Page 14 of Romi

As I started the drive back to the Estate, I couldn’t help but hope that he managed to track the girl down. Maybe if he was caught up in his own love life, he might not notice me pining after his sister.

The way I reacted to Sonia’s mere presence was bound to become noticeable soon if I wasn’t careful. Deliberately avoiding her would also cause suspicion, but at least he knew of my little project, and I could use the renovations as an excuse. Since I spent most of the time with Ash, he was the one most likely to notice my behaviour. So, his being otherwise occupied would be a definite benefit. I bit back a curse. I needed to get myself under control.

The next few weeks were going to be hard, bloody work, but then she would be gone again. It wasn’t going to be easy to stay away from her, but I would manage it somehow, and in time it would get easier.

So, why didn’t I believe that?

CHAPTER 8

SONIA

SUNDAY – A NEAR KISS

My stomach growled, waking me up around six a.m. the following morning. I had the munchies—that hunger for something nice to eat you get after you have been drinking. Most people get it right away while they are still under the influence of alcohol or whatever, but for me, it was usually the next morning. Like today. I craved something yummy. In my case, whenever I had the munchies, I usually yearned for pizza or something sweet. This morning, it was something sweet.

I headed to the kitchen in my pyjamas because, at this time, on a Sunday morning after a late night, my family were unlikely to be up, so I didn’t bother changing. As I thought, there was nobody around. I opened the fridge to see what goodies Nonna had left over from yesterday’s dinner.

Tiramisu! Fantastic! Squealing in delight, I grabbed the dish and a spoon and plonked myself down at the breakfast bar. I took a huge spoonful and groaned in pleasure at the creamy, bittersweet coffee taste. This was one of the best desserts Nonna made. Tiramisu in Italian basically means “pick me up” or “cheer me up”, so it was absolutely perfect for a morning-after case of the munchies.

Taking several more blissful bites, I moaned to myself in utter delight. I was just eating another gorgeous mouthful when the door opened, and Romi walked in. He stopped dead in his tracks as I was in the process of licking my spoon. I saw desire flare in his eyes as he looked at my mouth. Well, well! This was an opportunity too good to miss. I bit my lip to hold back my grin. I was going to make the most of this.

“Want some?” I asked innocently, licking my lips slowly.

He didn’t say anything, but his eyes tracked the movement of my tongue. I quickly loaded another spoonful and brought the spoon back towards my mouth in slow motion. I put it between my lips, letting my eyes half close and very, very slowly sucked the creamy dessert off.

“Hmmm, it’s really good!” I said, licking my lips again and grinning mischievously.

Romi had been stuck to the spot, his eyes transfixed on me, but suddenly, he moved. He strode over, reached his hand out towards me, and removed a stray piece of cream from my bottom lip with his finger.

My eyes locked with his, and just before he could remove his hand, I grabbed it, put his finger in my mouth and sucked hard. I groaned as his eyes flared again. There was no mistaking that this man was interested in me. I released his finger with a pop and then sucked on my bottom lip.

“Hmm,” I moaned, my eyelids fluttering heavily with desire.

Holy hell! I couldn’t believe I just did that.

We stared at each other, and I wondered what, if anything, he was going to do or say. It felt like we were in a trance, bewitched by each other, unable to break the connection between us.

My core clenched, and my nipples ached the longer we looked at each other. Romi licked his lips, his breath hitched, and his face lowered towards mine. I was sure he was going to kiss me. I felt the excitement bubbling inside of me as his head dipped closer. I lifted my chin up to meet him and closed my eyes in anticipation, the magnetic pull between us making a kiss inevitable.

Or it would have been if the bloody kitchen door hadn’t opened at that precise moment and broke the spell! Damn!

We jumped apart quickly as Nonna entered, and I shoved another spoonful of tiramisu in my mouth, trying to act normal and knowing I was failing dramatically.

A quick glance at Romi showed he was having just as much trouble. He squirmed and looked totally like a little kid who had just been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

“You two are up early,” Nonna said, looking between us and raising her eyebrows in question.

“I was hungry!” I mumbled around another mouthful of tiramisu, not quite meeting her eyes.

God, had she seen how close we were? Had she realised we were about to kiss? Was she able to feel the sexual tension between us? I hoped not. If she was aware of any of this, she didn’t let on and simply smiled, grabbed another spoon, and dug into the dessert with me.

“I’m heading out a run,” Romi mumbled before practically bolting out the door, looking like he couldn’t escape quickly enough.

Geez, I hoped he wasn’t regretting what nearly happened. No. I was sure he was probably just uncomfortable at nearly getting caught kissing me. I understood that. I just hoped that it wouldn’t stop him from trying to kiss me again soon because I really wanted him to kiss me.

Knowing Romi well, meant I knew he would be struggling internally with his attraction to me and the implications that he would have on us and our family. However, now that he knew the attraction was mutual, surely he would want to pursue it regardless of the difficulties involved? I certainly did.

Having finished off the tiramisu, I trudged back upstairs. Sitting down heavily on my bed, I pursed my lips, wishing Nonna hadn’t interrupted us. She really couldn’t have picked a worse time. I wondered how soon it would take Romi to make another move on me. Would he do it by himself, or would I need to instigate it again? I hoped he would do it of his own accord.