Thunderstruck-Steamy Romance Novel by Salty Vixen

It was too late by the time she realized she should have crossed the street and walked down the other side. Music from the pool hall blared and rapidly seeped into her head, clouding her thoughts. She could smell cigarette smoke and looked up to see it almost billowing out the open doors. Taking a deep breath, she kept walking, holding her portfolio case tightly in her right hand. Her feet hurt, and she just wanted to get home and take off her new, but cheap, heels. Maybe they wouldn’t see her, she prayed, but she knew they would. The building had two doors leading into its smoky depths, and she knew she could make it past the first one easily, but if she passed the second one without detection, it would be a miracle. Quickly, she moved in front of the glazed windows, trying to pass as if she were a shadow.

“Hey, Baby,” a voice yelled out from behind her. “Woo, Darlin’, why don’t you slow down and come back here. Show Johnny whatcha got under that skirt.”

She kept walking, almost making it to the second door. In an instant, two guys were out the door and on the sidewalk, blocking her way.

“Where ya going, sweet thing?” one asked with a lewd smile on his face.

She took a deep breath and stared at them. “I’m going home; now please get out of my way.”

He looked at his counterpart and smiled. “Hear that, Joe? She thinks we’re in her way.” Looking back at her, he smiled, making her stomach turn. “There’s lots of room on this sidewalk; why don’t you just pass?”

The other guy laughed. “Yeah, Honey, why don’t you just pass right here between us. We’ll make sure you make it through safely. It’s a fun game to play.”

Her knuckles went white around the handle of her case. She was tired and already feeling like hell since once again her design ideas had been shot down by someone who was claimed in the business to know what is good versus bad. Right now, she didn’t need these Neanderthals and their stupid games.

“Better yet,” she said boldly. “Why don’t you boys just go back into the pool hall and play with yourselves?”

“You’ve got a pretty big mouth for such a little body,” the taller one said. “Maybe Joe and I need to show you a thing or two you can do with that big mouth besides shooting it off.”

“Maybe you and Joe should do as the lady asked and return to the pool hall,” a voice from behind her said, startling her.

She turned her head to see who was behind her. The voice came from a man who was average height but had muscular shoulders like a linebacker. His dark hair was cropped short and neat, and his suit was well-cut and expensive looking, making him look out of place in this part of town. She turned back just in time to see the two men who were blocking her way disappear back into the pool hall.

He walked up to her side, not looking at her but at the pool hall door. “Maybe if you walk down this street a lot, you should walk on the other side,” he suggested. His voice was deep and smooth.

“I usually do,” she said, defending herself needlessly. “I just wasn’t thinking today, that’s all.”

“Good,” he said, stuffing his hands in his pockets and turning to her. “I’m sure they’re quite harmless, but just to be on the safe side, how about avoiding them in the future?”

“Thank you for your help,” she said and then started walking away. She wasn’t in the mood for a lecture and certainly didn’t need one from a stranger.

“That’s it? Thank you for your help?”

She stopped and turned around, noticing that he hadn’t moved or changed positions. “What am I supposed to do? Pledge my undying gratitude to you for saving me from a couple of guys who are harmless? I was taking care of myself just fine when you stepped in.”

He smiled. “Yes, of course you were.”

“I was!” she said, walking back towards him. He was smiling at her–humouring her. She stopped right in front of him. “I’m more than capable of taking care of myself, thank-you-very-much!”

“I don’t doubt that,” he said, still smiling at her. There was fire behind her deep blue eyes, and the fall breeze was blowing her long ash blonde hair over her face, and she seemed to be desperately trying to keep it out of her eyes.

“Well?” she asked impatiently. “What was it that I forgot to do? I’m assuming thanking you wasn’t enough.”

“How about telling me your name?” he asked sincerely.

“Kelly McInnis,” she said proudly. “And your name would be?”

“Tony Sicumera,” he said, holding out his hand. He was surprised when she took it and by what a firm handshake she had.

“Great,” she said, letting go of his hand. “So, Tony, can I go now?”

“You’re free to go anytime you want, Kelly,” he said, hoping she wouldn’t. There was something about her spirit that excited him. “But I was wondering if you wanted to grab something to eat, or do anything else.”

