Lily was on vacation.
As she drove through the Italian countryside her thoughts wandered with the freedom of a traveler. Her life at home was flavored by monotonous ritual.
She propped her chin in her hand and let out a sigh that was at odds with the golden light spilling around her. While she loved her veterinary practice in San Diego, it didnât offer the challenges she seemed to be yearning for. Even her last boyfriend had sensed it in her.
Lily remembered lying spread-eagled on her bed, with Derrick working on her with his tongue for over an hour before giving up. Flipping her over, heâd quickly fucked her doggy style as he growled in her ear, âWell, I guess you can just satisfy yourself if youâre not going to let me do it.â
He had stormed off after that and she hadnât heard from him since. The passion she once felt for him was missing, and she just couldnât fake it for him. She couldnât even muster up the energy to try to win him back. She let his memory go with an inward shrug.
When her old college acquaintance, Gianna, had e-mailed her from Italy asking when she was finally going to come for a visit, Lily figured it was time to take a much-needed vacation. She would be thirty next year, and if she didnât do it now she was afraid that she would wake up one morning and find she had never done anything impulsive or out of the ordinary.
She probably never thought I would actually book a ticket and get my butt out here, Lily thought to herself. She grabbed the map off the seat beside her and quickly scanned it again. The turn should be coming up at any moment. Sure enough, in a few hundred yards Lily saw a faded wooden signpost along the dusty dirt road.
Casa Liberta, it read. Here we go, thought Lily, my home for the next two glorious weeks. She guided the car onto the even smaller rutted track leading off the main road. It snaked up a small hill, and when Lily crested the ridge she caught her breath in surprise. Before her was spread a gorgeous Tuscan hillside bathed in the soft yellow of grain and the dusky greens of foliage. Tucked into the side of the hill was an old three-story house complete with wooden doors and stone masonry. A path led from the back of the villa down to a lovely azure pool with a scattering of teak loungers around it. The water looked cool and shimmery in the warmth of the late afternoon.
Lily hadnât even finished parking the car before her hostess raced out through the front door, calling her name. Gianna was an energetic bundle, barely five foot three, with perfectly straight, jet-black hair that came down past her shoulders. Her dark-chocolate eyes were sparkling with excitement as she clasped her hands together in front of her ample chest.
âLila! Lila! Iâm so glad you have finally arrived! We have been waiting all afternoon for youâyou have kept us on pins and splinters,â Gianna cried.
Lily grinned. She remembered Giannaâs pet name for her, a result of a too loud jukebox upon their first meeting. Lily hadnât the heart to correct Gianna for two weeks after theyâd met, and when she finally explained her name was Lily and not Lila, it was too late. The name Lila was stuck in Giannaâs head, and Lila she would be.
âItâs pins and needles, silly, not pins and splinters,â she said with a laugh. Gianna grasped her by the upper arms and pulled her into an embrace, soundly kissing her on both cheeks. Lily was surprised at how beautiful her friend had become over the years. Her college awkwardness had evaporated and left a sultry, coy beauty in its place. Her lush curves combined with her small-boned frame left one thinking of the great Italian beauty, Sophia Loren.
âOh, you are so beautiful, so American with your blonde hair! I forget it is this color!â Gianna squealed, driving her soft hands into Lilyâs mass of long curls. âThe boys will love you, I make no mistake. And I think you will love the boys, too, no? They are very nice boys.â Gianna winked, her hands lingering at the nape of Lilyâs neck.
Confused, Lily glanced over Giannaâs shoulder and saw that two men had just walked out the open doorway. Lily caught herself staring. Boys? Surely Gianna was kidding, because these two were both all-man. Trying to determine which one was more attractive, she began a mental checklist. Number One was tall and lean, at least six foot four, with shoulder-length dark hair and a broad, sensual mouth.
Lily liked a man with a nice mouth.
Number Two was about four inches shorter, but with bulging biceps and shoulders.