“You were young to be so affected.”

  “I agree. Living in Naples all my life, I’d been surrounded by beauty and had traveled to many exotic places in the world. But this spot had such a strong pull on me, I eventually made inquiries of the locals.”

  “What did they tell you?”

  “The original owners had lost their money and were forced to sell. The second owner bought it as an investment but only visited it a few times. Little by little the place fell into more disrepair, and a small portion part of the villa suffered fire damage.”

  She shook her head, causing her fabulous hair to float around her shoulders. “That’s so sad.”

  He took a deep breath. “Over the years I flew here often. The worse it looked, the more I wanted it. The day it went up for sale again, I bought it and the first thing I did was clear a space for a helipad. Once that was done, I spent all my weekends here restoring the garden and making renovations. To get out of the Naples office and come here to work in the soil was therapeutic for me.”

  “You did all this by yourself?” She sounded incredulous.

  “Most of it, though I did hire locals from time to time.”

  “When was that?”

  “I took possession three years ago.”

  Her eyes were smiling. “So you could transform it.”

  “That’s one way of putting it.”

  “Just as you decided to turn a grade-B soccer team into a national champion. I see a pattern here.”

  He chuckled and drew her into his arms. “But I don’t know the outcome of either transformation yet.”

  “Why not?”

  “For the obvious reason that our last three games of the season haven’t been played yet. As for the other...” Her mouth was a temptation he couldn’t resist. After kissing her long and hard, Guido put his arm around her shoulders and walked her up to the villa. “See for yourself.”

  He unlocked the main door and drew her inside the large foyer with a curving staircase rising to the next floor and rooms extending on both sides.

  Dea walked around the interior, which was devoid of anything but the prepared drywall. She turned to him. “From the outside of the villa, you would never guess this is all unfinished.”

  He nodded. “It’s ready for the right person to take over and create an ambiance of beauty from the flooring to the ceiling.”

  She eyed him for a moment. “Why not yourself?”

  “You’ve seen my apartment, and I’ve told you about the one in Naples. This is no bachelor pad and needs the eye of someone with exquisite taste.”

  “Have you found that person?”

  Guido moved closer and put his hands on her shoulders. “How would you like the job?”

  Maybe it was a trick of light but he thought her face lost a little color. “Please don’t joke about something like that.”

  “I would never joke about anything this personal. The first time I visited your apartment, I saw a reflection of the real you in everything and loved being there.”

  “Zia Fulvia helped me decorate when I moved in.”

  He tightened his fingers around her upper arms and shook her gently. “Why don’t you ever take credit for your own genius? Don’t you know how wonderful you are?”

  “Guido—” Her cheeks filled with color and she pulled away from him.

  “It’s true. When you were telling me about the opera and how vital the costumes and settings were to making it come alive, I felt you come alive. That’s the moment I knew I wanted you to see this villa and tell me what needs to be done. I’m sick of apartments and plan to live here for the rest of my life.”

  “You don’t require anyone’s help. You’ve created a masterpiece outside.”

  “I’m glad you think so, but the real task still awaits me. Come on. After you see the whole house, we’ll drive down to the village for lunch and you can tell me what you think.”

  Not giving her a chance to argue, he grasped her hand and led her up the stairs to see the four bedrooms and bathrooms. The superb view of the Tyrrhenian Sea from the master suite held her gaze for a long time.

  A tour of the downstairs included a library and a separate den off the living room. The large kitchen and dining room on the other side of the house produced more cries of delight. He could hear her mind working and knew her imagination had taken over.

  A detached garage in the same Mediterranean style with a tiled roof stood behind the villa. Along with the gardening equipment, Guido kept a truck and his Alfa Romeo Spider convertible locked up there. He helped her get in his vintage sports car and they took off down the winding road. The smell of roses and jasmine hung heavy in the air. The woman seated next to him had no clue what she meant to him. Not yet...

  * * *

  I’m sick of apartments and plan to live here for the rest of my life. This is no bachelor pad and needs the eye of someone with exquisite taste. How would you like the job?

  “We’re coming into Sant’Angelo, an old fishing village.” Guido’s deep male voice curled through Dea’s insides. “My sailboat is moored there in the harbor. One day I’ll take you out and we’ll sail around the island.”

  “Which one is it?”

  “The white and blue one, which isn’t much help, since so many boats are the same.”

  She laughed. “This little town is a panoply of white, blue and ochre houses all pressed together in a symphony of color. I’ve lived by the water all my life, but our family’s island has no color, just a dark stone castle.”

  He threw her a glance. “The severity has a beauty all its own.”

  “I agree, but this paradise dazzles the eye. The impossible yellows and pinks of the flowers make me think you live in heaven.”

  “Today I’m there.”

  She felt the same way as he slowed down and parked the car in a tiny space only someone as daring as Guido would have tried to navigate. He levered himself from the driver’s side and came around to open her door. “In a few minutes you’re going to taste pasta arrabbiata with a spicy kick that is out of this world. Emanuela’s is right here on the beach.”