Kelly eyed him suspiciously. “The hookers hang out two streets over; I think you overshot your destination.”

Tony laughed hard and then tried to compose himself. “I’m well aware of the layout in this neighbourhood, thank you,” he said, trying not to laugh again.

She set her portfolio down between her legs, holding it with her knees. She buttoned up her jacket against the cooling September breeze and then asked, “How do you know about this neighbourhood? You don’t really strike me as one of the locals.”

“Neither do you,” he said honestly. She looked too fresh–too clean of the drugs and alcohol that seemed to affect those who got stuck here. “How do you know this neighbourhood?”

“You answered my question with a question,” she stated. “I hate that.”

“If you’ll join me for something to eat, I’ll tell you the whole sordid story,” he said. “My car is parked just across the road.”

Kelly looked at him. He was definitely attractive, and she was hungry. She’d taken the afternoon off work to meet with someone she had hoped would hire her as a junior fashion designer, but it didn’t pan out. Now she’d lost half a day’s pay with nothing to show for it and no promises of things to come.

“Okay,” she said, picking up her portfolio. “But just so you know, I’m not having sex with you in your car.”

She started across the street, and Tony smiled and ran to keep up to her. “Good,” he called out. “I just had the upholstery cleaned.”

The waitress dropped off their drinks and a basket of hot breadsticks, promising to return shortly to take their food order, and then quickly disappeared.

“Do you come here a lot?” Kelly asked, reaching for a hot, crusty breadstick.

“Sometimes,” Tony said. “I like it because it’s usually fairly quiet and I can think. Plus, they have the most amazing breadsticks I’ve ever tasted.” He reached for one and smiled at her. “Tell me about yourself.”

She swallowed and then took a sip of water. “You first.”

He laughed and broke open the breadstick, smearing the end with thick butter. “What would you like to know?”

“How about why someone like you knows that neighbourhood.”

“I was born and raised in the area.” She looked surprised, and he smiled and then continued. “My parents were hard working, blue collar employees. We were brought up fairly strictly. My father didn’t take anyone talking back to him, except maybe my mother but not in front of us. He wasn’t abusive, but we all knew who wore the pants in the family, and we might not have respected him then, but I know I do now. We didn’t know we were poor because we were exactly like those around us. We were well fed and kept as neat as my mother could possibly keep three rambunctious boys. Both of my parents were on piecework at the Grambone factory–which is the one that manufactures automotive parts. They worked on different shifts so they wouldn’t have to pay for someone to watch us.” He looked at her and smiled. She had stopped eating, listening intently to him. It seemed so easy for him to talk to her, and he wondered why. “We were taught that if you didn’t have an education, then you were nothing. Schooling and church were always top priority, and you missed neither unless you were on your deathbed–and then you’d still need a pardon from my father.”

Kelly smiled, broke off another piece of bread, and nibbled on it while he continued to talk. She liked the look in his eyes–they were kind and gentle and somewhat reflective right now. His movements were sure, elegant, and not like those of anyone she had ever met. After listening to him and watching, she never would have guessed where he had come from. He looked tough, but she decided that his looks were deceiving.

The waitress, true to her word, returned and took their order. Kelly, as hungry as she was, felt almost annoyed by the intrusion because she was enjoying listening to him. When the waitress left, Kelly looked at Tony, and he continued.

“Our lives seemed to revolve around bettering ourselves. My parents had dreams for all of us–they wanted us to be more than they were. It’s funny how we didn’t see it then–I know I didn’t. I saw it as them trying to control my life, and all I wanted to do was rebel against them, my father especially. I spent three years as an altar boy, getting teased by some of my friends who were allowed to run free and wild. I hated them for their freedom. Luckily for me, my best friend then, and now, was also an altar boy, so we had safety in small numbers. We were definitely the toughest guys in robes around.” He stopped and smiled at her. “Had enough yet?”

“Not even close,” she whispered, completely intrigued by the man in front of her.

