Free The American Contessa by Noni Calbane Page A

You know who?” he
said with an unwavering stare.
    “If
you mean Gaby, perhaps I should ask.   What is it to you?” she asked innocently.
    “It’s
nothing to me,” Luca lied with conviction.   “ She means nothing to me.”
    Carmina
shrugged.   “Then why is her whereabouts
of any importance?”
    Luca
grunted at her and she giggled.   Turning
from him, he grabbed her arm roughly.
    “Did
she return to America?”
    “Not
yet,” Carmina retorted.   “And I won’t
tell you any more if you bully me.   Others may put up with your temper tantrums, but not me Luca.”  
    Luca
dropped his hand from her arm and looked defeated.   “I’m sorry.”
    “That’s
better,” she answered with a small smile.
    “Please
tell me.   Where is she and when is she
leaving?”
    Laughing,
Carmina pointed to the top of the stairs.   “Why don’t you ask her?”
    Luca
followed her finger to where Gaby stood gripping the railing and looking down
at him.   His stomach lunged at the sight
of her and he held his breath.     He
could feel himself falling towards her.   As she started to descend the staircase, he swallowed hard and tried
valiantly to compose himself.
    Gaby
bit her lip.   What was he doing
here?   Appearing without any forewarning
was making her stomach flip-flop like she was on a trampoline.   She only hoped he couldn’t tell how desperate
she was to see him again.   His eyes bore
into her and she was afraid that she may fall down the stairs.   As she reached the bottom rung, he grasped
her hand and she felt a spark zip between them.   
    “Gaby,”
he whispered, almost a sigh.
    “Luca,”
she replied uneasily, removing her hand from his.   “You’re not supposed to be back for two
weeks.   I thought you were spending some
time in the country with your prized horses.”
    Luca
smiled faintly. “I tried.   But I suddenly
realized that Florence holds an attraction for me that I couldn’t ignore.”
    Pretending
not to understand his meaning, Gaby murmured softly, “Well, I can understand
that.   Florence is an exciting city.”
    “Yes.
Exciting,” he said breathily, “And …, unforgettable.”
    Carmina
interrupted, breaking the spell.   “Well,
I’m all for extolling the virtues of our hometown, but dinner is waiting for
us.   Besides, you’ll have plenty of time
to catch up, now that Gaby is our houseguest.”
    “She’s
our what?” he stammered clumsily.  
    “Our
houseguest.   Gaby is staying with us for
the remainder of her stay in Florence,” Carmina clarified.
    Luca
looked somewhat dazed and Gaby exchanged glances with Carmina.   She knew he wasn’t going to be happy with the
arrangement, and she raised her eyebrows in a way that said “I told you so”.
    “Now,
Luca,” Carmina was on the defensive, before he could even reply.   “It took some convincing on my part to make
her stay.   And don’t you dare make her
feel uncomfortable about it.   We have
plenty of your so-called friends come
to stay often enough.”
    Holding
his hands palm up at her, Luca shook his head.   “Okay, okay.   It’s just a surprise
that’s all.”   He turned to Gaby.    “A wonderful surprise.”
    Luca
grinned at Gaby and she couldn’t help but beam back.   She’d expected him to put up a humongous
fuss, but he was all charm and smiles.   Go with the flow girl, but be careful, she told herself determinedly.
    “Accompany
me to dinner Gaby?” he asked, offering her his arm.   Gaby blinked back at him and nodded.   Obviously their pact to keep their distance
was quickly falling by the wayside. And, quite frankly, she brightened at the
notion.
    “I
thought you weren’t hungry?” Carmina smirked, leading the way to the dining
room.
    “I’m
starving,” Luca confessed, his eyes devouring Gaby.  
    *****
    Luca
was at his charming best all through dinner.   Telling witty stories and anecdotes and keeping her dizzy with his
attentiveness.   But Gaby found that it
was his easy