Free Bay of Sighs by Nora Roberts Page A

go.”
    The way went narrow, with buildings closing in. He distracted her from talk of sex by pointing to a shop window.
    â€œOh, we can come back to shop! I have the itch.”
    â€œTell me. You’ve always got a shopping itch.”
    â€œNo, no, the payment. The . . .
scratch
!”
    Though he grinned, he draped an arm over her shoulders to steer her away from a shop window. “Right.”
    â€œLook at the pretty food.”
    Pastries and little cakes, pretty as jewels, tempted behind the glass.
    â€œWe should definitely grab some pastries to take home. And down there? Gelato.”
    â€œWhat is it?”
    â€œOutstanding.”
    â€œOutstanding,” she repeated as they navigated the steep, narrow street.
    Sawyer took her hand. The retail shops might not be open yet, but he’d had the experience of shopping with her in Corfu, and knew she could run off impulsively, like a terrier after a squirrel.
    â€œI’ll buy you a gelato on the way back,” he promised.
    â€œThank you.”
    â€œBut we’ve got to head straight to the boat now.”
    â€œThis village? It’s all very big, and very small. They have vegetables and fruit there—” She pointed to a stand. “Look at the colors, the shapes. I don’t know what some of them are. Are they all for eating?”
    â€œYeah. Some as they are. Some you want to cook first.”
    She looked at everything, absorbed everything. He found it part of her charm. She ran her fingers over the walls of buildings to test the texture, would surely have run after a stray cat if he hadn’t had a good grip on her. But he managed to steer her along, keep up with the others as they passed people sitting at tables outside cafes with their little breakfast cakes and strong coffee, through a cluster of colorful homes, beyond the hotels with their awnings and umbrellas, and toward the boats and piers and docks.
    â€œThere.” Riley pointed toward a boat, much like they’d used in Corfu.
    The . . . Annika had to dig for the name, but found it. The rigid-hulled inflatable.
    Then Riley nodded toward a skinny man with a lot of teeth who walked toward them. The many teeth in a wide, wide smile made Annika think of a shark.
    â€œI’ve got this.”
    Riley strode forward, began an animated conversation in Italian. Annika recognized some of the words, and some of them were rude ones.
    Sasha took out her sketchbook, and started to draw the world around the marina—the spread of awnings, tables, buildings, the stack of buildings climbing up to the tall, tall hills.
    â€œHe wants more money,” Doyle told them. “She’s telling him, in various ways, to stick it.”
    Obviously confident in Riley winning the day, Doyle swung onto the boat.
    â€œShe said—” Annika struggled for the words. “Something about his ass and a hole.”
    On a laugh, Sawyer tugged her toward the boat. “She called him an asshole. It’s an insult.”
    â€œAn asshole makes a bargain then tries not to keep it.”
    â€œAmong other asshole behavior.”
    Riley came back, and the skinny man didn’t show as many teeth. “Fabio, my team. Team, Fabio. The dive club’s just down there. Fabio’s graciously agreed to give me a hand with the equipment, but we could use a couple more.”
    â€œI’ll go with you.
Come va,
Fabio?”
    Fabio showed Sawyer more teeth.
“Bene.”
    â€œI’ll go with them.” Bran kissed Sasha on the forehead, strolled away with Sawyer.
    It didn’t take long. They wheeled back the tanks and the wet suits and the equipment the others needed to survive under the water. And a cooler full of ice and water, and even some of the fruit juices she liked, and the Cokes—she liked them, too.
    While they loaded it, secured it, there was a lot of talk in Italian, but without the rude words now.
    And at