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“That’s a great idea.”

* * *

Antonio’s plans to neutralize his growing feelings for Lucy with a quick roll in the hay with Monica were derailed when he saw her headed his way. He did not intend to see her at all, but there she was, walking down the street looking radiant. He’d had a good time at the movies last night. This time he’d fallen asleep during the movie because being with her, feeding her popcorn and talking about the plight of the caribou, had left him feeling all warm and snuggly. So when sleep called him during the movie, he’d submitted, knowing Lucy’s gaze would be glued to the screen.

Now he was having dinner with Monica in the city. She was dressed to kill in an emerald-green wrap dress and four-inch heels. There was a big bow on the side that fell to her hip. All he had to do was give that bow a slight tug and he would unwrap the present Monica was subtly offering. They maneuvered around flirty looks and double entendres; both apparently had their own seductive moves down to a science. But in the back of his mind he was wondering if Lucy found that chocolate fountain she was looking for last weekend. They were going to buy a platter of fruit from the market and dip chocolate until they puked.

She’d looked hurt when he told her about his plans. And now the possibility of him dipping anything with her was fading as he sat in the expensive, elegant restaurant eating lobster with Monica.

He’d tried to get Lucy to eat lobster one day but it backfired when the fishmonger asked her to pick one out. She wanted to free all of them in the tank and he finally had to drag her to a pizza joint to calm her nerves.

* * *

Antonio dropped Monica off at her place at a respectable time. He wasn’t sure the last time he dropped off a woman as smoking hot as her and went home to his own bed instead. Monica’s pouty lips became pouty for real when he declined the invitation to stay the night. He did kiss her and he was right about her. Absolutely sinful. Her name really should have been Simone. He did make an effort to get to know her at dinner. She was a shark of a human resources manager for a major company in the city. She was smart and clever, and had almost managed to perfect her little-girl-lost, sex kitten routine. But little did she know he could see why she couldn’t perfect the persona. There was no innocence to Monica. She was among the disenchanted who knew what she wanted, and for the moment she wanted Antonio.

The thing he liked about Lucy was that she wasn’t the kind of woman who would attach herself to a fishing pole hook, like bait, and wait to catch a man. If anything, a man would have to catch her. Their relationship was a lot like fishing. They were sitting in a boat on a pond waiting for each to nibble on the other’s line. Waiting for some sign, some clue that the other was just as willing to be caught, head bashed on the side of the boat, and skinned.

And now he was at the woman’s door that he was pretty sure he’d hurt today. He rapped softly. It was midnight but he was hoping Lucy would be up. What would he say to her? He had no clue. He just wanted to go back to how they were before she busted him for sneaking out of town to go on that date. He knocked three times and was annoyed that she didn’t answer. Was she not home? Did she take her chocolate fountain and go dipping with somebody else? Suddenly angry, he tried to get ahold of himself.

* * *

The trees were beginning to look sad. Lucy pulled back a bit while standing on the ladder and realized her mood was beginning to affect her work. It had been a week since she’d seen Antonio, but she was still feeling a little down. She was ashamed of her own naïveté about the situation and just wanted to put the whole thing behind her. She even had to turn down an invitation from Felix to have dinner on Wednesday at his house.

She’d changed her schedule today, coming in earlier, once she saw the e-mail chain. Apparently everyone was making a late day of it so she figured she could come in and do her thing before anyone else arrived. She silently apologized to the trees and decided to stop before she really did any damage to her progress.

The voices booming from the dressing room area started to get closer. She could hear two people talking and she could also hear that damn camera click of Antonio’s. She didn’t know he’d be there! Lucy scrambled to get her palette off the top step and scurry down the ladder, but in her frantic movements the ladder began to shake. She couldn’t stop the shaking of the ladder and thought the best thing to do was fall to the side so she wouldn’t damage the trees. As she dropped the palette and teetered to the left, her free fall felt like slow motion.

“I got you.” She heard a voice breathe the words into her hair.

She turned awkwardly to see Antonio had caught her.