“Well, I did rebel as much as I could without getting caught, and that’s not to say I didn’t get caught. My father would have killed me had he found out some of the pranks my friends and I were pulling. We’d sneak out at night and then spend it prowling around. Sometimes there’d be fights. I tried to avoid them, but occasionally I’d get suckered into one. My temper was a lot quicker then than it is now, and sometimes it didn’t take much to get me going.”

“Is that how you got that scar?” she asked, nodding towards the small, thin scar on his left temple.

“Very observant of you,” he said and then took a sip of his coffee. “Most guys left me alone. I wasn’t the tallest guy in our pack, but I was definitely the biggest and most intimidating. I hated fighting, still do–never had any use for it because it proves nothing. Unbeknownst to my friends, I spent most of my spare time reading. I read a couple of books a week, just soaking them in. I’d read them over and over again to the point where I could almost recite them from memory.” He smiled at her again, loving the look of intrigue on her face. “Bored yet?”

“Keep trying,” she said, smiling back.

“I remember my mother from those days so clearly. She loved classical music and played it constantly on the record player. Most of the records started to skip from being played so much.” He smiled warmly, thinking of his mother. “Eventually I found myself enjoying it too, humming along and sometimes leading the orchestra with a pencil.” She laughed and he joined her. “My mother was beautiful. I don’t remember her getting mad much, but when she did–look out! That woman could swear in Italian like a sailor, and then she’d have to rush off to church and the confession booth.”

Kelly smiled, seeing the love in his eyes for his mother. The way he talked about both his parents, she assumed they were both deceased, but she didn’t want to ask.

He took another sip of his coffee. “We were all put through community college with a combination of government grants and a small college fund my parents had saved over the years. Each of us knew we were expected to succeed, and actually, by the time we hit college, we expected it of ourselves.”

“So you flew through school with honours and went out and got rich?” Kelly asked.

Tony laughed. “It wasn’t quite that easy, and unfortunately, I slipped a few times along the way.”

“How so?” Kelly asked, sitting back so the waitress could set down her food–an enormous hamburger with huge golden fries surrounding it. The hamburger was a masterpiece, decorated with thin tomato slices, curls of onions, and fresh crispy lettuce.

“I still wanted to be part of the old gang, and there were times when all I wanted to do was just hang out with the boys and drink–play pool, whatever was going down at the time. There were a couple of years that I’m not proud of, but I don’t dwell on them. I pulled myself up and worked hard, finding that I had a gift for numbers and a knack for being able to see into the future.”

“What do you do now?”

“Now I own Comdax Computer Systems–then I was a guy who worked hard for other people and played the stock markets–winning more than I lost. Because of my upbringing, I was smart with my money, invested well, and basically I was just lucky. I’m the first to admit that I’m where I am now because of a lot of luck.”

“I’m sure there is a little bit of hard work and skill in there too,” she said before finishing off a French fry.

“Maybe a tad,” he said, looking down at his untouched plate, unsure if he was still hungry.

“Comdax is pretty big, from what I understand.” The name was familiar to her as Comdax had huge and impressive offices downtown. A friend of hers worked for his company and had nothing but good things to say about it. She was impressed that the man behind the company was so down to earth.

“We’re big enough to compete with the best of them,” he said smiling, not really wanting to talk about the office. He picked at his club sandwich as he watched her eat. There was something about her that made him want to keep her with him, and yet he didn’t even know her. “So that’s pretty much my life in a nutshell.”

Kelly dipped her last fry into catsup. “Almost.”

“What did I forget?”

“What about now? Are you married? Kids?”

“Neither,” he said, picking up his pickle and biting the end off it.

“Divorced?”

“We Catholics try to avoid that,” he said smiling. “I’ve never married–never felt that colpo di tuono, as we Italians say.”

“Colpo what?” she said, laughing as she tried to repeat his words.

“Colpo di tuono–it’s an Italian saying, and it basically means thunderstruck. I’ve never met a woman who struck me like that, so I’ve never taken the plunge.”

“Will you ever?”

He smiled. “I hope one day for it to strike and hit me hard. Until then, I’m quite content with my life.” He bit into his sandwich and found that he really was quite hungry. After swallowing, he said, “Your turn.”

