Dreaming of Love (9 page)

She was so damn cute with her frisky text.
Oh
. How could one simple word make his entire body vibrate with desire? Knowing she was just on the other side of his bedroom wall last night hadn’t helped. He’d kept envisioning her in that silky material he’d seen on her bed the day before and wondering what she’d look like stripped bare, the silk tossed to the floor.

He felt a tightening in his groin.
Jesus
. He was hard again. He ran his hand through his hair and breathed deeply. He hadn’t had this many erections in a twenty-four-hour period since he was a teenager.

Frank’s voice grew louder, and he returned his attention to the phone call he’d been ignoring. Frank was reiterating his plans for the one-hundred-and-twenty-seven-acre estate. He supposed he should be thankful Frank had contacted him. If it weren’t for him, he never would have met Emily. And even after knowing her for just a short while, he knew she was worth the trip.

Dae turned at the sound of voices and noticed two women who looked to be in their early twenties stepping off their bicycles at the end of the driveway. The villa had been empty for years, and as he watched the women walk up the driveway and around the side of the house, he wondered what they were doing there. He headed in that direction as he listened to Frank.

“In any case, I’ll be out of touch for a few days while I’m on this godforsaken trip with my wife,” Frank complained. “Why do women feel like anniversaries are meant for sucking the life out of their husbands?”

In the months since Frank was referred to him, Dae had come to see him for the manipulative, selfish bastard that he was. Those weren’t unfamiliar traits, as many of Dae’s wealthy clients felt the world should be at their beck and call. Dae was used to dealing with those types of people, but it didn’t mean he enjoyed working with them. He loved what he did for a living, and he was a leader in the industry, which meant that Dae’s skill set and expertise earned him six figures for every job he took on. That type of paycheck didn’t come to the weakhearted. He knew how to play the game, when to let clients rant and when to shut them down or rein them in.

Dae bit back his initial reaction:
Do the woman a favor and leave her. Let her find a man who would give anything to spend a few nights alone with her instead of an old curmudgeon like you.

“Who the hell knows. I’ll send you an email when I’ve concluded the assessment, and you can respond when you get back.” He rounded the corner of the house, walked around a group of sizable empty ceramic pots, and stopped cold. The women were standing with their arms splayed wide, their bodies pressed to the largest olive tree he’d ever seen.

“Holy shit.”

“What’s that?” Frank asked, jerking Dae back from the distraction.

“Uh…Nothing. There’s no rush. I’m assessing on this trip, not demolishing.” Even as he promised again to assess the villa—something he’d been excited about when he’d first booked the trip and accepted the assignment—Emily’s words sailed through his mind.
People here don’t even tear down chicken coops…Unlike our society, where people think everything is disposable. Houses. Barns…Relationships.

As he stared at the massive tree that was growing smack-dab in the center of the rear wall of the house—and the women clinging to it—he knew this particular job needed more than just an average assessment. Were there laws in Tuscany about taking down certain trees? In the States there were all sorts of certifications for trees and locations. He had already scheduled meetings with the local building and zoning officials and was traveling to the records department tomorrow. He added
check on tree certifications
to his mental checklist.

“I received your request for the history report on the property,” Frank said. “I gave you what I had. Two owners prior to me. That’s all I’ve got. I have no idea about this other bullshit you’ve asked for, and frankly, I can’t see why it matters. Why the previous owners sold? Who gives a damn? What’s done is done. It’s mine now, and that’s all that should concern you. Is there a problem I’m not aware of?”

“No, no problem. When are you going to be back in Tuscany?”

“Back in Tuscany? Hell, Dae. I’ve never been there in the first place. Bought the damn place sight unseen. The wife needs a hobby to get her off my back. We’re going to tear that sucker down and put up a grand resort with all the fixin’s. She’ll spend five or six months a year there, feeling like she’s got a new project, and I’ll be a happy man. I’ve got guys from my LA crew lined up to run it. They know the plan. She’ll think she’s making all the decisions. You could learn from a guy like me, Dae.” Frank laughed. “The secret to a happy marriage is to stay the hell apart.”

