Page 39 of The Roman's Woman (A Singular Obsession)

“Hrmph,” she muttered, pushing Gio’s hand away before reluctantly sitting up in bed. “Unless that tiny espresso cup has cream and sugar, take it away.”

“Sacrilege!” he said, chucking her under the chin and setting the cup aside.

He sat down next to her with a graceful economy of motion she envied. She squinted at him, resenting his bright-eyed and bushy-tailed attitude. “I hate that you’re a morning person.”

He smiled, his gleaming teeth almost blinding in the sunlight.

“Stop that. You’re like a toothpaste commercial. And why are you so dressed up?”

He was wearing a fine dark gray suit with a pearl colored tie. She’d never been into suits before, but his normal wardrobe made him look like he fell off the cover of a men’s magazine. She was quickly becoming a fan of the style.

“Work,” he said, picking up her coffee and drinking it himself.

“But it’s Sunday. And don’t you work in Rome? That’s the bank’s headquarters, right?”

“I’m working out of the London office until further notice. Also, I have a few things to take care of, tasks that piled up while I was away.”

Away pretending to be a street performer. She bit her tongue to keep from mentioning it and then her fuzzy brain caught up.

“The office is in London? What’s the commute on that?”

He shrugged nonchalantly. “It’s not too bad on the chopper.”

She opened her eyes so wide they hurt. “You have ahelicopter?”

“It’s not mine. It’s part of a service I contract with.”

“Oh,” she said. “Still crazy, though…”

The man took a helicopterto work. She drove a Saab.

He smiled, leaning over to play with her hair. “I should be back early evening…unless you want dinner in London. In which case, you can get dressed and come with me now. You can squeeze in some shopping or go to this spa Elynn recommended.”

Crap. She was going to have to tell him about her plans for the day.

“Err. Sorry. I can’t. I have to meet Richard.”

Gio’s expression turned frosty.

“Oh. Why?” he asked very casually.

“That unfinished business I mentioned. He’s buying my father’s house. We’re signing the papers today.”

He leaned back, surprise replacing the coldness of his expression. “Why are you selling it to him?”

She shrugged. “He wants it. I don’t. Not much more to it than that.”

His brows lowered. Sophia took the espresso cup from him and finished what was left, flinching at it went down. God, it needed sugar.

Gio continued to stare at her.

“What?” she asked defensively.

“I suppose I find it odd that you would sell your childhood home to an ex-boyfriend.”

Sophia stared at him, scowling. “Um, did you not notice the American accent? My dad’s place isn’t my childhood home. It’s not my anything. I only visited there as an adult, and I hardly ever went inside.”

“Ah,” he said, his expression shifting to sympathy. “I know a lot about your mom, but not your father. We’ve never talked about him that much.”

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