* * *

Antonio sat patiently in a chair in the emergency room. Lucy was up at the desk talking to one of the nurses, going over in detail what had happened to him. She fussed over him from the time he said his wrist was a little sore since catching her cartoon-like fall off the ladder to the time they reached the emergency room. He had to say she was great in an emergency, had there been an actual emergency. Truth was, he’d hurt his wrist worse playing soccer the last time he played with Alejandro and his cousins. But he liked the way she fussed over him. The awkwardness of him going on that date with Monica was put on hold and she was taking care of him. The trick was how to milk his “near-death experience” until she forgot all about that.

Now he was armed with a dressing for his left wrist and a prescription for pain pills. Lucy was waiting for him in the hallway.

“How do you feel?” she said nervously.

“I feel fine. Just a little discomfort,” he said, exaggeratingly tired.

“Let me carry that.” She took his camera bag and flung it over her shoulder. “You’re crazy trying to catch me like that.”

“Well, I’d rather have a sprained wrist than you having a concussion.” He smiled slightly.

“Point taken.” She cleared her throat. “Thanks for the rescue.”

“Anytime.”

“Your phone kept beeping while you were in there. You got a text from your sister-in-law, Lauren.”

Suddenly alarm bells went off. “Did you tell her I was in the hospital?”

“Yes. I told her you got hurt trying to protect me.”

“And what did she say?” Antonio asked.

“She said I was in excellent hands.” She smiled. “She also said not to worry, that she wouldn’t hit the panic button and tell the family. She said you’ve been laid out by your brother plenty of times playing football and you’re still standing. She sounds like a sweet person.”

“Yes she is.” He smiled.

“Let’s get your prescription filled so we can get you home and into bed.”

Suddenly home, the bed, and the chocolate fountain were all swirling around in Antonio’s head.

* * *

Lucy hustled him into Felix’s apartment and onto the couch. She woke up Felix, who was taking one of his “Hollywood naps” and told him about the incident. Felix offered to help, but the look in Antonio’s eyes told him to go back into his room and finish his nap.

Lucy made Antonio take a pain pill and helped him change into his pajamas. Lucky for him he had a pair with him. He was tempted to tell her he usually just slept in the raw or maybe a pair of boxers. As she carefully helped him take his shirt off, Antonio made sure to be as stiff as possible so she would have no choice but to help him. She even changed into a T-shirt and a pair of sweatpants of his and put her hair up into a messy ponytail. If this was how real couples spent their evenings, he could live with it.

In addition to alleviating the minor pain in his wrist the pain medication had a euphoric affect on him. He was floating on a medically induced cloud nine and he was happy to drift off as Lucy watched over him with that doe-eyed look. He still had a chance to erase Monica from her brain.

Thank God for women.

* * *

Antonio woke up to find himself alone in his room. Lucy’s bag was in the armchair that sat opposite the bed so he knew she was still there. He remembered waking to find her asking him how he felt, and she even checked his Ace bandage to make sure it wasn’t on too tight. He hadn’t felt that peaceful and well rested in years.

He slipped out of bed and wandered down the hall toward the sounds of Felix and Lucy’s voices in the kitchen. They were sitting at the kitchen island chatting.

“Well, how’s the patient?” Felix said as he sipped a glass of wine.

“Better,” Antonio murmured.

“I was just about to come and wake you for dinner,” Lucy said sweetly.

“What are you making? It smells good in here.”

“Spaghetti and meatballs. Felix said that was your favorite.” She beamed.

“Felix is right.”

Antonio’s gaze wandered over in Felix’s direction. He had quite the look of satisfaction on his face. He knew what was in store for him after she left. Felix was going to have fun with this incident for a long time to come.

Lucy set the table and made Antonio take a place next to her. The care and concern she exhibited touched him to the point of being uncomfortable. Why was it upsetting to have this woman take care of him? Was it the way she touched his face with her napkin? Or the way she swirled the spaghetti with the fork? Or the way she smiled when he said thank you?