Learn from you? No, thanks.

Dae wrapped up the call and shoved the phone in his pocket. He didn’t approach the women but watched them as they stumbled back from the tree, both wiping their eyes as if they were crying. He was too far away to see if they really were, but he watched, mesmerized by the enormity and the sheer beauty of the tree. One of the women withdrew something from her skirt pocket and went around to the other side of the tree. Dae couldn’t make out what she was doing, as his vision was blocked by the tree’s gnarled and twisted trunk. He walked back toward the front of the house, and only moments later he heard the women giggling as they ran down the driveway and hopped on their bikes, then pedaled away.

Once they were gone, he returned to the rear of the house. There were acres of clear ground. Why would anyone choose to build around a tree that stood the chance of growing this large? Olive trees became gnarled and wider with age. Anyone around this area would surely know that. It looked as if the tree had been halved and plastered against the house, but he knew this wasn’t the case. No tree would survive that type of cannibalism.

The tree must have been at least twenty feet in circumference with multiple wide trunks that were gnarled and twisted like ancient lovers that had fused together. He stepped around the impressive breadth of the trunk and followed it up toward the roof, realizing there were pieces of paper and fabric stuck in the holes of the bark. He reached out and touched his index finger to one of the flecks of paper. It crumbled to the ground like dust. He took a step back and around the tree, where he saw a pristine piece of paper shoved beneath the bark. He reached for it, then thought it better to leave it be. Whatever those women were doing was none of his business. Maybe they were leaving love letters for their boyfriends.

The side of the tree that was free from the stone walls grew healthily, with multiple long branches that billowed rich and plentiful with ripe foliage above the roof. Substantial branches snaked up the stone, to tangles of more healthy branches. He took out his phone and snapped pictures of the tree, then moved to the other side of the wide trunk.

He glanced up at the massive tree and was struck by its beauty. He had to bring Emily out to see this. He couldn’t tear this down without her ever seeing it, even if she’d disapprove of him demolishing it. It was too special of a sight for her to miss out on. He’d Googled Emily’s name last night, stalked her Facebook page for about an hour, and noted the impressive number of architectural awards and passive-house and other building conferences where she’d been a keynote speaker. It appeared that the sweet, sensual woman he was enthralled with was also quite the businesswoman. And after he reviewed several of the houses she’d built and remodeled, it was apparent that her design skills were impressive as hell.

The pictures he’d seen on her Facebook page were mostly of Emily and her family, all smiles and love that jumped off the page and smacked him in the chest. The whole you’re-a-brother thing had come around full circle. She was right. He would take care of her and keep her safe, but he’d have felt that way about her even if he hadn’t had any sisters. And now, after spending yesterday with Emily, the urge to protect her was even stronger, but not at all in a brotherly fashion. Not even close. He wanted more with Emily. He wanted to know what made her body quiver, where she liked to be touched, how she’d feel beneath him when he was buried deep inside her. He wanted to wake up and see her looking at him with the desire that had filled her beautiful dark eyes last night. He wanted to watch her face light up when she took time out of her busy schedule to enjoy something as simple as a poppy field. He wondered what she’d be like in her own territory, back in the States, with work and family both vying for her attention.

Places like this drenched people in romance, and he wondered again how much of his mounting emotions were stronger because he was here. There was definitely something about being in a place where textures and colors were vibrant and family was the center of people’s worlds that made his mind travel to unfamiliar places. He had a great family, and they saw one another fairly often, and kept in touch via email and phone calls, but having his own family had never been something he longed for. Hell, as far as he knew, his siblings hadn’t longed for that either. They were free spirits brought up by hippyish parents who believed life experiences should outweigh book knowledge. While they all had found successful careers that offered the ability to travel and allowed them not to feel hemmed in, none of them had settled down until a few years ago, when his older sister, Leanna—the most restless of them all—had fallen in love with Kurt Remington, a bestselling thriller writer. Before meeting Kurt, Leanna had been his only sibling who hadn’t at least settled on a career. Colby was a Navy SEAL, and Wade was a world-traveling artificial-intelligence guru. And Bailey, the youngest, was an incredible rock star, which often worried the shit out of Dae. Celebrities were often the target of stalkers, but he knew she was strong willed and stubborn as a mule. And Colby had ensured that she had a host of ex-SEAL bodyguards watching out for her at all times.