  For a little while Dea let go of her fear that he couldn’t trust her feelings for him and inhaled the experience of being with Guido like this, a man whose background she was only beginning to understand, a man she already loved with all her heart and soul.

  The food and wine turned out to be divine. Throughout their meal, his dark blue eyes wandered over her, causing every nerve in her body to throb with desire.

  Following a tasty treat of raspberry gelato, they walked back to the car and took a drive around the island on the main road.

  Traveling to the quaint, picturesque villages filled her with delight. He was better than any tour director or history teacher. He talked about the local legend of the giant living in the volcanic rock and the tufa limestone deposits built up around the fumaroles and spas.

  Dea learned the island was shaped like a trapezoid and housed sixty-two thousand people. The larger towns sold everything imaginable. In Casamicciola she bought some small ceramic tiles of Ischia for her mother and sister. It was after five when Guido drove through the hamlet of Ciglio, close to the villa. They bought sausage rolls in puff pastry and fruit tarts to take with them.

  After arriving back at the villa, Guido parked the car in the garage. Then he led her to a wrought iron bench by the pool, where they ate their picnic. The helicopter would be coming shortly, but Dea didn’t want to think about that yet.

  “Do you know one of the meanings of alfresco?” His eyes gleamed with mischief.

  “Besides eating outside?” She smiled. “This garden is no prison. You know very well you’ve created a work of art out here.”

  “Then will you do me a favor and think about my proposition? While you’re getting the costumes ready for Don Giovanni, will you picture the villa in your mind and tell me what kind of floors you envision here? A color scheme? Would you work up a rough draft that will point me in the right direction?”

  She swallowed the rest of her pastry. Stick to him like glue, Alessandra had advised her. She had to prove to him how important he was to her.

  “I’m flattered that you want my opinion. Let me think about it and I’ll get back to you.”

  A look of relief crossed over his striking features. “That’s all I ask. I’d like to fly you here again next Friday night after work if you don’t have other plans. We can stay over in Ciglio, then spend Saturday here. I’ll have to get back to Rome Saturday night because the team is flying to Siena first thing Sunday morning.”

  “I’ll try to get off on the dot of five. Maybe I can drive to the airport from work and meet you at the plane to save time. As it is, we won’t get here until nightfall.”

  They both heard the helicopter coming. Her disappointment that they had to leave this paradise was killing her.

  “I’ll be counting the hours until we can be here together again, Dea.” He cupped her face with both hands and kissed her mouth. “Umm. I can still taste the cherries on your lips.”

  He kissed her thoroughly before they walked through the trees to board the helicopter. As it rose in the air, she felt like her heart had been wrenched from her body. The villa got smaller until she could see the island where she’d known such great happiness. Dea couldn’t bear to go back to her apartment. But she needed to get hold of herself so he wouldn’t know how much this day had meant to her.

  On the flight back to Rome, she told him one of her ideas for decorating the villa while they were seated in the club compartment of the plane. “When we were in Casamicciola, we passed a store with the most wonderful ceramic floor tiles in various shades from white to cream.”

  “You noticed all that?”

  “Well, you did ask me to think about it. I couldn’t help but see your main floor and walls as an extension of the outdoors where light sweeps through the interior, even up the staircase.

  “One of the bedroom floors upstairs could contain a soft pink pigment to reflect the exterior of the villa. Maybe another bedroom could be done in a subtle gray-blue. Your kitchen would be gorgeous with hints of a lemon motif in the wall tiles to reflect the astounding yellow of the flowers on the island.”

  His brows lifted. “Wall tiles... You’ve already envisioned that in your mind?”

  She smiled. “You’d be surprised what’s going on in there.” Dea had already designed a nursery for his children. Her thoughts wouldn’t stop. “It’s your fault, you know.”

  A low laugh came out of him. He sounded happy, in fact happier than she’d ever known him to be. This blissful state continued until they landed in Rome and he drove them to her apartment.

  “Just pull up in front and let me out. I know you have a game tomorrow and I don’t want to keep you.”

  “You’re sure?”

  That one question threw her for a loop. Dea had thought he would insist on seeing her inside so he could kiss her senseless. He’d spoiled her today. Now she was a mess, wanting so much more. You’re being selfish again. He had a huge day ahead of him.

  “Good luck tomorrow, Guido.” She undid her seat belt to kiss his cheek before getting out of the car with her small souvenirs.

  “I’ll call you tomorrow night if it isn’t too late.”

  “Don’t worry about that.” Dea shut the door and hurried inside the building to her apartment. He hadn’t asked her if she wanted to attend the soccer match. What did that mean?

  Once she’d showered and climbed into bed, she lay there wide-awake reliving her incredible day. Was it another test to see if she cared about him enough to show up uninvited? Should she do the unexpected, as Alessandra had suggested?

