One-Night Baby. Susan Stephens

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СКАЧАТЬ she wanted him? Forget the swollen lips. Raised nipples and flushed cheeks told him all he needed to know. And he wanted her. They were two healthy adults with healthy adult appetites, so what was standing in her way?

      ‘I know it sounds ridiculous…’

      Wisely, he didn’t comment.

      She shrugged her shoulders. ‘But I have this urge to eat home-made food…’

      Urges he understood.

      ‘And to be truthful,’ she went on, ‘I don’t feel it’s wise to discuss Caddy’s private affairs with waiters hovering at my shoulder. You never know who’s listening. The paparazzi have spies everywhere and somewhere noisier and less formal would be safer, in my opinion.’

      She talked sense.

      ‘When I flew into Rome I thought I might get the chance to sample some real Italian food,’ she went on. ‘And this menu…not that I’m not grateful,’ she tempered politely, ‘is all in French.’

      ‘I see what you mean…’ Playing along, he scanned his copy as if he hadn’t eaten in the restaurant a thousand times before.

      ‘What do you think?’ she pressed.

      ‘I think I know a better place…’

      

      Santino dismissed the chauffeur and took Kate to a place she would never have found without him. It was at the end of a narrow alleyway, and was the sort of noisy café Aunt Meredith had talked about whenever she and Caddy had pressed her for stories from her back-packing youth.

      Pushing open a narrow door with no sign over the top of it to hint at what lay behind, Santino invited Kate to go in ahead of him. The noise, heat and aroma of wonderful food hit her full in the face. The small packed space was crammed with tables covered in red gingham tablecloths, and the only light was that provided by candles flickering in wax-caked bottles. Kate started smiling right away. She could hear ‘mamma’ shouting instructions from the kitchen, while the red-faced ‘papà’ with a tea towel stuck through the ties of his white apron was yelling back to her above the buzz of conversation. Right now their moustachioed host was in the middle of executing an elaborate pirouette as he searched for the correct table upon which to unload the plates and platters wobbling on his outstretched arms.

      ‘I love it,’ Kate exclaimed impulsively, ‘but can they possibly find space for us?’

      The answer came quickly. Having spotted Santino, the chubby restaurateur wiped his hands down the front of his apron and came to welcome them.

      ‘Santino!’ Dragging Santino down to his own, much shorter level, the older man kissed him robustly on both cheeks. ‘Li vedo portare un ospite!’ he added, pulling back to stare at Kate.

      ‘I see you have brought a visitor.’ Santino translated for her briskly. ‘For a business meeting,’ he informed the older man in English, causing the restaurateur to view Kate speculatively.

      ‘Of course…Capisco! I understand,’ he cried, instantly adopting a serious expression. ‘I hope you’re hungry?’ he added out of the corner of his mouth for Kate’s benefit.

      ‘Starving,’ she assured him with a smile.

      ‘Bene…bene!’ Rubbing his hands together in anticipation of another hungry customer, their host gazed around until he identified a group about to vacate their table. ‘Two minutes, and the table’s yours,’ he promised Santino with an open-armed flourish.

      ‘Is this all right for you?’

      As Santino checked with her Kate thought both his eyes and his voice were daring her to say no. ‘This is perfect,’ she assured him. ‘And once again I apologise for putting you to so much trouble.’

      ‘Please…’

      His manner both thrilled and frightened her. As he gave a shrug the inflection in his voice was pure charm, but his eyes were dangerous…there was far too much irony in them.

      ‘You’ll have to lose that jacket or melt,’ he observed as he shrugged his off. ‘Your choice.’

      After a moment’s hesitation Kate removed her jacket, and then, because Santino was right about the heat, she opened a couple of buttons at the neck of her shirt too.

      They were soon seated in the corner with a mound of fresh crusty bread between them and a bowl of fat green olives slicked with oil. Santino had rolled up his sleeves and the sight of his powerful forearms tanned and shaded with black hair just as Kate remembered them was a worrying distraction. She had to get started on her concerns for Caddy right away and find something safer to think about, she decided.

      ‘That all sounds perfectly reasonable,’ Santino agreed after they had discussed everything in detail and agreed safety measures be put in place to prevent anything from upsetting Caddy in the future.

      But when the business discussion was over and Kate ran out of things to say she knew it was dangerous to attempt small talk. Who knew where it might lead?

      ‘We can move on to another place,’ he suggested after one protracted silence.

      Where did he have in mind? There was an air of innocence about him that put Kate immediately on her guard and Santino’s eyes were asking questions she didn’t want to answer.

      Her heart bounced against her chest wall as she considered the possibilities. She should have taken into account the fact that she would be pressed up hard against him in the tiny restaurant. She should have realised they would have to bring their faces very close together in order to hear each other above the noise. ‘I’m happy to stay,’ she said quickly, sitting back. ‘It was a brilliant suggestion. The food is delicious—’

      Santino accepted what she said with a faintly ironic smile.

      CHAPTER FIVE

      THEY sipped vintage cognac with their coffee, warming the honey-coloured liquid in giant-sized glasses they held cupped in their hands. The conversation was flowing more easily now, and Santino confined it strictly to business, for which Kate was relieved. She felt relaxed in his company, which was a first. Until her phone rang…

      Glancing at the incoming number, Kate blenched. ‘Do you mind if I take this outside?’ She was already on her feet.

      ‘No…’ Santino’s eyes narrowed as she left the table.

      After the heat of the café the cool night air was a sharp reminder to Kate of the world she had left behind. ‘Meredith?’ she said anxiously. ‘Is everything all right?’

      Aunt Meredith was quick to reassure her that this was just a routine call. She sounded far more concerned about Kate.

      ‘I’m fine!’ Kate immediately regretted the force of her claim. She suspected Caddy must have said something to Meredith and Kate knew from experience that Aunt Meredith wasn’t easy to fool. ‘Everything’s going really well…’ But by the time the call was finished Kate knew she hadn’t convinced Meredith, who knew her better than her own mother had ever done.

      ‘Sorry about that,’ Kate said as she joined Santino at the table. СКАЧАТЬ