hallway.
“This is quite a dress,” he said, hauling me up against the wall and pushing his body flush against mine. His hand strung up into my hair and he bent down to press a slow kiss to my lips. “Shame I’ll have to ruin it later.”
“Gianluca,” I murmured just before he bent down and pressed another kiss to my lips. One hand kept my face angled to him and the other dragged down my dress, caressing my breast through the thin material. I caught his primal groan as he cradled it, feeling the weight in his hand.
I flushed, aware of everyone outside as he fingered a strap and dragged it down my shoulder. His mouth left mine and then he bent lower, tasting and teasing his way down my chest, dropping even lower until his half-parted lips brushed across my breast. I pressed into him as his tongue dragged across my nipple.
Lust raced down my spine, settling like a warm kiss between my legs. My fingers were in his hair, keeping his mouth on me even as voices spilled into the kitchen. We were so close to being caught and yet I wasn’t going to be the one to pull away, to insist that we stop.
I arched into him, quivering in his arms just as the voices grew louder. They were in the kitchen, looking for wine, and I was lost just on the other side of the wall. My eyes flew open and Gianluca stood up, repositioning my strap and pressing one last slow kiss to my lips before pushing off the wall and heading back outside to tend the grill.
I stood there immobile, my rapid pulse pumping as though I’d just run a hundred miles. Then someone rounded the corner—the woman who’d asked me how I knew Gianluca. She smiled as she passed me in the hallway and I could tell by the gleam in her eye that she guessed something had just happened.
“Oh, is that where the bathroom is?” I croaked, pointing down the hallway. “I was just looking for it.”
She narrowed her eyes, not quite believing me. “Yeah. You can go on ahead. I’ll wait.”
I didn’t bother arguing. I scurried down the hallway and locked myself inside. I turned to the mirror and caught sight of my reflection. Gianluca’s assault in the hallway was written across my features: wide eyes, flushed cheeks, and red marks marring my tan chest. I leaned down and turned on the faucet, wishing I could splash a bit of cold water on my face without ruining my makeup. Instead, I settled on washing my hands and taking a few deep breaths, trying to calm myself before I returned outside.
Everyone was where I’d left them a few minutes earlier, though a few more party guests had arrived. There was still a crowd of people around Gianluca, mostly women, and I couldn’t really blame them. In his dark jeans and black button-down rolled to his elbows, he was a true fantasy. Tall and tan, perfect white smile, and hair thick enough to hold on to when he bent to kiss a path down to—