Kelly leaned back. “I’m afraid my life isn’t quite that interesting.”

“I’ll be the judge of that,” he said.

“When I was really young, probably three years old, we moved far outside the city limits, so I grew up in a rural area. We were middle class and very loved. I have two brothers and one sister, all older than I am. My father is a mechanic and my mother a secretary. I don’t remember times ever being really tough. I think we were sheltered from those things. It was easy being the youngest, I think, because by the time I was in my teens, my parents had been through so much with the others, they were worn out!” Tony laughed and smiled warmly at her. “I guess my teenage years are the most interesting, and that’s not saying much. There wasn’t a lot to do where we lived. The closest city was about an hour drive away so we didn’t get there much. When I went on dates, we’d go there to the drive-in theatre or to a local dance. Dances were big events around there–always one happening every weekend at a community center in the area, and they featured local bands. Often there would be a bunch of us who’d get together and go. There was a lot of socializing, dancing, and drinking. Sometimes we’d get pretty wild and live dangerously. Unfortunately, drinking and driving never bothered us–we were young and invincible, or so we thought. One morning I woke up to find that two of my friends had been killed the night before in a car accident. They hit a tree dead on, so to speak. It suddenly hit me: life is fragile–it was a rude awakening.”

She looked like she was getting lost in the past, and he smiled softly at her, reaching out and touching her hand. She didn’t move it, just looked up at him and continued with a sad, distant look in her eyes.

“From that point on, I became responsible and never drank and drove, not that I really did it before then. Unfortunately, not everyone had the same revelation I did. We lost more friends in the same manner, and it started to really get to me. The sadness was overwhelming, and I didn’t understand why people couldn’t see what was happening. I felt like I was growing up three years at a time and all of my friends were headed in the other direction. Life wasn’t a party anymore, to me anyway. I just wanted to escape, and I did. I went to college in the city where I studied fashion design for two years.”

“That’s interesting,” he commented, his fingertips gently rubbing the back of her hand.

“Fashion design?” Tony nodded, and she thought about it. “I guess so. I’ve always had a fascination with it; it’s a passion of mine. I used to design dresses for my dolls all the time, and I remember one morning, I woke up and found two little dresses on my bed my Mom had sewn for me. I was so excited to see my designs actually sewn together–they were so…real.” She smiled a distant smile, lost once again in the memories. “My Mom is such a beautiful person and has a heart of gold. Sometimes, she thinks she wasn’t there enough for us when we were younger, but it isn’t so. I know it wasn’t easy for her or my Dad, all us kids know that, but I never once felt alone or unloved.”

Tony watched her, and felt his heart pounding a little faster without a logical reason behind it. He didn’t interrupt her silence, but instead took the time to study her. He was curious about her age, as she appeared to be around twenty-five, if that. Again, he thought about her fresh look and decided it was from her country upbringing–a product of her loving environment.

“After college, I moved downtown and worked retail for a couple of years. It was great because the hours allowed me to design and try to get noticed. The pay really sucked, and I found that I couldn’t save enough money to put towards material and supplies for my outfits. About six months after that, I bit the bullet and moved, happy about the great reduction in my rent, but then I spent too much time on the bus commuting downtown to work. I applied at Warmstrom and immediately got a job working in the factory; I guess they were desperate for help.” She grinned at him and continued. “For a while, I felt better because at least I was kind of in the industry, not that running an industrial sewing machine eight hours a day is where I want to be. The money is a lot better, and I’ve been able to save some and have it available when I need it.”

“You didn’t seem shaken at all when those guys from the pool hall approached you. Why is that?” Tony reluctantly took his hand off hers, so he could finish his sandwich.

Kelly smiled; although, she was enjoying the feeling of his warm hand on hers and missed it when he pulled it away. “That’s easy. I used to fight with my brothers all the time. I was a tomboy, and I was able to hold my own with them. Maybe I’m too stupid to be scared, but guys like that don’t frighten me–they just annoy the hell out of me.”

Tony smiled, believing her answer to be nothing but truth. She didn’t look tough, not even close, but he believed that she probably could be pretty brutal when crossed.

