Free The Sibylline Oracle by Delia Colvin Page A

look at her! She’s in your bed for Christ’s sake. What do you think she expects?”
    Now, Valeria was not only angry, but mortified. She had, in fact, been in Alex’s bed.
    Despite her outrage and humiliation, deep down she knew that all of this made more sense now; her relationship with Alex was platonic and he was with the beautiful redhead. She was probably his wife and was wondering why a strange woman was sleeping in her bed. Now, Valeria needed to adjust to the fact that, although there had seemed to be something more, Alex was just a friend. Maybe he had brought her here, all the way from New York, to fix her up with one of his friends. Who knows? Although, Italy didn’t seem to have any shortage of beautiful women.
    Besides, Valeria reminded herself...she was engaged! What the hell was she doing running off with another man? And why had it never occurred to her to ask Alex where exactly they were going, or why? Valeria felt beyond ridiculous.
    Then, Alex made a perfectly marvelous amend that improved her disposition, slightly. “I’m sorry for intruding but…well, here.” He stepped into the bedroom and handed her a cup of coffee, in a perfectly over-sized mug.
    Valeria looked down and saw the blanket, realizing that Alex had covered her during the night. As she pushed it off and grabbed the cup of coffee, he quickly turned. She glanced down and saw that her dress had pulled up in her sleep, revealing most of her thighs. She quickly pulled the blanket back up and her dress down, feeling her face flush a deep purple. One look at him told her that he had most definitely noticed and had covered her to save her embarrassment.
    Wow! She was not usually one for black moods, but one certainly had bit her this morning. Alex retreated from the room to start breakfast. It smelled wonderful. Coffee was one thing, but enjoying anything else he prepared was simply condoning this whole, awful situation.
    Sipping the brew, Valeria appreciated the perfect ratio of cream to coffee. Then it hit her—this was the absolute, most perfect cup of coffee! She took a deep breath and her eyes rolled back in bliss. “Thank you!” she said apologetically, loudly enough for Alex to hear.
    She heard Alex, sounding distracted, say, “Sure.”
    Alex’s wife must be upset that she had fallen asleep, or that Alex had volunteered their bed. Valeria glanced at the clock on the night table and saw it was after ten o’clock in the morning. They had arrived at seven the previous evening and she was asleep within the hour. That was a record amount of sleep for her.
    Fighting the urge to throw on a pair of sweats and a wrinkled T-shirt, Valeria grabbed a white blouse and jeans from her suitcase, then showered and changed. She didn’t need to be that nervous now. Alex was most certainly sloughing her off on some ne’er do well friend or brother. She would thank Alex and explain that she was engaged to a diplomat and really wasn’t so desperate that she needed to fly half way around the damn world—escorted at that—to find a man!
    Pulling her wet hair into a ponytail, Valeria resisted the hair dryer. She was aware that it was a desperate attempt to prove that she didn’t really care how she looked. Still, vanity forced her to add a touch of make-up.
    When she stepped out of the bedroom, having made the bed and folded the blanket, she saw that Alex had a full breakfast set out for her with freshly squeezed orange juice, half of a grapefruit, a frittata, and all kinds of pastries. Their smells wafted into Valeria’s nose and she could feel the hunger pangs in her stomach. But she would not, for the life of her, let Alex believe that this incredibly luscious display of food would change anything.
    So what if he was this incredibly sweet, incredibly caring guy whom she could so easily fall for? She watched as he turned to get jam from the refrigerator. She realized that Alex wasn’t just nice looking, he was beautiful . Even now, it was