''I Do''...Take Two! by Merline Lovelace Read Free Book Online Page A

for one, followed by a tour of their engine manufacturing facility.”
    â€œI need ten minutes. How about we catch you before the meet and greet?”
    â€œWho’s we?”
    He shot a glance through the double doors of the breakfast room. The sunlight pouring through the windows made a golden nimbus of Kate’s hair. With her creamy skin and classic features, she could have posed for one of the Renaissance masters whose paintings filled Florence’s museums.
    Before he could answer, Ellis connected the dots. “You dog! You convinced your wife to take you back?”
    â€œI’m working on it.”
    â€œThen by all means, let’s get together in Modena.”
    â€œGreat. See you a little before one.”
    Pocketing the phone, he strolled back to his curious wife. “If you don’t mind putting Florence on hold for another day, there’s someone I want you to meet.”
    â€œThe phantom Carlo?”
    â€œNo, a guy named Brian Ellis. He and Carlo and I... Well...”
    â€œI know, I know. You can’t talk about it.”
    â€œEllis is visiting the Maserati factory in Modena this afternoon. It’s just north of Bologna, about a hundred klicks from here, autostrada all the way. We could get there and back in time to watch the sun set over the Arno.”
    Kate arched a brow. “First a Ferrari, now a factory full of Maseratis. You’re coming up in the world, Westbrook.”
    â€œCould be,” he muttered under his breath as he reclaimed both his seat and his coffee. “Most definitely could be.”
    Kate didn’t catch the low comment. His mention of Bologna had triggered something in her memory cells. The city hadn’t made her must-see list. Not surprising, with everything Rome and Florence and Milan had to offer a first-time visitor, but it might be worth a short visit.
    â€œYou order breakfast,” she instructed Travis, “while I check out what else there is to see in Bologna and Modena besides Maseratis.”
    A bunch, she discovered after a quick search on her iPhone. The city of Bologna dated back more than three thousand years. With its central location smack-dab in the middle of the Italian boot, it had survived and flourished under subsequent waves of Etruscans, Celts, Romans and medieval lords.
    â€œBologna’s home to the oldest university in the world,” she informed Travis, “founded in 1088.”
    â€œBeats UMass by about eight hundred years.”
    â€œIt’s also famous for its arched walkways,” she read. “They run for more than thirty-eight kilometers, connecting the largest historical city center in Italy. The porticoes are actually included on the UNESCO World Heritage list of significant historical, cultural or geographical landmarks.”
    â€œWho knew?” Travis commented with a grin.
    Certainly not Kate. Fascinated, she Googled away while he ordered an omelet for himself, a fresh fruit cup and a toasted bagel for her.
    The order stilled her flying fingers. He knew her so well, she thought with a gulp. Her breakfast routine. Her love affair with classical music, which he’d struggled so valiantly—and unsuccessfully—to share. He also sympathized with her ferocious battle to keep the ten pounds she’d gained since their first meeting from inching up to fifteen, twenty. Not that he’d minded the extra padding. That time in Vegas, when he’d peeled off her bra and panties and slicked his tongue over...
    Whoa! This wasn’t the time or the place to think about where his tongue had gone. Heart hammering, Kate went back to working the phone’s tiny keyboard.
    â€œAha!”
    â€œAha?” Travis echoed, shooting up a brow. “Does that carry the same connotation as ‘gadzooks’?”
    â€œI wouldn’t know. I don’t read comic books, like some people do.”
    â€œMore than some. Google ‘manga’ and see how far back