A Little Holiday Temptation by Janice Sims Read Free Book Online

“It’s not like I’m jumping into bed with every man who shows interest,” she said in her defense. “You know how inexperienced I am.”
    “I know your only experience was a negative one and you’re not going to fully appreciate how truly bad it was until you have a good encounter with a man who knows what he’s doing in bed. Then, what Jack Russo did to you will feel like a slight glitch in your very satisfying love life. Oh, sorry, we aren’t supposed to be saying his name. Jack Russo, Jack Russo, Jack Russo. By saying his name you take some of the power out of it. You know the only reason he dropped you was because he had that actress waiting in the wings and she had more money and clout than you. I hate it when bastards like that just run over a woman’s feelings. You know, if I had been anywhere in the vicinity he would be missing his most vital organ right now.”
    Ana giggled. “Matteo must be sleeping very hard not to react to that comment.”
    Sophia giggled, too. “Yeah, he’s out. Your nephew had both of us up late last night.”
    “Oh, I’m sorry for interrupting your much needed rest. What was wrong with my nephew?”
    “Teething,” said Sophia. “Breast-feeding is becoming dangerous.”
    Ana sighed sympathetically. “Thinking of switching him to a bottle?”
    “I’m going to have to,” said Sophia. “Besides, according to his doctor he’s gotten all the good nutrients from breast milk that he needs at six months.”
    Remembering the conversation about firstborns not accepting new sisters and brothers, Ana said, “How is Renata handling being a big sister?”
    “She loves him, calls him her baby,” said Sophia. She yawned again.
    “Look, I’d better let you go,” said Ana. “I just wanted to hear a calm voice.”
    “And you called me? ” joked Sophia. “Mom is the only one with a calm voice in this family.”
    “Don’t mention our conversation to them, okay? I’ll tell them when the time’s right.”
    “You are coming home for Christmas?” asked Sophia.
    Ana always went home for Christmas, which was celebrated with all the trimmings by the Corellis.
    “I don’t know yet,” Ana said truthfully. “With these new developments in my life I might want to go somewhere romantic with my man.” The thought excited her. “I’ll have to let you know.”
    “Now you sound like the idea of you and Erik as a couple is taking root,” Sophia told her, pleased with the confidence in her sister’s voice. “Okay, sis, talk to you later.”
    “Love you,” said Ana.
    “Love you!” Sophia replied.
    Ana hung up the phone and got up. She glanced at the clock on the nightstand. It was nearly three. She and Erik were going to dinner at eight. She had plenty of time to work on a painting before getting dressed for their date.
    She’d changed her clothes upon entering the loft and now she was in comfortable sweats and an oversize T-shirt. In thick white socks she padded over to her “studio”—a section of the loft next to two floor-to-ceiling windows, which let in a lot of natural light.
    Although she had finished all of the paintings that were to be included in the upcoming show, she invariably had a work in progress on the easel. She removed the cloth and peered down at the half-finished portrait of Drusilla. She had sketched Drusilla so many times she knew every line and plane of her beloved face. Drusilla had never been a large woman. Not even five feet tall, she was also small boned. Because of her age, the skin on her face was thin and the bones were sharply delineated. Ana noticed things like that. Her artist’s eye adored the bone structure of human beings. That’s why she felt most comfortable painting portraits. She did some landscapes, too, but not many. Nothing was more beautiful to her than the human form. In Italy, when she first started taking lessons, her instructor had encouraged her to study anatomy. He gave her a battered copy of Grey’s Anatomy and she had