  Dea wrestled with that question for a long time. Finally she concluded that since he’d asked her advice on how to decorate the villa, she’d take her chances and go to the match. She had to see him again or she wouldn’t be able to make it to Monday when she had to go to work.

  Guido, Guido. I love you so much I’m in pain.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  GUIDO AND SERGIO sat in his private suite next to the press box to watch the game. Maybe thirty minutes had gone by when he heard his phone ring. When he saw the caller ID, he picked up.

  “What’s going on, Mario?”

  “This is important. Someone has asked to be let into your suite, but it has to be all right with you.”

  He could only think of one person he wanted with him today, but that was a dream that wouldn’t happen. “If you’re referring to Rinieri Montanari or his wife, Alessandra, you know they always have an automatic entrée.”

  “I’m talking about the gorgeous supermodel who was here last week with friends.”

  “You’re serious—”

  “Sì. I swear she’s here at the ticket booth.”

  Guido’s breath caught in his throat. He hadn’t expected her to show up today.

  Last night he’d been tempted to ask her to come to the game and spend the rest of the night with him, but he’d held back, waiting for her to suggest it. When she didn’t, he’d suffered disappointment.

  As he and Sergio had discussed many times, few women—barring those who played the game or had a family member on the team—could get into soccer in a big way. But Dea had been supportive from day one. Maybe she was different.

  “Boss? Shall I bring her up?”

  “Please,” he said when he could find his voice.

  Sergio stared at him after he clicked off. “What’s wrong? Is Dante’s leg still bothering him?”

  He hoped not. “We’re about to have an unexpected visitor.”

  “I thought you said your father would never come to the stadium to watch a game.”

  “You’ve got the wrong gender.”

  “Your mother?”

  “Wrong again.” He got to his feet.

  “Ah... Then it must be your secret woman.”

  Sergio never let up. Guido moved to the door and opened it to watch for her. In a moment he saw her walking in the corridor alongside Mario.

  The dark blue short-sleeved dress with small red poppies Dea was wearing hugged her figure, then flared from the waist to the knee. With every step, the material danced around her beautiful legs, imitating the flounce of her hair, which she wore down, the way he liked it. Talk about his heart failing him!

  “Dea—”

  Her searching gaze fused with his. “I hope it’s all right.” The slight tremor in her voice betrayed her fear that she wasn’t welcome. If she only knew...

  “You’ve had an open invitation since we met.” Nodding his thanks to Mario, he put his arm around her shoulders and drew her inside the suite. Sergio slipped out of the room and closed the door so they could be alone.

  He slid his hands into her hair. “You’re the most beautiful sight this man has ever seen.” With uncontrolled hunger he lowered his mouth to hers and began to devour her. Over the announcer’s voice and the roar of the crowd, he heard her little moans of pleasure as their bodies merged and they drank deeply.

  When she swayed in his arms, he half carried her over to the couch, where they could give in to their frenzied needs. She smelled heavenly. One kiss grew into another until she became his entire world. He’d never known a feeling like this and lost track of time and place.

  “Do you know what you do to me?” he whispered against her lips with feverish intensity.

  “I came for the same reason.”

  Her admission pulled him all the way under. Once in a while the roar of the crowd filled the room, but that didn’t stop him from twining his legs with hers. He desired a closeness they couldn’t achieve as long as their clothes separated them.

  “I want you, bellissima. I want you all night long. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

  Before he heard her answer, the noise from the crowd became earsplitting. Within a minute someone unlocked the door and burst in. “Boss? I’ve been trying to reach you. Though we won the game, Dante’s leg may be broken. You’re needed in the locker room. Viene subito!”

  Dante... The game was over... For the last hour he’d been so caught up with Dea he hadn’t noticed the passing of time.

  After being jerked back from rapture he hadn’t thought possible, his brain was slow to digest what Sergio had just told him.

  Dea had more presence of mind. She eased herself out of his arms and got to her feet before he did. He stood there for a minute, raking one hand through his ruffled hair. “What happened?”

  “He fell hard on his sore leg after getting kicked.”

  Dea put a comforting hand on his arm. “Go to him, Guido. If you can, come to my apartment later. If not, call me.” In the next breath, she ran out the door before he could detain her.

  Much as he wanted to go after her, he knew his duty was to Dante. Dea hadn’t wanted to leave him; otherwise she wouldn’t have told him to come to her place later. Loving her for her consideration, he started down the hall. By now the team doctor would have looked their star player over.

  It wasn’t until he was on his way into the locker room and saw Dante’s family that he realized those hours with Dea had swept him away to a different world where nothing else had mattered. Not even his team. After she’d arrived, he hadn’t watched a second of the game. Worse, he hadn’t known of their victory until Sergio barged in.

  It would all have been taped for Guido, but the news was bittersweet. Only two more matches before the end of the season. They’d have to play them without their star, Dante. For Sergio this had to be déjà vu. Ten years ago he’d suffered an injury that had knocked him out of competition for good. Guido had to pray Dante would heal well enough to play again.