Deception of the Heart (7 page)

She waited too long, though. One glance at her slim, gold plated watch sent Sophia in a rush back to the house, her hurried explanations of being late for dinner making stall
ing any longer impossible. Well, there would be the next time; they walked on back to the house. Melanie was really hungry. Her stomach grumbled softly in protest of the horrid treatment it had received in the last twenty-four hours.

‘
Dio mio
, here I am dragging you out while you’re starving, my poor child.’ A motherly hand patted her shoulder, and Sophia’s mood channeled into perfect hostess mode immediately. ‘Come, dear, let’s have something small to eat. You must excuse us eating in the small dining room, though. As it happens, we are still renovating the proper dining room, which takes forever.
Naturalamente
, Daniel is happy to eat at the kitchen table, if you ask him.’ She sighed comically, ushering Melanie right in.

If that was the “small” dining room,
Melanie wasn’t sure she was up to ever entering the other “proper” one. They walked into a space big enough to hold half of her small apartment back home. With its dark paneled walls and oriental carpets in red, gold, and cream, it commanded enough elegance to make their dinner a lot more than just a casual affair, if anyone asked her. All this trouble for four people seemed a bit farfetched. She eyed the large table laden with wafer thin china and silver cutlery that shone in the light of the huge, crystal chandelier. The flower arrangement in the center of the table was created out of at least fifty roses in various shades of pink from blooms that were almost white save for the faintest of pinkish hues to deep magenta, bold and fiery in its obtrusive beauty.

Her gaze
traveled from the flowers to the carved chairs. They matched the massive sideboard filling the space between the two tall windows, framed by old gold colored silk curtains. Everything looked absolutely perfect, the Italian flair of combining opulence with simplicity coming to life in front of her eyes.

And that was when she finally noticed that something was
not right. There were five table settings instead of four. That could only mean one thing, and she wasn’t sure how she felt about it. She peeked cautiously around the room, but except for Pete and Daniel, engrossed in some deep debate at the window, it was empty. Well, Pete couldn’t expect too much, she decided. Maybe he would realize that his worries were totally unfounded. Maybe the other older man would turn out to be extremely pleasant, which was possible, wasn’t it? Maybe they would find a common language, all three of them.

‘Do you mind
if I use your powder room?’ she asked Sophia when she realized her palms were still sticky from touching the open camellia blooms. The transparent sap was smeared on her fingertips. ‘I’ll be but a minute.’

The directions to the powder room
were very clear, and she found her way to the pearl grey tiled main floor washroom without any difficulties. It was beautiful as well. She let the warm water wash the sticky resin from her fingers. Everything in the Spitieris’ house seemed to be just perfect, even the white towels monogrammed with a fancy S in dull golden thread. She was just about to return to the dining room when she noticed an open door leading to what must have been a large salon. A huge, black piano took up center stage. She loved pianos, though she had never been good at playing them. She peeked in, hoping she wasn’t trespassing.

‘Hi there
.’ An amused voice stopped her in her tracks, and she turned abruptly, only to find herself confronted with the solid wall of a male chest. Her eyes went up to meet his gaze.

‘I am sorry
. I didn’t mean to startle you.’ A pair of the blackest eyes she had ever seen stared back at her, inviting, warm, and open. He had the longest eyelashes she had ever seen. The beauty of his features left her speechless. Even the small, silvery scar on his temple couldn’t dampen the effortless elegance of his features.

‘That’s ok
.’ Finally she remembered how to speak, and her voice came out breathless. ‘I was just going back to the dining room.’

Who was he? For a second she imagined him to be
Spitieri’s son, vaguely recalling some talk about Luigi and Marcella, the couple’s grown up children. He looked to be in his mid-thirties at most, so that was completely possible.

