Page 47 of The Roman's Woman (A Singular Obsession)

“Okay. Do me a favor. Wait a while after the wine before getting behind the wheel. I’ll wait for you at home.”

He bit his tongue, but Sophia didn’t notice his sudden distraction. Instead, she gave him a narrow-eyed glance before walking away.

He made sure she was safely inside Kelly’s apartment building before he left, thinking over his little slip.

Home was where Sophia was. It was just a matter of time before she became aware of his intentions—and heaven help him if she was this mad at him when she did.

Chapter 16

“I’m going to get you for this.”

“Sophia,mi amore, calm down. Keep your eyes on me—”

“I’m going to smash all of your espresso cups and throw out your grappa!”

“It’s only a few more minutes before we reach the airport,” Gio assured her, pulling her to him and rubbing her back.

In the headset, he heard his pilot snicker.

He and Sophia were in the back seat of his Eurocopter EC 135. They were on their way to the airport, where his private jet was waiting. It was a long weekend and he’d talked Sophia into spending it in Rome with him, instead of working through it the way she usually did.

The trip was originally intended as a romantic getaway, but he’d heard from his father a few hours ago. Salvatore had organized the whole family to come over for cocktails tonight.

Sophia had taken the news that all of his relatives were assembling to meet her rather well. She didn’t even mind traipsing all the way to Rome—giving up her rare and precious free time—to do it. No, what she minded was the helicopter ride.

“I’m going to use my dissection tools to cut microscopic holes in your favorite suits. You won’t be able to see them, but you’ll know they’re there and it will haunt you!”

“Tesoro, I’m sorry I forgot about your issue with heights,” he apologized, continuing to rub her back while the pilot choked back his laughter. “And it wouldn’t haunt me.”

It woulddestroyhim. She knew him so well already.

“Say goodbye to your perfectly organized sock drawer! The minute we get back I’m going in and mismatching every pair! No more ROYGBIV color order!”

He suppressed a chuckle. “We’re almost there. Look, I can see the airport now,” he added, pointing.

Sophia looked up instinctively, following the direction of his hand before covering her eyes and groaning loudly. Shutting her eyes, she grabbed blindly until she caught his tie and yanked on it. “I’m going to scratch up your Doctor Who Blu-Rays!”

Ouch.

“It’s over. We’re here.”

The flight on the jet went much smoother. It helped that the plane was outfitted with a full bar. He poured Sophia a brandy and then had her lie down in the back bedroom for a while. That wentreallywell for him—after he properly apologized for forgetting to mention the helicopter ride. It went really well for her too, but, of course, that was part of the apology.

The flight to Rome was over in a blink. Before he knew it, they were climbing into his town car at the airport. His local driver had picked them up. Sophia narrowed her eyes when she recognized him and then pinched Gio’s ass cheek as they climbed into the car.

“I can’t believe I bought that he was an Uber driver. He wears a suit. No Uber driver wears a suit. And their cars smell like take-out. This one smells like cognac and expensive leather. Does filthy rich have a smell? ’Cause I think it smells like this.”

Amused by her observations, he cuddled her closer and pointed out the sights, places he wanted to take her to eat or to shop and occasionally a building he owned. She was refreshingly unimpressed about the latter. All she did was nod and grumble adorably about moguls and their “damn helicopters.”

It was such a relief to be completely honest about his background. He couldn’t wait to show her Rome—for real this time. Now that she knew everything, he could take her to his favorite restaurants and the theater. He knew she would love them. They liked the same things, from music to their taste in movies. None of his other friends liked science fiction or fantasy beyond the latest season of Game of Thrones. In fact, Sophia was the only person he knew who’d read the books.

“I should warn you the penthouse is on the top floor,” he said, once they were in the elevator on their way up to his apartment in the Parioli district.

Sophia rolled her eyes at him. “Buildings are all right. Buildings don’t fall out of the sky.”

“They do during earthquakes,” he couldn’t help teasing.

“And you have a lot of those here in Rome?” she asked sarcastically

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