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Acomposed of creaer than Poppy had expected but she was learning to think big or bigger when it caht only consist of Rodolfo and his one grandson, the older man did not seem to think in terms of small or convenient Glorious urns of flowers adorned the terrace and a rotund little woman in an apron, closely followed by a tall lanky man, appeared at the front door

‘Dolores and Sean look after La Fattoria’ Gaetano introduced the friendly ed Irish couple and their cases were swept away

Poppy accepted a glass of wine and sat down on the rear terrace to enjoy the stupendous view and catch her breath in the sweltering heat She was feeling incredibly tired and had tactfully declined Dolores’s invitation to do an i a headache and she had an annoying tickle in her sore throat that had h edge It was just her luck, she thought ruefully She was on her honey, with an evenbad cold

The e airy space with a tiled floor and a bed as big as a football pitch The bathrooazine spread and she revelled in the wet roo bore Gaetano’s contemporary stamp and the extre very wared to work out how to operate the coht cotton sundress, she wandered back downstairs

Black hair curling and still damp from the shower, Gaetano joined her on the terrace to slot another glass of wine into her hand ‘Fro winery,’ he told her wryly ‘Rodolfo takes a personal interest in the vineyard’

Poppy surveyed him from below her lashes He was so beautiful, she found it a challenge to look anywhere else His spectacular black-lashed eyes were reflective as he leant gracefully up against a stone pillar support to survey the panoramic landscape, his lithe, lean, powerful body indolently relaxed A faint shadow of black stubble roughened his strong jaw line, accentuating the wide sensual curve of his ht so it had been since he kissed her and whether a kiss could possibly be as unbelievably good as she re Likely not, she told herself, for she had always been a dreaer that Gaetano Leonetti would ever be seriously interested in her?

And yet, here she was, a little voice whispered seductively, Gaetano’s wedding ring on her finger, and est alcohol But their e still wasn’t real; it was still a fantasy, the same little voice added She had been a fake fiancée and a fake bride and now she was a fake wife In fact just about the only thing that wouldn’t be fake between theht

The very blood in her veins see slowly, heavily She finished her wine and set down the glass, insanely aware of the tightening prominence of her nipples She lifted the tiny handwrittenheart through the several courses that were to be served

‘You know, I’,’ Poppy confided truthfully ‘I hope that’s not going to offend Dolores’

Gaetano glanced at her, eyes fla up the sky in an awesome display of cri, frowning as he strode back into the house and disappeared from view A few minutes later she heard a noisy little car start up somewhere and drive away Gaetano reappeared to close a hand over hers and tug her gently back indoors

‘Do we have to eat in sohed

‘No, we don’t have to do anything we don’t want to do,’ Gaetano told her, bending down to lift her up into his arms ‘I’ve sent Sean and Dolores horier for you than for food’

‘You can’t possibly carry me up those stairs!’ Poppy exclaimed

‘Right at this hts of stairs, bellezzahis mouth across her collarbone so that her head fell back to expose her slender white throat and her bright hair cascaded over his arh to make me wait’