Some Like It Hotter (Sweet Life in Seattle #3) (12 page)

He doesn’t say anything for a long moment. She’s sure he’s seen terrible poverty, though she doubts he’s experienced any on a personal level. Finally, he speaks. “You’re selling yourself short. That’s all I’m saying.”

“God, you are such an ass. Next thing you’ll be telling me is I should go find a nice rich man and let him take care of me.”

“No, that’s
not
what I’m saying!”

“I live my life on my terms and in my own way, got it? I don’t need or want your judgment.”

“Christ.” He rubs his forehead like he’s trying to ease the strain on his face. “This isn’t going the way I intended at all. Every time I’m around you I can’t think straight.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Nothing.” He unfolds himself from the bench. “Let’s go. We’ll get some real food into you and then maybe have a normal conversation for once.”

Lindsay takes Giovanni to the food court at the KaDeWe, Berlin’s famous department store. Dagmar brought her here right after they met, and for Lindsay, it was love at first sight. A food universe unto itself, and one of the places she’ll miss most when she leaves Berlin.

The KaDeWe has
everything
.

It’s a trek to get there, and they have to change trains a few times, but he follows her lead and doesn’t complain. They don’t talk much and he spends most of the time texting, and then receives a call once they’re out walking on the sidewalk. He motions with his hand that he needs privacy and goes over to stand under a store awning while Lindsay window shops. She tries to ignore him, though a few words drift her way. It’s mostly medical talk, along with the names of some places she’s unfamiliar with.

“So, when do you go back to Africa?” she asks after he’s done with his call. “I couldn’t help but overhear what you said.”

He glances around as they arrive at the giant department store. “I’m not going back.”

“You’re not?

“No. I’m changing direction entirely.”

They enter the front doors and Lindsay leads them to the elevators where a small group of people is already waiting. Someone’s floral perfume hangs in the air.

“So, you’re changing jobs?” she asks as they board the elevator. She checks to make sure the sixth-floor button for the food court is pushed.

“I won’t be working overseas anymore. I’ve accepted a position in the States.”

A prickle of unease runs through her. “Where?”

Giovanni doesn’t respond right away, and before he even speaks, she has a premonition she isn’t going to like it.

“Seattle Children’s Hospital.”

Her mouth opens in shock. “You’re moving to
Seattle?”

“Yes, it looks that way.”

“And you didn’t think to
mention
this?”

“I only just found out. That’s what the phone call was about. I spoke to them yesterday when they made the offer, but I hadn’t accepted yet.” The elevator stops moving as they arrive on the sixth floor. When they exit, Giovanni looks around. “Damn, you weren’t kidding. This is impressive.”

“Why would you want to move to Seattle? Wouldn’t LA be a better choice?”

He doesn’t reply, still taking in the enormity of the food court. “What’s this place called again? I think it might be listed in the guidebook.”

“The KaDeWe. And yes, I’m sure it’s in your guidebook.”

He stops checking out the food court and starts staring at her again. “We need to get some real food into you. Something with both protein and carbs would be best.”

“When are you moving to Seattle, exactly?”

“We’ll talk about it after you eat.” He pauses and his eyes settle on hers for a moment. “There’s something else I need to speak with you about.”

Lindsay’s spidey senses tingle. “What do you mean?” It occurs to her this isn’t the first time he’s mentioned wanting to speak to her about something.

He ignores her question though and points at one of the nearby deli stations. “There’s a place that serves sandwiches over there. I also see a fish place next to it. What are you in the mood for?”

They wander around looking at food while he continues to ignore every question about Seattle. She realizes she’s not going to get an answer out of him until they’ve had dinner.

In the end, she orders one of her favorite dishes—creamed chanterelle mushrooms over thick slices of toast, while Giovanni gets some kind of German dish with sauerkraut.

“What do you think?” she asks after they sit down and start eating. She usually has to wait for a table with a window seat, but they managed to snag one right away. “Isn’t this place great? I love it here.”

“It’s all right,” he agrees, though he seems distracted. When his phone buzzes, he starts texting again.

Lindsay tries to stay calm. She needs to decide how she’s going to handle Giovanni living in Seattle. Her ‘have a great life’ speech is obviously meaningless now, since she’ll be forced to see him.

It won’t be so bad.
It’s not like I’ll have to see him very often. Maybe the occasional holiday at Natalie and Anthony’s
.

She hopes that’s all.

When they’re done eating, they push their plates aside and he centers his glass of beer in front of himself. He isn’t texting anymore, but is on his phone speaking Italian.

She pulls a chocolate strawberry out of the box she bought for dessert. After licking some of the dark chocolate off the tip, she finally bites into it.
Yum.
It’s tart and sweet, with just the right amount of bitterness from the chocolate.

He’s watching her as he talks, sipping his beer occasionally.

There are a few guys seated at nearby tables and she senses their eyes on her, but she ignores them. Mostly she eats her strawberry and admires the view outside, listening to the melodious sound of Giovanni conversing in Italian.

Eventually, he wraps up the conversation and puts his phone down on top of his guidebook.

“Norwegian is kind of sexy,” she tells him as she sucks on a strawberry. “You should teach me some words.”

“What would you like to learn?”

“Something naughty, of course.”

He considers this but doesn’t offer any lessons. He’s still staring at her and seems very interested in her chocolate strawberry.