When Leanna had first settled down with Kurt, it had made Dae’s head spin, because it was so unexpected. She’d been so happy since that it caused Dae to take a long, hard look at his life. He owned houses in Denver, Boston, and Chicago, and he never stayed in any of them for a very long stretch, but Leanna? She’d never remained in any one location for very long. He’d never thought he’d see her settle down in a job or a relationship, and now he’d never seen her happier. She had a successful jam-making business on Cape Cod, and she was engaged to a solid man who worshipped the ground she walked on. The stability that Kurt provided seemed to have been exactly what Leanna needed, and ever since, Dae’d wondered if he was missing out by not allowing himself to really connect with someone. And now that he’d met Emily, he wanted to try.

He couldn’t wait to bring her here. He could only imagine the way her face would light up when she saw the way the tree had engulfed this villa—and how fast her smile would fade when he told her that he was there to assess its demolition.

PERCHED ON HIS mother’s knee with a piece of toast clenched in his little pudgy fist and crumbs dotting his lips, Luca watched Emily, wide-eyed, from across the portico. Emily heard Marcello’s voice, and she turned and searched the grounds, hoping Dae might be with him. He’d texted her earlier to say that he’d meet her around nine o’clock. It was eight forty-five, and she was anxious to see him. He’d told her to go ahead and eat breakfast, as he had a busy day planned for them and he was tied up this morning. She was excited to see where they were going and surprised at how perfectly happy she was to give up her intended schedule in order to spend the day with Dae.

She didn’t see anyone on the grass or near the gardens. Disappointed, she turned back to Luca and wiggled her fingers in a silent wave. Luca giggled again. Serafina glanced at him with a smile on her lips without missing a beat in her conversation with Adelina. They were speaking Italian. Emily couldn’t understand what they were saying, but she caught Dante’s name a few times. She really should have taken a course in Italian before coming on the trip, but her schedule had been hectic as she’d prepared to be away for nine days. Not to mention that Daisy had wanted to make sure everything was in order for her wedding, which, of course, it was. Between the two of them, Callie’s excellent organizational skills, Rebecca’s and Elisabeth’s meticulous planning, and Emily’s mother’s ability to see through chaos, they’d worked closely with Daisy’s mother and planned the perfect wedding. Luke and Daisy were getting married at their ranch in Trusty, with about a hundred close friends and family. Emily was Daisy’s maid of honor, and her dress was pressed and ready, hanging in her closet at home. She was excited to see the first of her siblings get married. She’d struck it lucky with her brothers’ significant others. She’d heard stories about sisters-in-law not getting along, and she adored each of the women her brothers had fallen for. She wondered, briefly, what they’d think of Dae. He was easygoing and very manly, like her brothers. She was sure they’d all hit it off.

She hoped so, and immediately caught herself moving too fast. It had been only one evening and one day. That did not necessarily equate to a meet-your-family relationship. Although she’d already gone without checking her email for longer than she had in the last ten years. Dae was definitely having an impact on her life. The best impact she’d ever experienced.

She turned her attention back to Luca, waving, and he giggled again, then shoved the toast into his mouth. Emily’s thoughts went right back to her family. She wondered if Daisy and Luke would have kids right away. She knew they both wanted a big family, as she did. She and the girls conjured up all sorts of fun scenarios of raising children together.
First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes Emily pushing a baby carriage
. She sighed. Yeah, she might have to be late to that little party.

Adelina filled her coffee cup. She wore a gray skirt and sweater with flat leather shoes. After spending the day around so many tourists yesterday, Emily noticed the differences in styles between tourists and locals. She glanced across the room at Serafina, who was wearing a cream-colored dress belted at the waist. She looked down at the outfit that she had on, skinny jeans and a red short-sleeved shirt, black flats, and dangling earrings. Yes, there was definitely a difference in styles.