“So what now?” he asked.

“So now I keep trying to break into the business. It’s a lot harder than I ever thought it would be, and sometimes that’s discouraging and other times it just ticks me off to no end and makes me try harder.”

He admired her for what she had just said. She struck him as a person who was strong-willed and would relentlessly go after what she wanted–she was probably stubborn as hell, too. At the same time, he was still trying to figure out how old she was. “How long have you lived where you are now?”

“I moved into the illustrious Caldwell Apartments two years ago, I guess.” She thought about her answer. “Yeah, I think that’s right. It was the only place I could find that was bug-free and didn’t give me the hebee-jebee’s.”

Tony laughed hard. Hebee-jebee’s–she was so cute. He decided that she was probably around twenty-eight, if he was following her history correctly.

The waitress stopped at their table and asked if they wanted dessert, handing them both a menu. Tony looked at his watch, shocked that they’d been talking for over three hours. He also realized that he had officially stood Lucy up for dinner and he didn’t care. He’d send her flowers and an apology note the next day. “I’d love some, if you have time,” he said, looking directly into Kelly’s eyes. He didn’t care about dessert; he just wanted to keep her with him for as long as he could.

“But of course!” she said, smiling as she studied the dessert menu. “I think I’ll try the Caramel Crunch,” she said.

“Make that two,” Tony said, handing his menu to the waitress.

“Why did you ask me out to eat?”

“Why did you say yes?”

“I hate when people answer a question with a question.”

“So you’ve mentioned,” he said smiling. “I guess because I found you rather interesting and I was hungry and didn’t feel like eating alone.”

“That’s my answer too,” she said smiling back.

The waitress set down their desserts and asked Tony if he wanted more coffee. He declined and then looked at Kelly and the huge piece of Caramel Crunch sitting in front of her. Luscious globs of caramel and pecans slowly dripped from the creamy pie, and his mind drifted as he watched her take a small piece onto her fork and put it between her lips.

“Mmmmm, this is wonderful,” she said, her tongue darting out to catch some caramel from her upper lip.

Tony tore his eyes away from her and tasted it, agreeing that it was indeed delicious. “What do you do for fun?”

“Design,” she stated simply.

“No boyfriend or such?”

Kelly smiled, wiping the corner of her mouth with her napkin. “No colpo-whatever here, either.”

“Colpo di tuono,” he said softly. “No colpo di tuono.”

“Exactly what I said.”

They stared at each other in silence, both comfortable with it for the moment. Tony felt himself losing ground and jolted back to reality.

“My aunt,” he said slowly, as he broke off another piece of pie, “owns Sicumera’s Dress Shop. Have you heard of it?”

“Really?” Kelly said, setting down her fork. “Yes, I’ve heard of it! Wow, she does amazing work. I remember walking by her shop everyday on the way to work, when I lived downtown. I used to look in the window and just stare in awe. I’m impressed.”

“So she is good then?”

Kelly laughed. “Yes! Geeze, Tony, she’s extremely good and very exclusive, I think.”

“Exclusive? I always thought she was just a slow sewer.” Kelly laughed and rolled her eyes. “Actually, she is very good and has made quite a name for herself. She’s always had talent, according to my Dad, and just needed that one big break,” he looked at her and smiled warmly. “Like you.”

“It’ll happen,” she said confidently. “It’s just a matter of time.”

“Aunt Rosa was almost forty by the time hers came.”

“Ahhhh,” Kelly moaned. “Thirteen more years and I’ll be there!”

Tony laughed but felt his heart sink. Twenty-seven–she had just confirmed it. She was twenty-seven and he was forty-four. He was saddened; although, he had already guessed her to be much younger than himself. She intrigued him, and he wanted more of her. He wished she was in her mid-thirties; then maybe they’d have a chance. Could he date someone so much younger than himself? He realized then he was making plans to pursue her and wondered when it had happened.

The waitress dropped off their bill and told them to have a nice evening.

“I guess she’s kicking us out,” he said, looking at the bill and dropping some money on top of it.

