The Villa

Stop thinking of yourself as a reflection of what a man saw in you, andbe. I asked you if it bothered you that people will talk. I wish you'd said the hell with people. Let them talk. It's time you gave them something to talk about.

Just because I did the proposing doesn't mean I don't want a ring." "Yeah, yeah, I'll get to it." "I'll pick it out." "No, you won't." "Why not? I'm the one who'll be wearing it." "You're the one wearing your face, too, but you didn't pick that out, either." On a sigh, she knelt beside him. "That makes absolutely no sense." But she tipped her head onto his shoulder as he worked. "When I came here I was scared and angry. Now I'm scared, angry and happy. It's better," she decided. "A lot better.

Exactly." Taking his time, he rose, pulled her to her feet. "You're really stuck on me, aren't you?" "Stuck?" Her mouth would have fallen open if she hadn't been so busy sneering. "Please. You'll embarrass yourself." "Crazy about me." He slipped his arms around her, chuckling when she pushed against his chest and arched away. "I saw you today, more than once, standing at the window looking at me." "I don't know what you're talking about. I might have looked out the window." "Looking at me," he continued, slowly drawing her against him. "The way I was looking at you. Wanting me." He nuzzled gently at her neck. "The way I was wanting you. And more." His lips brushed her cheek as she turned her head away. "There's more than the wanting between us.

I don't need you by my side. But I want you there. Very much want you there. That, I think, says more. Means more." He took the hand she held out to him. "We'll go down. James should be here soon

I'm not your father." He cupped a hand under her chin. He saw the tears brimming, and her valiant attempt to hold them off. "And neither are you. My being there for you, taking some of the weight doesn't make you weak. It doesn't make you less, Sophie.

Welcome to my dungeon. It's not much," Linc said as he cleaned off a chair for her. "But… it's not much." He dumped the files and books on the floor. "The nice thing about starting at the bottom is, you can't get any lower." "If I'm a good boy, I'll get my own stapler

When he pressed his lips to her heart, she wanted to weep.

He stopped at the base of the steps, turned her. "You're a good daughter." With a casual tap of his finger, he tipped up her chin. "And not a half-bad person, as people go." "Oh, I can be bad. If he hurts her, David's going to find out just how bad I can be." "I'll hold him down, you skin him." "That's a deal.

Kids are still up," David commented, noting the guest house was lit up like a Vegas casino. "I'll have to kill them." "Yes, I've noticed what a terrifying and brutal father you are. And how your children fear you." He slanted her a look. "I wouldn't mind seeing the occasional tremble out of them." "I think it's way too late for that. You've gone and raised two happy, well-adjusted kids

She chose a bottle of sauvignon blanc from the kitchen rack and uncorked it. "These are trying times. There have been others, and there will be more." She poured three glasses. "It's essential that we live while we move through them.

He meant what he'd said about taking her home. His home. When she didn't argue the point, he figured she was more shaken than she'd admitted.

Because," he continued, skimming his fingers over her cheek, "I'm as crazy about you as you are about me. That shut you up, didn't it? It's time, Sophia, we started dealing with it instead of dancing around it.

Tyler, I can recommend a good therapist. There's absolutely no shame in seeking help for mental instability." "I'll keep it in mind. God knows I haven't been clear in the head since I got tangled up with you. We can make an appointment together, after you move in." "I'm not moving in with you." "Yes, you are.

She was trembling, and so was he. Like the first time, he thought. For her. For him. And just as terrifying and tremendous. The late winter sun was a white wash of light through the windows. In the silence of the house he could hear every catch of her breath. When he skimmed his fingers lightly over her, she was all soft skin and quivers. "Smooth. Warm. Beautiful.

Well." Eli cleared his throat. He didn't have to talk to Tyler about the ways and means of sex. Thank Christ. He'd done that deed years before. His grandson was a grown man, who knew about the birds and bees, and about responsibility. But… "Holy hell, Ty. You and Sophie." "It just happened," he said again. "I guess it shouldn't have, and I guess I should tell you it won't happen again.

