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She shrugged as he continued to frown “I get cranky if I don’t have coffee in the ” She shook her head “And believe me, you won’t like me when I’m cranky”

A cara over toward him and he watched as she pulled out a raspberry-covered donut, taking a large bite “Best donuts in New York Nowhere else comes close”

She nudged him “Go on Try yours”

Phoebe Gates was nothing like he’d expected The last tiner she’d been all business suits, stiletto heels and clipboards Her assistant had hung on her every word, constantly taking notes She’d been abrupt, professional and aloof

He stared down at the Americano in his hand Just the way he liked it And in the paper bag? A regular sugar donut He hated icing and sprinkles nearly as much as he hated filled donuts

He frowned “How did you know?” he asked

She sed her donut and took a sip of her coffee “How did I knohat?”

He held up his A “This How did you know this?”

He was suspicious People didn’t generally surprise him It wasn’t as if she could have done an Internet search to find out what kind of coffee and donut he preferred

She shrugged again and srinned and tapped her nose “Interior design It’s all based on observation skills”

Matteo narrowed his gaze Maybe he’d , but by the ti the desperate stage In a that his overextended Italian faet rid of soe and he intended to get this over with as quickly as possible He’d thought with the price tag he was offering any interior designer would snap his hand off for the job Turned out he rong Four of the designers he’d called were on holiday with only an answer-phoneuntil the new year Two had answered but refused due to faton By the time he’d reached Phoebe he just wanted someone to say yes But then she’d surprised him

Matteo was used to doing business He paid a price and a job got done End of story So he’d been a little surprised that Phoebe had insisted on seeing the property instead of just agreeing to the job straight away This was time he really didn’t have to spare