“Do you want one?” She moves the box closer. “They’re delicious.”

“No, but I’m enjoying watching you eat them.”

Lindsay’s pulse quickens and she gives him a seductive smile. “You shouldn’t say things like that to me, Olaf.”

“I know.” He sighs with frustration and glances away.

When his eyes come back, they stay on hers. His are dark, just like the other night.

The food court is big and noisy with people all around them, but somehow that fades into the background. All she can see is Giovanni. His potent gaze pulling her in, wanting things from her.

She lets out a shaky breath and finally turns, studying the view again, the familiar streets of Berlin lit up.

“Look at me, Lindsay.” He leans forward, placing his muscular forearms on the table. “I need to ask you something important.”

She goes on high alert at his tone. Her spidey senses aren’t just tingling anymore—they’re buzzing like a chainsaw.

Giovanni shifts uncomfortably in his chair before he clears his throat.

“What is it?” she asks.

He licks his lips. It’s like he’s trying to smile, but can’t quite manage it. Sweat breaks out on his brow. His skin looks pale, almost green beneath his tan.

Her eyes roam over him. “Are you okay?”

He takes a deep breath. “I need to know if you’ll marry me.”

Giovanni finally lets his breath out. His stomach’s still queasy. For a moment, he felt so ill he thought he might need to lie down.

What’s wrong with me? There’s no reason it should be so difficult this time. None whatsoever
.

But as he takes in Lindsay’s appalled expression, it hits him like a punch in the gut.

She reminds him of Olivia.

Not completely—only a little, actually—but enough that it’s all coming back. The humiliation when he’d asked her to marry him. The shame, still fresh after all these years. She’d laughed at him for being the young idiot he was back then. In love with the wrong woman.

So in love it nearly wrecked his life.

At least Lindsay isn’t laughing. Instead, her expression has changed to what appears to be fascination. Her rich brown eyes are studying him as if he were a peculiar sculpture she needed to analyze.

“Was it the kiss?” she asks, leaning toward him, still holding the half-eaten strawberry. “Is that what pushed you over the edge?”

“What are you talking about?”

“My God, I never should have kissed you!”

“Kissed me?”

“Yes, I kissed you the other night. Don’t pretend you don’t remember!”

“Of course, I remember.”

Giovanni remembers all too well. That kiss nearly broke him in half, his self-control hanging on by the thinnest thread.

He’d gone back to his hotel after kissing her and sat in the bar for a long time. He didn’t want to be alone. Not with his thoughts or the high-octane blood flowing through his veins. He slowly sipped a glass of scotch, trying to dull his senses with something artificial. When a blonde took the chair beside him, he seriously considered taking her back to his room. She was attractive and eager, kept touching him, putting out every signal imaginable. Her voice grated like metal though, and she had too many sharp edges for his taste. Worst of all, he suspected she was married.

If she’d been brunette, he doubted any of that would have mattered.

Instead, he went back to his room alone, took a long hot shower, and jerked off. He thought about Lindsay in front of the taxi, how he wished she’d invited him upstairs, wished he were with her right then. Her edges weren’t sharp at all, but smooth, and beneath them he knew she was soft . . . oh so soft. She’d moan and cry and wrap her lithe body around him in ecstasy, and finally, he’d lose himself.

After the shower, he lay exhausted beneath the cool hotel sheets, the scotch and orgasm wearing him down. The little paper fox was still on his nightstand, its blank face watchful, easing him in a strange way.

“That kiss is not why I asked you to marry me,” he tells Lindsay, though she appears skeptical.

“Are you sure? What else could it be?” She’s still holding the half-eaten strawberry, pointing it at him like a weapon. “Is there something strange in the water here?”

“What the hell are you going on about?” It figures she wouldn’t react like a normal woman. It’s clear nothing about her was ever normal. With annoyance, he realizes she hasn’t even addressed his proposal yet. “I just told you I needed you to marry me. Aren’t you going to ask why?”

“If you weren’t so humorless, I’d think you were joking. But you’re not, are you?”

“Humorless?” Giovanni scowls.

“Is it the air? Something in the Berlin air causing this to happen?” Her eyes roam wildly upward.

“What do you mean? I’m not humorless.”

She puts the strawberry down on a napkin. He studies her hands—even her fingers appeal to him. Surprisingly, they’re not the well-manicured ones you’d expect on a woman like her, but are unadorned and a little rough.

He thinks about those clay masks she creates, her hands molding them into shape. Without trying, he imagines them on his body, the way they’d mold him too. Stroking him. He looks away from her as he tries to stop blood from rushing to parts of him he’d prefer it didn’t.

He’s already noticed all the men in the food court checking her out. It’s been the same everywhere all day. She captures the attention of every male within spitting distance. He handles it like an Italian, glaring at each and every one of them. Luckily, it deters them all. Lindsay is beautiful, but it’s more than that. She has a kind of sexual magnetism that’s difficult to ignore.

Catnip for men. Except she’s worse than catnip. After spending the day with her, he’s more affected than ever. It’s no wonder she’s used to men fighting over her, all of them hoping for a taste.

His scowl deepens.

“All right.” She sighs, sweeping a handful of brown curls over her shoulder. “What is this all about? You’ve fallen madly in love with me?”