In an effort to change the subject, he began to tell the story of a trip he’d taken to Arizona and the sights he’d seen while he was there. As he launched into his story about the rock formations and color schemes of the Grand Canyon, Lucy chimed in and filled in his creative gaps when he was at a loss for words. Apparently she’d been there too. The imagery wasn’t lost on her and he liked that. Most of the women he dated would have a blank yet appreciative look on their faces when he talked about the things he photographed.

“You both have a creative knack for color. It’s not every day you meet someone who complements you,” Felix said with a grin on his face.

“We have our moments,” Lucy said playfully and continued to talk about color.

It was almost ten o’clock and the three musketeers were tired. Neither man would allow Lucy to go home.

“Luce, I would tell you to take your usual place, but Antonio is occupying it.” Felix yawned.

“No problem. I can sleep on the couch.”

“No, you won’t. I’ll sleep on the couch. You can take my bed,” Antonio replied.

“You don’t need to sleep on the couch with your arm bandaged up.”

“I’ll be fine. Take the bed,” Antonio said in a firmer voice.

“Well, I’ll let the two of you fight it out.” Felix waved and went to bed.

“Why don’t we just share the bed? We’re adults,” he said quietly.

“I don’t want to share a bed with you. You’re already sharing a bed with Monica,” she said in a tight voice.

All of a sudden the elephant he could have sworn he made disappear with his distractions was smack-dab in the middle of the living room.

“I didn’t sleep with Monica,” he said quietly.

“I find that hard to believe,” she huffed.

“I didn’t, Lucia,” Antonio said with a big sigh. “I will admit that was my intention when I asked her out on that date. But I found myself thinking about you and that damn chocolate fountain you wanted. I even came to your apartment and knocked on your door, but you didn’t answer.”

“Oh was I supposed to be home? I had no idea you were planning for me to be the consolation prize of the evening.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“Yeah, but that’s what your actions said. You suck.”

“You know. I’m beginning to regret catching you.”

“Why? Because you couldn’t get anything out of it? You should have let me fall. Then I wouldn’t have had to spend all evening with you.” She seethed.

“You may have been mad about Monica, but you still wanted to spend the evening with me,” Antonio said sarcastically.

“You insufferable jackass. It’s always about you, isn’t it?”

“No, Lucia, at the moment it’s all about you.” Antonio moved closer to her and put his free hand on her arm. “It’s about wanting you and not wanting to want you. It’s about trying to distract myself with Monica so I didn’t have to face what I feel for you.”

Antonio connected his lips to hers, sweetly at first, waiting for her to push him away or even slap his face. When she didn’t put up a fight, he continued to explore. With each sweep of his tongue in her mouth, he felt like he was getting closer to something.

He slid his hands gently under her T-shirt and ran his fingers along her stomach and up her sides. The cotton he felt covered just enough while hinting at something more naughty. Why she felt the need to cover her body from head to toe was beyond him. OK, he thought about it for a split second and knew. He would have ogled her that day in the coffee shop if she had been dressed more seductively. And she didn’t want to be ogled. He wondered if that made him a bad person. But right now he didn’t care. She wasn’t resisting.

Lucy reached up and ran her fingers through his somewhat curly hair. She thought that would be enough to satisfy her and then she would break contact with him. Why did his hair have to feel so soft? Then she thought maybe sliding her palms down his ears and onto his face was OK, but then she felt the urge to explore farther south. How long had it been since she’d touched a man? She suddenly felt like she’d been deprived too long over the years. Being a good girl wasn’t without its trials of patience. And Antonio De Soto was the closest she’d ever come to perfection.

As Antonio guided her down the hall to his room, she remembered this was Felix’s house. She broke the kiss.

“Felix,” she murmured with a ragged breath.

“Is sleeping,” he said.

“He’ll hear us.”

Lucy leaned against the wall while Antonio went into the kitchen. A million thoughts ping-ponged in her head as to why this was not a good idea. But only one reason kept her glued where she stood.