Kelly smiled, but inside she frowned. She had been having such a good time that she didn’t want it to end. Looking at her watch, she was shocked to see that it was after nine. Tomorrow was another day in the sweatshop, and she dreaded it. “I guess so,” she said.

Tony moved behind her chair and pulled it out, catching the fragrance of her hair as she stood in front of him. A wave rushed over his body, and he held the back of the chair for support. Something was happening, and he wasn’t entirely sure what it was, but it felt right.

He walked her up the three floors to her apartment, and when she stopped at door twenty-three, he wasn’t sure what to say.

“I had a wonderful time,” she said, looking into his dark brown eyes. They were almost the same height: he was perhaps an inch or two taller than she was. “Thank you for dinner.”

“It was my pleasure,” he said, smiling at her, not wanting her to disappear though the door. “Can I call you?” Damn–where did that come from?

She grinned. “I’d really like that. Do you have a pen?”

He fumbled in his pocket and pulled out a pen and a business card, handing them to her. She wrote her number on the back of the card and handed it to him along with his pen. “I’m usually home after six.”

“After six,” he repeated. “I suppose I should let you go to bed.”

“Probably a good idea since I have to work tomorrow,” she said; although, it wasn’t what she wanted. She wanted to talk to him all night, listen to his voice, and stare into his soft eyes. She wondered if he’d kiss her and then why a guy like him seemed interested in a girl like her.

“Oh, here,” he said, reaching back into his pocket and pulling out another business card. He scribbled something on the back and handed it to her. “In case you need to get a hold of me–that’s my home phone number on the back, and business and cell numbers are on the front.” He felt stupid as he stated the obvious. “Feel free to use any of them.” Or all of them, he said silently to himself.

“Thank you,” she whispered, wondering if she’d even have the nerve to call him.

“You’re welcome.”

They stared at each other, and then Tony reached for her hand and kissed the back of it. “Good night, Kelly,” he whispered.

“Good night,” she said and then turned and unlocked her door, disappearing behind it.

Tony walked down the hall a little and then stopped, leaning against the wall for support. His heart pounded and his mind raced.

Colpo di tuono.

“Thank you for the flowers, Darling, but I’m not sure they’re enough for standing me up,” Lucy’s soft voice purred over the phone.

“What’s it gonna take then?” Tony asked. The phone was wedged between his shoulder and ear as he desperately searched for a piece of paper on his desk.

“I’ll get back to you on that, but it’ll probably include a diamond or two.”

“Okay, just let me know,” Tony said, flipping over several files.

“You’re not even listening to me!”

“I am,” he said flatly. “Flowers not enough, you want jewelry.”

Lucy sighed at his lack of playfulness. “Fredrick called me this morning.”

“Yeah? How is old Freddie, anyway?” He pulled open his top drawer and started riffling through it.

“Fredrick is fine,” Lucy said, annoyed that Tony insisted on calling him Freddie. “He asked if I’d like him to be on my arm at the gallery exhibit on Saturday night.”

“Bingo!” Tony said, finding what he was looking for.

“Pardon?”

“Uh, nothing. So you’re going to let Freddie parade you around then?”

Lucy ignored him. “I am…unless you’d like to do the honours,” she said hopefully.

Tony fingered the piece of paper. “Actually, I am going, but I have a date already,” he lied. He hoped to have a date for it. He decided if he had to go to the boring event, he might as well be with someone he desperately wanted to be with. He wondered if he could be so cruel and take her to the exhibit. He’d been to what seemed like hundreds of them, just to appease Lucy, and always found himself bored to tears. Unfortunately, it didn’t seem to matter how much money he donated to the cause; Lucy still pouted if he didn’t attend.

Lucy was stunned and couldn’t think of anything to say other than, “Oh.”

“I met a woman,” he said, feeling the need to explain a little. “I’ve asked her to join me, so I guess I’ll see you Saturday night–you and Freddie, that is.”

“I guess so,” she said, unable to hide her disappointment. “Who is she? Do I know her? Where did you meet her?”

“I’ll tell you later; I’ve got another call coming in.”

“Okay, I’ll talk to you later,” she said. “Bye, Tony.” The connection broke before he had a chance to say good bye.

