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“There’s no conspiracy. You just confessed to sleeping with Lorenzo. I’m sure you wanted that to happen.”

“Sorry.” Fabiana raised her hands in defense. “It’s not like you. That’s all.”

“You sound like Kei.This is not like you Mira, he would always say.Has Fabiana been putting crazy ideas in your head again?” she mocked her ex’s deep voice.

“Well? Have I?”

“Everyone thinks they know me better than I know myself. And that’s the thing with Giovanni, I can be me. He has no preconceived notions. It feels so good. So I say this is exactly like me. The new me!”

“Hey. I’m not saying it’s a bad thing. What’s wrong with you? You dated Kei for six months before you had sex with him. You are very, very particular about men. More so than me.”

Mira put her sunglasses back on. “I guess I’m a bit caught up. You know. In all of this.” She nodded toward the sparkling blue waters of the lake. They were in the middle of paradise. She had a sexy Italian man showing her more passion than she’d had in years, and it’s got her head spinning. Who could blame her?

“I can be impulsive.”

“So he just wants sex?”

“I never said those words.”

“Do you care what he wants? Is this only about you?” Fabiana leaned in and lowered her voice. “Good for you if it’s about you and you only. I want you to be selfish for once. If you can forget Kei and all the stress of the past year, then that means you can create so much more. It’s perfect. This is why we needed this break, so we can discover who we are.”

“You are good for my inner wild child.” Mira winked. “I love you.”

“Who else will put up with your uptight ass? Besides I knew something was up. I mean girlfriend, who gets hickies from a washcloth?”

Laughter exploded from them both. “You haven’t seen anything. I think I got some on my butt, too!

“Whew!” Fabiana fanned herself. The laughter eased them into a comfortable silence, but Fabiana continued to grin. “Okay so I have to ask. The man is intense. Did you see the way he flipped to gangster on me at dinner?

“He did not.”

“He did too! He rarely smiles, unless you are speaking. And when you are in the room, he stares like you belong to him. Intense. Kind of intimidates me, and you know, no one intimidates me.”

“What do you want to know?” she asked.

“How… how did it go down? Did you just go to his room and then bam! Sex, lots and lots of sex?”

“Don’t be silly!”

“C’mon, did you seduce him? What? I have to know about this inner wild child.”

“He’s different. Less serious when he’s with me. Sometimes. He’s definitely different when he’s turned on. I went to his room… and yes it was a bam, thank you mam!” she chuckled. “The man had me so horny after he—” Mira bit down on her bottom lip. She had no intention of sharing the details of their prelude to their sex that made her bold enough to seek him out in the night.

“He what? Mira are you comparing him to Kei? Is that holding you back?” Fabiana asked.

Mira shrugged.

“That’s normal. Lorenzo’s different, too. Oh and trust me, here in Italy, different is good.”

They sat in silence for a moment, staring out at the sailboats drifting along the lake. Mira broke the silence. “You do know what they do, who they are?”

Fabiana shrugged. “It doesn’t matter.”

“Are you kidding? Having a fling is one thing, but you said you were falling in love.”

“And you’re not?” Fabiana tossed back.

“NO! Been there and done that. No. Absolutely not.”