Some Like It Hotter (Sweet Life in Seattle #3) (11 page)

The boy’s smile grows wide as he looks on. Eventually, he bounces it toward the kid, who catches it with a laugh.

After he runs off, Lindsay eyes Giovanni. “Do you play soccer?”

He nods. “Growing up, I spent every summer with my mom’s family in
Roma
, so I played a lot of soccer. It’s still a game I enjoy.”

She envies him. She spent her summers wandering the Strip in Las Vegas with her friends, getting kicked out of casinos for underaged drinking and gambling.

They spend the next few hours going from one tourist site to the next. Apparently, Giovanni’s guidebook has a top ten list, and he’s on a mission to hit them all.

They talk, though it’s mostly small talk. He asks a lot of questions about her life back in Seattle and seems keenly interested in her situation, though she can’t imagine why. She tells him how she’ll need to find a place to live when she gets back home, how she broke up with her boyfriend before coming here.

“So, you don’t have a boyfriend right now? What about that Dieter guy I got into a fight with?”

“No, we’re not involved.”

“He wanted to marry you though.”

“I told you before that was all in his head.” She hasn’t spoken to Dieter since that night. He left a couple messages on her phone, but she hasn’t called him back yet.

As they walk around together, Lindsay decides it’s a peculiar experience spending the day with someone she’s had a one-night stand with. Giovanni is basically a stranger, but at the same time, she knows things about him. Intimate things. She knows he likes a lover to dig their nails into his back when they come, and that he likes a bit of teeth during a blow job. That night they spent together wasn’t just a quick fuck, but a long, elaborate one.

“What about you?” she asks. “Are you involved with anybody?”

He’s flipping through the guidebook pages again, determined to attack every tourist destination with the zeal of a NATO general.

“You don’t have a girlfriend?”

“No, I don’t.”

Lindsay reflects on this. “A handsome doctor—a surgeon, no less. I’d think women would be throwing themselves at you.”

“As I’ve mentioned before, my lifestyle isn’t conducive to relationships.”

“That sounds like a fancy way of saying you’re afraid of commitment.”

He shrugs. “I’m not afraid. It’s just the way things are.”

“When do you fly to Rome?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t decided yet.”

“What?” She stops walking. “I thought we were rushing around Berlin because you had to leave soon!”

“No, I haven’t even let my cousin know I’m coming to stay yet.” He studies one of the pages in the book.

“Your cousin? But don’t you have an apartment in Rome?”

“I do, but my cousin and her family live there. They rent it from me, so I sleep in the guest bedroom.”

“You’re kidding.”

“Not at all. I’m never there anyway.” He holds the open book toward her and points. “Let’s go see Berlin’s Television Tower next. It has a 360-degree panoramic view of the city.”

She nods in response, still taking in this piece of information about him. Trying to imagine his life, so rootless, that he sleeps in the guest bedroom of his own home.

After carefully consulting the map—and not her—Giovanni nods to himself. “This way.” He starts marching them both toward the nearest S-Bahn station.

She rolls her eyes.
So much for any semblance of my being the tour guide.

They get lucky when they arrive at the television tower. It’s late in the afternoon, so the queue has dwindled. The view at the top, even through the smudged windows, is remarkable and goes on for miles. After getting over her anger earlier, Lindsay has started enjoying herself and is even taking pictures. She takes a few of the view then swings her phone around to include Giovanni.

“Smile and say ‘I love Norway.’”

He turns and, to her surprise, gives her a genuine smile. Her breath catches. Just like when he was playing with that ball earlier, it changes his whole demeanor. He looks younger and lighter. It’s the kind of smile you give a lover after you’ve spent the whole morning in bed together enjoying each other.

Her heart pounds.

A wave of familiarity washes over her, except this time there’s a strong yearning attached.

“I’m getting hungry,” he says, rubbing his stomach. “Are you ready for dinner yet?”

With shock, Lindsay realizes he’s done what no one else has managed to do. He’s cut through the fog of her disinterest.

Because she wants that smile. She wants
him
.

It’s rare for her to want a man she knows she shouldn’t have, so rare she doesn’t even know what to do. Panic shoots through her. Her hands shake as she tries to shove her phone back in her purse.

“Hey, are you all right?” Giovanni comes closer, his scent falling on her, healthy and male.

He touches her arm on bare skin, and Lindsay’s eyes fall shut. She likes his touch. It’s calming her. “I’m fine. I think I just need some food. I get low blood sugar sometimes if I don’t eat.”

“What? I didn’t know that. You should have said something earlier.” There’s concern in his voice. When she finally looks up at him, the smile is gone, and the tension is back on his face.

The moment is over, but in Lindsay’s mind, it’s still clear, the flame of it brightening everything.

Lindsay zips up her purse and takes another deep breath. “I know the perfect place to eat, so you’re going to let me lead for a change, understand? No argument.”

