Summer in Sorrento by Melissa Hill Read Free Book Online

hungry this evenin g— otherwise Camilla was going to be completely unforgiving if another dish was wasted on him.
                  The kitchen door opened shortly thereafter, and Jacob entered.  His eyes quickly darted around the room, assessing the situation and finally fell on Camilla, who was all but preening under his gaze .“ Welcome back Jacob ,” she smiled sweetly.  “ You have great timing.  We are just finishing dinner.  I hope you are hungry now . ”
                  Jacob instinctively put a hand over his stomach and Camill a’ s eyes followed, no doubt imagining taut six-pack abs.  For a moment however, he looked poised to decline the invite, but then Maia spoke.
                  “ I hope you know i t’ s bad luck to turn down the culinary efforts of an Italian woman two times in a row ,” she said over her shoulder.  “ If your family is Italian that should be part of your genetic makeup . ”
                  Jacob opened his mouth to probably argue that point, but then he shut it again and provided them both with an unexpected, but incredibly handsome, smile.  It was n’ t the first time they saw him smile, but it was the first time that it looked genuine.              He put up his hands, signalling defeat.  “ I think you might be right Maia.  I surrender.  And yes I’ ll eat.  Sorry, sitting down for dinner is n’ t something that I think about a lot.  I have n’ t eaten since I was on the plane, and that was n’ t much . ”
                  Camilla looked confused.  “ How on earth do you not think about eating? And you call yourself Italian? Now go, sit . ”
                  Jacob did as he was told, taking a seat at the kitchen table.  After considering Mai a’ s offer of a beverage and settling on a Peroni, because he said h e“ needed it ,” he sat back in his chair, and rolled up the sleeves of the white dress shirt he was wearing. 
                  “ Thanks ,” he said, taking a sip of the beer from the bottle.  He swallowed and took a deep breath.
                  Maia went about setting the table for six, anticipating that all of her guests would eventually sit down and eat at some point.
                  “ Been a bit of a hard day then ?” Maia commented off-handedly, hoping she was n’ t overstepping her boundaries.
                  But he appeared to be a bit more relaxed than he had been earlier.
                  “ Understatement of the year.  Kind of throws your life out of whack, when you wake up one morning and all is normal, but by the end of the day you are on a flight to Italy.  Not the best time honestly, and i t’ s hard for me to get away even when I plan a trip for months . ”
                  Maia nodded politely.
      “ So is it your job then? The reason you do n’ t think about eating ?” Camilla asked, unconcerned about protocol.
    Though Maia agreed he seemed like your typical New Yorker, fast, urgent-minded, short of time.
                  “ I suppose you could say that. I’ m a hedge fund manager . ”
                  “ Wall Street ?” Maia asked.
                  He ran a lazy hand through his hair.  “ Yes. Go ahead, you can cast the stereotypes out there right now.  I do n’ t mind . ”
                  She smiled and shook her head.  “ Not my style . ”
                  Camilla placed a bottle of sparkling water on the table.  “ So you had to leave New York fast then ? ”
                  Jacob shrugged.  “ If I’ m being honest, I was n’ t going to come at all but I was receiving pressure from a persistent female to do the right thing. And like you said Maia, i t’ s not wise to argue with Italian women . ”
                  Camill a’ s eyes darted to Jaco b’ s left