Читать книгу Temptation's Song - Janice Sims - Страница 12

The next morning, Elle awakened at half past eight. She showered and then dressed with care, even though she figured that when she walked into the living room of the suite there would be no sign of Dominic Corelli. Having seen her safely through the night, undoubtedly he had fled at the first glimmer of daylight.

She couldn’t blame him. Why had she let it slip that she loved singing as much as, maybe more than, sex? Because of that he probably now thought that she was an unsophisticated rube who shouldn’t be let loose on the unsuspecting citizens of Milan. She needed to be babysat for her own good, much like a small child needed to be kept away from fire to prevent her from burning herself.

“Buon giorno!”

Dominic Corelli was sitting on the sofa, reading the morning paper, a steaming cup of coffee on the table in front of him. He had put back on his jacket and shoes and straightened his tie. As handsome as ever, he appeared fresh and ready for a business meeting or morning mass.

“Buon giorno,” Elle said, smiling warily.

Dominic cast an appreciative eye over her. She was wearing a navy blue wrap dress that accentuated her curves. It wasn’t too clingy, with barely a glimpse of cleavage. She wore three-inch-heel pumps in the same shade. Because his family on his father’s side had been in the clothing business for many years, he was of the opinion that a woman’s clothing should complement her natural beauty. Elle’s did.

Her hair was in a neat, upswept style that allowed her lovely facial features to take center stage, and made her neck look even more swanlike. He liked her neck and couldn’t wait to caress it with his lips, while breathing in the warm, sweet, feminine scent of her.

He held up another cup of coffee in a takeout container. “I hope you like cream and sugar.”

“I do. Thank you,” she said, stepping forward and taking the coffee. She sat on the opposite end of the sofa. “Anything interesting in the paper?” she asked.

“No, the world is still in chaos and that doesn’t seem to be changing anytime soon,” he said with a smile. He looked her in the eyes. “How are you feeling this morning? You look lovely, but that’s just the physical you. How is the emotional you?”

“Both sides of me are doing well, thanks, and you? How did you sleep?”

He gave her an enigmatic smile. “I slept like a baby.”

Elle took that as a compliment, since she had sung him a lullaby last night. She was grateful that he reminded her of that pleasant interlude, rather than her singing’s-better-than-sex misstep.

She sipped her coffee as Dominic folded the paper and placed it on the coffee table. “What are your plans today?”

Elle shrugged. “I really don’t have any plans. I was going to make a few phone calls and then maybe tour the city some more. There are still so many things I haven’t seen yet.”

“What were you going to do for lunch? Surely you’ll be ravenous after all that sightseeing.”

“Find a café somewhere.”

“No, you’re coming home with me,” he said, giving her that unnerving intense look, as if he was undressing her with his eyes.

Elle looked at him questioningly and Dominic laughed a bit. “Not my house, my parents’. I always have lunch with them on Sunday when I’m in town. My sisters will be there, too.”

Elle panicked. He wanted her to meet his whole family in one fell swoop? Couldn’t he allow her to meet them one at a time instead of en masse? “I don’t want to impose,” she began timidly.

“You’re going to meet them eventually,” Dominic told her, as if it were a done deal. “My mother doesn’t get to socialize with many Americans. She would love to meet you. She was born in Louisiana but she spent a lot of time in Harlem while she was with the Met.”

“Oh, yeah, she was with the Metropolitan Opera when she met your father,” Elle said, feeling a bit more at ease about meeting Natalie Corelli and the rest of his family.

“It was a whirlwind romance,” Dominic told her. He sipped his coffee. “But I'll let her tell you about it.” He reached inside his coat pocket and retrieved his cell phone. “I’m going to phone and tell her you’ll be coming with me.”