Page 173 of Modern Romance January 2025 5-8

Usually Dante loathed morning conversation, and he had sometimes wondered if he was the only guy on earth who didn’t particularly like morning sex.

Well, he liked the sex part... Just not feeling like a louse afterwards, for wanting her gone.

But this morning he wanted to prolong the conversation. He looked over at the woman in his bed and did not want her gone.

She was looking up at the art on his ceiling. ‘It’s gorgeous,’ she said. ‘So much detail.’

He joined her looking skywards. ‘It was beneath plaster when I bought the house. The previous owner gave up on a full restoration and concealed it. The dining room has one too.’

‘Gosh...’

‘I found someone in Florence to restore it.’

He had admired it at the time, and on occasions since, but his times here were brief, and generally fraught with memories as he was often here attending memorials. Even celebrations like Christmas made Gio morose and, of course, at times, there was the strain of himself and Sev putting on a front, pretending they still had a relationship...

No, he’d never really taken the time to appreciate what was before his eyes, where planets and stars fought in a deep crimson sky.

But there was a little frown on her face. Perhaps she was still cross about their carelessness last night?

‘So,’ Dante said. ‘What’s your excuse?’

‘Hmmm?’

‘For last night.’

Whatwasher excuse? Susie thought, and was quiet for a moment as she lay pondering his question.

‘I don’t have one,’ she finally admitted, and saw him turn to the sound of her quiet bemusement. ‘I don’t know.’

She wasn’t being evasive—she simply didn’t know how to describe what had happened to her.

‘I’ve never forgotten myself like that,’ she admitted.

‘Forgotten yourself?’ he checked.

She didn’t know how better to describe it, but there had been the light stroke of his fingers on her stomach and then...

She’d had one relationship and so little to compare...

‘I just lost my head,’ Susie said, and she even tried a little joke. ‘Too much ice cream!’

‘Do you want coffee?’ he asked.

‘I do.’

As he rolled from the bed and dressed, she looked at his stunning long legs and taut bottom, and watched as he pulled on some clothes. Gosh, she wanted him to climb back into bed.

‘Are you leaving me here?’

‘I’m getting us coffee. I didn’t let anyone know I was coming.’

‘Anyone?’ she checked,

‘I have a housekeeper. I would usually let her know when I’m staying.’

‘Your home’s stunning.’ She looked at the bold red walls. ‘It’s incredible. Just...’

Susie didn’t quite know what else to say. It was like something out of a lifestyle magazine. But for all that it was lavish, there was nothing here that spoke ofhim. She looked at the ornate wardrobes and for a brief second wondered if there were even any clothes in them.