Appreciate it." David headed toward the door, paused. "Listen, would you let me know if she gets… if she starts to get a crush on you. It's probably normal, but I'd like to head it off if it veers that way." "It's not like that. I think I'm more big brother, maybe uncle material. But your boy's got a champion crush on Sophie." David stared. Blinked. Then rubbed his hands over his face. "Missed that one. I thought it came and went the first week. Hell." "She can handle it. Nothing she does better than handle the male of the species. She won't bruise him." "He manages to bruise himself." He thought of Pilar, and winced

Tyler tested it himself and found he agreed with her. "We'll let it age a bit. A lot of things become what they're meant to if you leave them alone awhile." "Is that philosophy I hear?" "You want an opinion, or just somebody to agree with you?" "I guess wanting both was expecting too much." "There you go.

. "I should be home by midnight." "Dad, I need a car." "Uh-huh. And I need a villa in the south of France. Go figure. Lights out at eleven," he added as he turned away. "I've got to have wheels,

You got suggestions for me, Cutter?” “The first might be taking the chip from your shoulder and the stick from your ass, then we can build a campfire with them and have a couple of beers.” “Add yours and we could have a hell of a blaze.

Who buys a minute’s mirth to wail a week?

Venice was a woman, la bella donna, elegant in her age, sensual in her watery curves, mysterious in her shadows. The first sight of her, rising over the Grand Canal with her colors tattered and faded like old ballgowns, called to the blood. The light, a white, washing sun, would sweep over her and lose itself like a wanderer in her sinuous veins, her secret turns. Here

This'll do it. Can you see Tereza and Maddy over there getting pedicures and arguing." "Mmm," Sophia mused. "They disagree about the name for the beauty products we don't even have yet. I don't know if it's Maddy or the concept, but it's boosted Nonna's morale.

Linc's head came up at the knock on the door. "Somebody ordered a stripper, right? I knew you guy's wouldn't let me down." "It's the pizza." Theo leaped up. "More pizza? Theo, you can't possibly want more pizza." "Sure I can," he shouted over his shoulder to his father. "Ty said I could." "I said he could order it for me. He inhaled the last order." Linc sent Tyler a sorrowful look. "You couldn't arrange for a stripper to deliver the pizza?" "They were all out of strippers. Shriners' convention." "Likely story. Well, I hope he got pepperoni at least.

As she spoke, as she looked out over the garden, Pilar ran a hand absently over Maddy's hair, left it lying on her shoulder. The gesture made everything inside the girl go warm. And made her sigh. "What's wrong?

Her mother would be married by then, and just back from her honeymoon. Maddy and Theo would be her brother and sister, and back in school. She would be planning her own wedding, though she'd pressured Tyler not to announce their engagement yet.

Maybe I'm old-fashioned," she repeated, "in this one area. I don't think we should live together. I think we should get married." "That's just another…" The words sank in, momentarily dulled his brain. "Whoa." "Yes, and with that scintillating response

If he goes after Sophia's father right after the divorce, then everybody knows he's whacked out over it." She'd spent some time analyzing it, running theories. "Like if I want to get Theo for something, I sit back, wait, figure out how to hit him best. Then when I do, he's not expecting it and doesn't even know why he's getting it." She nodded. "It's scientific, and lots more satisfying." "The kid's a genius," Ty commented.

Health and beauty. What next? "Look, kid, I make wine, not skin cream.

When she was settled in the car beside Tyler, Maddy folded her hands on her lap. "I've got two things I want to ask you." "Sure. Shoot." "If I were, like, ten years older and had actual breasts, would you go for me?" "Jesus, Maddy." "I don't have a crush on you or anything. I sort of did when we first moved here, but I got over it. You're too old for me, and I'm not ready for a serious relationship, or sex." "Damn right you're not." "But when I am ready, I want to know if a guy would go for me. Theoretically.