He’s still studying her with concern, but then nods. “I’m not arguing. We should grab something for you on the way though.”

They leave the television tower, and when they walk near a small park, he insists she sit on a bench while he buys her some sugar-roasted almonds from a street vendor.

“Are those helping?” he asks after he sits down beside her. “How long have you had blood sugar issues? It’s not a recent thing, is it?”

“No, I’ve had it forever.” Lindsay crunches on a sweet almond. “I get lightheaded if I go too long without eating.” He’s wearing a guilty expression, and she figures he’s blaming himself. “It’s no big deal. You can take your doctor’s hat off. It has nothing to do with you.”

“I just wish you’d told me. I would have made sure you’d eaten something.”

She’s touched by his concern, though she has her own and it’s much larger. It has to do with the way she’s reacting to him. Every time she looks at Giovanni, there’s a funny feeling in the pit of her stomach, like butterflies.

She can’t remember the last time she’s been around a guy who actually gave her butterflies. Probably one of her ex-husbands, though as she recalls, it was more lust with them than butterflies.

This is weird
.

She’s used to being in control. When it comes to men, she always has the upper hand, but with dread, she realizes she doesn’t have it anymore with him.

At least it’s only one day together. Thank God
.

She eats a few more almonds, already starting to feel better.
Maybe this whole thing really is just low blood sugar.
She holds her bag out. “Would you like some?”

He looks up from the guidebook and takes a few.

Lindsay licks her lips. “You know, I never thanked you for the way you ripped into Werner the other night.”

His expression goes stern as he chews an almond. “There’s no need to thank me. That guy is a scumbag. You shouldn’t let anyone speak to you like that.”

“It’s not like I was letting him.” She takes some more almonds from the bag, but doesn’t eat them right away. “The only reason I tolerate him is because of Dagmar, and just so we’re clear, I
never
let men talk to me like that.”

“I’m glad to hear it.”

She turns to him and can’t help but grin. “Thank you for setting him straight though. It was fun watching the rat squirm. He even apologized to me again last night, not that I believed him.”

Giovanni nods but then goes quiet, studying her. “Listen, I owe you an apology for something too.”

She’s ready to make a joke about how he owes her a dozen apologies, but doesn’t when she sees his grave expression.

“I never should have said what I did to you in the cab the other night—about your face being improved. That was uncalled for.”

Lindsay looks down into her bag of almonds, rubbing her thumb along the crinkled edge of the paper. “You’re right, it was.”

“I don’t even know what possessed me to say something so ridiculous.” He lets out his breath. “You might not have noticed this about me yet, but sometimes I come across as an arrogant prick.”

“Oh, that.” She shrugs. “I figured it was just a speech impediment.”

He gives her a wry smile. “No, I’m afraid it’s more serious than that. I actually
am
an arrogant prick.”

“Must be all that Viking blood coursing through your veins, giving you delusions of grandeur.”

He grins for real before his gaze turns thoughtful. “The truth is I think you’re beautiful, Lindsay. I thought so the first time I met you, and I still do.”

She tries to breathe. It’s not like she’s never heard this compliment before. She’s heard it a lot. It’s the way he’s saying it, though. It reminds her of when they were together that night—the sincerity in his voice. Like he’s seeing more than just her surface.

Now who’s having delusions?

“Thank you,” she murmurs. “I appreciate that.”

His gaze is reflective, taking her in, but then something changes. “Wait a minute, did you say you saw Werner last night?”

“Yes, unfortunately.”

He shakes his head. “So, you went back to that casino even after I warned you not to?”

Lindsay’s mouth opens. “No, I didn’t. I agreed to stay away for a few days, and I’ve kept my word.”

“Then how did you see him?”

“Because Dagmar brought him by my studio last night to try and get me to go out with them, but I didn’t.”

He studies her.

“You think I’m lying?”

“You better not be.”

She sits up straighter. “Listen. You don’t own me, so stop acting like you do.”

“You agreed not go to back there for at least a few days. Though if you ask me, I think you should avoid it altogether.”

“I didn’t go back! But I can’t not
ever
go back. I need the money I earn there.”

“What you need to do is stop being a card shark.”

“I see,” she mutters. “So you’re back in arrogant prick mode again.”

“Taking advantage of people is no way to make money.”

Lindsay rises from the park bench and throws the rest of the almonds in the trash. “Fuck you, okay? You don’t know what you’re talking about. I play a straight game. Plus, I already told you I’m an artist. Playing cards only supplements my income.”

“Come on, you and I both know there’s something wrong when you have to lie to your family about your activities.”

“You don’t know shit about me or my family, so let’s not pretend you do.” Her eyes rake over him “But I know plenty about you and yours, and let me tell you, we didn’t all have nannies growing up.”

“What?” Giovanni looks at her in amazement. “What the hell does that have to do with anything?”

“Because you’ve never had to worry about money a single day in your life.”