Page 27 of My Super Sexy Spy
I shrugged. “I’m good with words, I guess. Combined with an imagination. Anyway, to do this book deal, I had to make it real. I had to actually come and see places for myself. I wasn’t sure I could do it, but here I am. And I’ve got the pictures to prove it. And seeing The David…there’s no picture that can match the actual experience. I need to remember that when I write about it. I need to start convincing my readers to not just read about places around the world, but to go see them.”
He seemed pensive.
“Did I kill the mood?” I asked, wincing.
“No, I just… Fuck, I like you, Beth.”
“I like you, too, Ted. This has been fun.” Maybe not sexy fun, but fun.
I heard the music start in the center of the piazza. There was a group of people playing some guitars on the edge of the water fountain. One woman was singing in Italian. People started to gather around and some coupled up and began to dance to what was obviously a love song.
“Let’s dance,” Ted suggested.
“I really can’t.” Especially not a slow dance.
“I’ll show you, it’s easy.”
“No, really, I’ll embarrass myself.”
He stood, clearly undeterred, and held his hand out. “My guess is you never got to go to prom. Let me be your prom date and I’ll show you how to dance. You’re supposed to be experiencing everything, remember? Dancing in a piazza in Florence under the stars will make a fuck-all chapter.”
I smiled because it would. “Are we okay leaving our stuff here?”
But Ted was already signaling to the waiter exactly what we were doing. We walked closer to where the singer was still crooning, then Ted pulled me into his arms. One hand on my waist, his other hand clasping mine to his shoulder. He started to sway to the beat of the music.
“See. Simple. We’re dancing,” he said.
I looked up at him and smiled. This was nice. This was easy. He was holding my hand in his so I couldn’t pull away, but if I could, I might have traced the fuzz that was now growing around his jaw. Or run my finger along the shell of his ear, which really wasn’t all that big now that I knew him.
He bent his head toward mine so that our lips were close. I didn’t know if he was going to kiss me. I didn’t know if I wanted him to, but I didn’t pull away.
“Your nose ring is glinting in the moonlight,” he said softly and made me chuckle.
That’s right. No kissing for us. Suddenly, what had seemed fun felt a little deflating. He really wasnotinto me and it was probably best not to get suckered by dancing stars and moonlight. I started to pull away. “Okay, this was fun, but let’s go back to the hotel for a nightcap. There is an amazing rooftop bar that’s supposed to have epic views.”
For a second, he seemed reluctant to let go of me. His grip on my waist tightened. But then he dropped his hands and took a step back. “Sure. That sounds good.”
Together, we walked back to our table and signaled the waiter. The check came and Ted picked it up before I could reach for it.
“My treat,” he said.
That pissed me off, and I glared at him. “I don’t want or need your pity, Ted.”
“Good, because you don’t have it. I owe you for being an asshole last night. This is just my way of making it up to you.”
“You were an asshole. And a cock blocker,” I reminded him.
Ted snorted. “You were lucky I was there. I promise you that guy would have been a dud in the sack. Sounds like you weren’t all that into him anyway.”
“He said I was unique like a snowflake,” I told him even as my lips twitched.
Ted rolled his eyes. “Oh my God! Like there isn’t enough fucking cheese in this country.”
I laughed and excused myself. “I’m going to hit the restroom before we walk back.”
“Yep. I’ll meet you outside then.”
I headed inside the restaurant, asking the maître d’ where the bathrooms were. Unfortunately, it was down a creepy, old stairwell that looked like it narrowed into some kind of cellar with a door at the end of the hallway. The door probably led to backstairs that emptied behind the restaurant.