‘Well, then
, we can walk together,’ came his wry response, his eyebrows lifting as he smiled. ‘I’m heading there myself. I’ve been in this house for only one day, so I am learning my way around and trying not to ask for directions.’ His white teeth flashed in the deep tan of his slim face. His five o’clock shadow gave his face a slightly wild and untamed quality that made her think of pirates and all things forbidden.

He couldn’t be who she thought he must
be. She inspected his dark, shortly cropped hair and tall body with the dark blue shirt and charcoal pants clinging to his muscular silhouette and could have laughed out loud. She was totally off with her guess about the mysterious guest, after all. Instead of the aged professor type, he was an ancient god with a smile that could melt the ice of the Antarctic faster than any global warming.

‘I’m sorry, I should have introduced myself
.’ He watched her with a smile, his eyes warm. ‘Jonathan Davis.’

They sho
ok hands, the warmth of his fingers wrapping around her palm and resonating through her whole body.
You are acting like a total idiot
, she scolded herself silently, embarrassed by her own awkwardness. She had met good-looking men before, for God’s sake! If she kept staring at him like that, he’d soon start doubting her sanity, for sure.

‘I gather Sophia to
ok you to the gardens?’ came his next question, his voice quivering with laughter. ‘No, I’m not psychic.’ He reached out and pulled a pink rose petal from the hair on the back of her head, his fingers brushing against the sensitive skin of her scalp. ‘You’ve been officially introduced to the Spitieris’ heaven. But we’d better go before Sophia sends a rescue party to bring us to the table.’

They walked into the
dining room together, and three pairs of eyes turned to them in unison.

‘
Bene
, I see you’ve made each other’s acquaintance.’ Sophia beamed, her round face looking more motherly than ever. She introduced the two men to each other, and Pete’s careful eyes assessed Jonathan with one quick glance. Melanie couldn’t tell if he liked what he saw, and she wondered if he was as surprised as she was. Neither of the Spitieris nor Jonathan seemed to have noticed the glance, which was a good thing.

‘Come, sit. Francesca is about to serve the dinner, and you should never keep her wait
ing.’ Sophia leaned close to Melanie as she took her seat next to Pete, her voice lowering to a whisper. ‘She is the best cook I’ve ever met, but don’t tell my husband. He still believes his lasagna is a masterpiece.’

‘I heard that
!’ Daniel boomed, causing a round of laughter to break the silence. Melanie peeked at Jonathan Davis, seated across from her. He had a nice laugh, low and rich.

‘So we are almost neighbors
.’ Jonathan was looking at Pete now, his dark eyes friendly. ‘New Yorkers, I mean.’

‘
So it seems.’ Pete smiled back with only the tiniest tension around his mouth telling Melanie he wasn’t too impressed with Davis. She wondered what could be the reason. From what she saw, Jonathan was certainly not the scholarly type. The prospect of him taking up too much of Spitieri’s time was very unlikely. Still, her hunch must have been wrong, she decided as Daniel described the way the two of them met, years ago at the University. Maybe it was time to examine her outlook on what a scholar should look like. Maybe not all of them had to be old, shriveled, and boring…

‘I have decided to take a year off from my job
in research in the States,’ Jonathan explained, his long, lean fingers holding his spoon with such effortless elegance that she could tell he had been born with it. ‘Right now I am working at the Genova University. Since it’s the end of the spring semester, I am lucky to be free, exploring Rome. Daniel here was gracious enough to offer me shelter for my stay here.’ He toasted the older man, his eyes merry. ‘Plus a very good fare, it seems.’

‘
It must be nice to be able to take a vacation whenever one wants.’ Pete was smiling, yet something in his voice bothered her immensely. ‘I’m afraid we are here for a totally different reason, though. My charming assistant,’ he smiled at Melanie, his blond head dipping lower with old-fashioned courtesy that failed to impress her, ‘and I plan on making the most of our visit with the famous signore Spitieri. Plus I promised Melanie some time off while I drill you, Daniel.’

He never did.
Melanie felt like pointing it out, but thought better of it and bit her tongue.

