Surviving Broken(4)
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JC stuck to certain rules or codes of conduct when it came to dating. Sleeping with men on the first date was a big no-no. The self-imposed rule saved her from embarrassment on more than one occasion. However, she bent it, broke it, and threw it out the window when it came to staying with Luca that night. He wore an air of sexiness that would make it impossible for any hot blooded woman to say no to, including JC.
Unsure of the proper should I take him home for breakfast etiquette, she tentatively extended the invite. Bringing a date home was another rule breaker. Failed judgment seemed to be stacking up in a hurry. She’d slept with him on the first date, faked at least one orgasm, and agreed to spend the weekend with him. Luca waited precisely one minute after sex, the second time, to ask her to stay with him in Tuscany over the long weekend. Asking someone that question right after sex was like cheating, playing unfairly. She hadn’t even caught her breath yet and responded without thinking, falling for the, I’d love to take you to this great little vineyard line.
Sitting in his car outside her parents’ lavish home, JC’s nerves mounted, causing perspiration to trickle down her back. Bringing a date home added another checkmark to the list.
“Why don’t you just drop me off and then I’ll meet you back at the Inn this afternoon.”
Luca’s lips twisted downward into a sexy pout. He slipped his fingers beneath the hem of her dress giving a gentle squeeze to her bare thigh. “You can’t wear a man out and then not feed him breakfast. I’m starving.”
“Tom is very particular about bringing people to his house.”
“It’ll be fine.” He leaned over the console placing a tenacious kiss to the slope of her neck. “Unless you would prefer to go back to my room and we can enjoy breakfast in bed?”
She pondered the repercussions of missing family breakfast.
“I promise to be on my best behavior.” He flashed a persistent grin smothered in self-confidence.
The mouthwatering aroma of breakfast hit as they walked through the front door. Everyone gathered around the long glass table in the dining room. JC squirmed at the possessive feel of Luca’s hand resting on the small of her back as he escorted her into the room.
She inconspicuously stepped to the side, wiggling out of his reach
“Good morning,” her mom chimed. Tess’s brow arched in speculation catching sight of JC’s companion at her side.
“Morning,” she stammered.
“Well, this is a surprise.” Tom’s tone peppered with gentle sarcasm.
The mockery seemed to go unnoticed by Luca. Putting his honed charisma on full display, he greeted her mom, Tess, with kisses to both cheeks and a warm, “Buongiorno.”
Her brother’s jaw nearly hit the table. JC’s stomach twisted in a knot. Evading the look of shock plastered on the rest of her family’s faces, JC settled her attention on the gorgeous view of the Aegean Sea beyond the wall of glass doors encompassing the back of the home.
By the time she nervously choked down her banana pancakes, sheer panic had set in and her palms wrung wet. The phrase, what was I thinking? played though her mind like a bad horror movie, leaving her unable to concentrate on the conversation taking place around her.
Worse yet, Luca acted almost like a complete gentleman, pulling out the chair for her, refilling her coffee cup. He even helped clear the table. However, he still managed to grab her by the waist and pull her around the corner in the kitchen, whispering in Italian the things he wanted to do to her and places he wanted to take her. He pressed the length of his body against hers, turning his soft kisses into urgent hungry kisses of desire. Dark magnetism and skillful kisses claimed her attention.
A fake cough pulled them away from each other and Shayla threw JC a wary fleeting look.
Alarm bells sounded in her head as if it were about to burst.
Luca Santini was in her parent’s home! She didn’t know how to get rid of him. He looked too good! He smelled way too appetizing! And to top it all off, she’d invited him there and willingly agreed to spend the whole weekend together! She never made mistakes like this. She needed her sister, but Tracy was probably on her way to Bora Bora already. It seemed her sister-in-law would have to suffice.
JC left Luca in the family room awkwardly discussing wine, art, and acting with Tom. She found Shayla in the bathroom. Richard and Thomas swam chest deep in bubbles, along with two yellow duckies and numerous action figures.
Anxiety saturated her strained voice as she counted on her fingers the number of rules she had broken in less than twenty-four hours. “I slept with him on the first date. I stayed overnight! I know better than to do that because now I have to deal with breakfast and the dreaded When can I see you again? Only it’s much worse than that! I broke the cardinal of all f—“ JC bit back her curse word catching sight of a pair of small curious eyes, enthralled in her meltdown.