Page 380 of Under Her Skin

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“That was glorious. Grazie, caramia.”

Ama leaned into his embrace. “You, music, and this beautiful place. I’m inheaven.”

She felt his arms tighten around her. “I’m glad you feel that way,piccolo.”

Ama stayed in his embrace for a moment, then her stomach growled and they both laughed. “I hadn’t realized it was so late. I was going to make us somesupper.”

“Let’s cooktogether.”

They wentinto the kitchen that Ama had grown to love. Exposed brickwork and old-fashioned fixtures belied the state-of-art kitchen equipment. She opened the vast fridge. “It’s too hot for curry,” she said, grinning at his disappointment. Since meeting her, Enda had become addicted to spicy meals. “Well, I suppose I could do a light vegetable one, and we could have it with salad androti?”

Enda grinned. “Sounds good to me …but you may be right about the heat. Maybe something lighter fortonight?”

Ama laughed. “Look at us all domesticated.” She turned back to the fridge and made a decision. “Stir-fry?”

Enda nodded. “Soundsgood.”

They ateout on the terrace, over-looking the Bay of Naples, Enda’s hand on her thigh. Ama was thinking about what Inca had said earlier. “Isn’t it weird that, when you meet the right person, anything goes?” she said now toEnda.

“I know what you mean. I keep thinking back to that day. Your wedding day. You might think I’m the kind of guy who does that all the time, but no. It was just a confluence of events and feelings, and I thought what the hell? You looked so sad,Piccolo. It got me here.” He touched his chest. “I felt as if I couldn’t breathe until I kissedyou.”

Ama was moved. “Ditto.” She grinned mischievously. “I was talking to Inca today …she was pretty wild when she was younger. Not that she’s old now, but you know what Imean.”

Enda grinned widely. “Ido.”

Ama studied him. “You know?About?”

“The three of them? Yup. It was quite the scandal here back then. Well, not really scandal … not like it would have been back in theStates.”

She stroked his hair. “I think I would be too jealous to shareyou.”

Enda kissed her. “Yeah, that scene isn’t forme.”

“What is? You know, I would try anything with you.Anything.”

Enda wiped his mouth on his napkin and studied her, a grin on his handsome face. “Okay …challenge extended. Let me fuck you somewhere we could getcaught.”

Ama chuckled, a thrill going through her. “Forexample?”

“We have that benefit in town later this week. We could sneak behind a pillar and go forit.”

Ama considered, then stuck out her hand. “Challengeaccepted.”

Enda laughed. “There’s a part of me that hopes we do getcaught.”

“You know what,” Ama said, smiling widely. “Metoo.”

Jackson Gallo pickedup the phone. “Tell me you’ve found mywife.”

His detective, Larry, chuckled. “And then some. They’re in Sorrento, as you thought. They have a villa—pretty comprehensively guarded, but both of them go out quite freely. Your wife had lunch with another woman today. Another Indian woman? Hersister?”

“No, her sister is still here in the US. That must be Inca, Raffaelo Winter’s wife. They wereunprotected?”

“As far as I could see. Want me to killher?”

“No,” Jackson said sharply, “If anyone’s going to kill my wife, it’s me this time. The Winter woman …maybe. Another Penelope situation for her, I think. But not yet. I want to have all the pieces in place before I hit them with it all. What I have planned for them …they won’t have dreamed up in a million years. I don’t just want to kill my wife. I want to destroy her, my bastard brother, and anyone else who loves them before I finally kill Ama. I can wait for the rightmoment.”

He gave Larry some final instructions just to keep watching and reporting. Putting down the phone, he smiled to himself. What he had planned wasn’t justmurder.