‘
Grazie
.’ Daniel nodded gently, sipping on the red wine that came with the meal. ‘Do you speak fluent Italian,
signorina
?’ He turned to Melanie, his gaze expectant. ‘If not, maybe Jon could be your guide for some of your stay? His Italian is impeccable, as far as I can tell.’ He grinned at the younger man while Sophia nodded in agreement. ‘I thought it would be more fun for you to do some exploring together,
no
? Pete and me, we’ve got some serious work to do, as you say. Jon has already been regretting picking such busy time to pay me a visit. I’ve been trying to find him something to keep him busy while I work with Pete in these coming days.’

Somehow she felt just as awkward as she did in grade eight when her mom tried to organize a date
for her for the upcoming school dance. Was Daniel trying to set them up? She looked at the older man only to find him smiling at her with genuine warmth. She must have been insane to even think that, and she felt a hot wave of embarrassment color her cheeks pink. For god’s sake, he was just being polite, and she was making a big deal out of his friendly offer. Plus, wasn’t it exactly what Pete had asked her to do in the first place? He must already think she was insane for even hesitating.

‘Sure, if you don’t mind
.’ Jon nodded in agreement, his dark eyes watchful before he smiled again, his serious expression wiped away so fast she wasn’t sure it had been there in the first place. ‘I could use some company. I’ve never been to Italy before. Just as long as it doesn’t interfere with your own plans.’

The others were speaking again, so it wasn’t surprising
that only Jon heard her. His expression broke into another of those beautiful, heart stopping smiles. She was getting used to them, but she was still aware of the frisson of excitement going down her spine.

‘I am very flexible,’ he assured her, leaning closer. Suddenly the space between them seemed to take on life of its
own, shrinking and disappearing altogether as she watched him, hypnotized by the power of his dark gaze. ‘I have to say, I am looking forward to our… escapades.’

He was flirting with her. There was no doubt about it
. She was amazed by the way her whole body responded to the heat of his smoldering gaze. Usually if someone overstepped her boundaries, she’d retreat into her shell and give the unfortunate man such cold treatment he’d think twice before attempting to get any further. It was her defense mechanism after the fiasco with Lucas. Male interest featured at the very bottom of her list of things she looked forward to. Jonathan was… different. She couldn’t pinpoint the difference, but she felt it with every fiber of her suddenly heated body. It had nothing to do with his good looks or the inexplicable air of command that seemed to accompany him and make him the alpha male in the room without even trying. Rather, those qualities were insignificant and irrelevant compared to the simple fact that he seemed to be genuinely interested in getting to know her. That was the bottom line, and she was amazed. She listened to him describing interesting places worth visiting. She was flattered he wanted to spend time with her, however awful and old-fashioned that sounded.

‘That sounds like a great plan
.’ Pete’s voice interrupted her musing, and she looked up, surprised to find him listening attentively as well. She thought he had let it go the moment she agreed to keep Jonathan away from his precious mentor. It bothered her that he paid attention, a weird and certainly unjustified sense of protectiveness coming over her with surprising strength. This was something between Jonathan and her, no intrusions needed, thank you very much.

But she was
being childish, of course. Pete was her boss, and he had every right to be in the know about her whereabouts and plans. He was paying for the trip, not to mention her salary. She smiled at him swiftly, hoping to reestablish the sense of camaraderie that had been so crucial to their working together in the last three months.

‘Don’t worry about me escaping my work,’ she joked lightly, her hazel eyes bright. ‘I promise to be a very
conscientious assistant, first of all. Whenever you need me or even before that.’

‘I know.’ Pete raised his glass, sipping his wine. He looked very pleased with himself and the world in general. She was pretty sure it had to do with
his plan for her to keep Jon busy. Well, whatever made him happy worked for her. This trip had come like an unexpected gift. She had the opportunity to stay for a week in one of the most beautiful countries on earth. She would have to be a fool not to enjoy and make the most of it.