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“No” The as almost a whisper

His head jerked back up “What?”

“No” The as now a little less shaky She lifted her head and finallyto get her breath

“What are you talking about?” He et annoyed “I employed you to dress both houses, the one here and the one in Rome”

“I know that” she started, “but”

“But what?” He threw up his hands “Why on earth are you stalling? We had an agreement”

“I I I”

There was so about the way she was stuck for words That didn’t seem normal for Phoebe Her eyes filled with tears as he watched her

He stepped over and touched her bare ar?”

She glanced down at his hand on her arh his head and he was flooded with panic “Is this about us? Is this about this kiss?”

Darn it He knew he’d handled things badly—probably closest to a horrownwomen

But he’d never kissed a girl like Phoebe He’d never kissed a girl who’doff outside were actually part of him He’d never wanted to continue a kiss ht But it had been an iement

So why couldn’t he get it out of his head?

Phoebeto do with the kiss” She sounded exasperated, and a little bit sad “It’s just a whole other part of my life that I’m just not ready to deal with”

Matteo pulled back a little “Phoebe, what is going on? Is so?” Theto do with that? It was a how instantly protective he still felt about her

She took a deep breath and he let his hand fall froood idea “No, it’s nothing like that”