The Perfect Someday (A standalone novel ~ Book three in The Mathews Family) by Beverly Preston Read Free Book Online

waving, giving her a thumbs up through the darkening shadows of the evening sky. Tracy waved back, giving her sister two thumbs up.
    Folding her arms across her chest, she strummed her fingers against the crook of her arm, contemplating if she should explain the name switch.
    “I get two thumbs up?”
    A mocking whisper tickled her ear . She jumped letting out a squeal. His arms eased around her from behind and he rested his chin on her shoulder.
    “ She’s just checking to make sure I’m okay. You definitely get two thumbs up,” she acknowledged through dry lips.
    His breath fell over her bare shoulder, setting off a tightening in her lower stomach. “Does she need to check on you often?”
    Tracy knew what he implied. Giovanni questioned if this was their routine. As much as Italian men were notorious for preying on foreign women, American women were known for living it up in Italy.
    She shook her head. “ It’s always the other way around. I’m always the one who has to check on her.”
    His arms constricted a little tighter, swaying to music playing in the distance. Closing his hand around the heavy mass of her hair, he moved it aside, placing a kiss on the spot on her neck where her pulse ripped through her veins.
    “Are you comfortable her e? With me?” He added kissing her neck as he spoke. His mouth took forever to move up the side of her neck to the tender spot behind her ear. “Or would you like to head back to the reception?”
    She twisted her neck trying to get closer. Her chin fell to her shoulder, laying her forehead against the mask at his temple. “No, I don’t want to go back.”
    “Fantastico.” He said exuberantly, releasing her from his arms and shrugging out of his jacket.
    She half-heartedly hoped he was going to remove his shirt next, but merely watched as he spread his suit coat on top of a sandy area. He reached for her fingers, assisting her to the ground. The jacket made for a small makeshift sitting area, so she stretched out her legs, extending her feet to the sand. Tracy arranged her dress, smoothing the cotton fabric over her mid-thigh while Giovanni filled their glasses. He sat beside her, relaxing back on one elbow and crossing his bare feet at the ankles.
    “I would’ve brought a blanket,” h e stated apologetically.
    T he cool evening air wafted over her heat-flushed skin and she shuddered. “I take it you come here often?”
    “No.” He smiled gazing toward the city lights that began to illuminate the hillside, cascading a diversity of colors upon the whitewashed houses.
    Tracy shot him a playful look of absolute doubt, nursing another drink. The wine slipped down her throat warming her chest.
    “My family used to come here to visit when I was a boy. We used to sneak up over the rocks,” he scrunched his shoulders in a skulking manner, tipping his glass back and forth as if he were tip-toeing, “and steal glances at the lovers who came here at sunset.”
    Her eyes shifted above the outline of boulders beyond his shoulders, in search of mischievous boys waiting to catch an eyeful. The feel of his fingers looping through the waves in her hair brought her attention back to Giovanni.
    Somewhere hidden beneath the billowy grey clouds gathering in his eyes, laid an invitation, an offer she wanted to accept.
    Her pulse hammered hard , drowning out the background music, voices of laughter, and waves crashing below. His masculine features deepened under the night sky. The narrow black mask accentuated the white of his eyes and smile.
    She heard him say, “Tell me what else you find fascinating,” as she leaned in, silencing his words with a kiss.
    Witho ut relinquishing her lips, Giovanni raised from his elbow sitting upright, deepening the kiss. She held her position, tugging gently on the silky fullness of his lower lip. His fingers thread through her hair, tenderly clasping the base of her skull. He parted her lips and Tracy opened, savoring the oaky flavor of his heat