He sat back and stared at the phone number on the piece of paper in his hand, but he was thinking about Lucy. They had a strange relationship–a platonic one, although all the signs she gave him said she wanted more. He couldn’t give her more because it would be leading her on, and he had no intention of ever making their relationship anything more than it was. They were friends, companions–they “used” each other when they needed to show up somewhere with a date or were just looking for someone to have dinner with. He met Lucy because he had done business with her first husband. He’d seen her through a divorce and a second marriage, which also sadly ended in divorce. Right now, she was either between marriages or between divorces–he couldn’t figure out which.

His phone rang, startling him. “Sicumera,” he answered.

“Tony, it’s Joan.”

“Hi, Joan, what’s up?”

“Miller just called and cancelled the meeting for this afternoon and rescheduled for next Thursday at eleven. Are you free?”

Tony checked his book. “It’ll be a little tight, but let’s try it then–just make a note to kick me out of there by one o’clock for another meeting. Why did he cancel?” Miller Inc. was a small company that was struggling its way up the ranks, and Tony believed in them completely. He respected Jake Miller and his plans for his company’s future.

“One of their water mains exploded last night, and they had to swim to their desks this morning.”

“Good excuse,” Tony said, smiling but feeling bad for Jake. “Call him back, confirm Thursday, and see if they need any help–we could lend them some equipment since their computers are probably fried. Make sure the billing department knows they are not to be billed for anything we send them. Also, remind Jake that he owes me big time for pushing him to store his backups in outside storage.”

Joan laughed softly at her boss. It didn’t surprise her at all that Tony would jump right in to help out someone in need–she’d seen him do it a hundred times before. “Gotcha. Later, boss-man,” she said and hung up.

Before anyone else could call him, he dialed the number on the piece of paper still clasped in his hand. Tapping his fingers, he waited for someone to pick up the phone.

“Hello?” a groggy voice said.

He checked his watch; it was almost four-thirty. “How are you?”

“Tony?”

“Yes.”

“I’m doing okay.”

“You sound like I woke you up.”

“Yeah, I was just taking a nap before work.”

“You’re on nights now?”

“For two weeks, yeah.”

Tony looked out the window blankly. “Are you clean?”

“I am, I swear I am, Tony–I was just napping, really. I haven’t slipped, I promise.”

“Good,” Tony said, believing what he was being told. “Do you need anything?”

There was a silence at the other end. “It’s getting colder out, and the kids could use some warmer clothes. You should see them; they’re growing like weeds. Nothing from last year fits them; we checked yesterday.”

“I’ll deposit some money; make sure you get some things for yourself, too.”

“I will, thank you, Tony. If this job paid more, you know…I…”

“You’re welcome, and I think you’re doing a great job,” he said smiling. “You just do your part and send me the receipts from everything you’ve bought, okay?” It was his control. He didn’t give a damn how much each item cost–he just knew that drug dealers didn’t give receipts.

“Yes, of course.”

“Good. The money will be in your account tomorrow, and I’ll talk to you soon.”

“Thank you. I don’t know what we’d do without you, Tony.”

“Get some rest,” he said softly. “Bye for now.”

Once again, she took a chance and crossed in front of the pool hall, still surprised when she wasn’t approached by any of its fine patrons. She had passed it every day that week with no one stopping her–not even a whistle. She wondered why and then mentally shrugged–perhaps they were afraid of her now. The absurdity behind the thought cracked her up.

When she entered the lobby, she checked for mail and then ran up the stairs, taking two steps at a time. She released the two deadbolts and pushed her way into her door, which was sticking again. The phone rang as soon as she closed the door, and she pounced on it.

“Hello?”

His heart moved into his throat. “Kelly?” They’d been talking all week, and he didn’t understand why he still felt like a nervous schoolboy calling a girl in his class.

She smiled and dropped onto the couch. “Hi, Tony.” Since Monday, he had called her everyday at six o’clock, and they talked for an hour or so about everything and nothing. On Wednesday he had called her again around eight-thirty just to hear her voice.

“How are you? How was your day?”

“My day was long and boring, but it’s over, so now it’s wonderful, and I’m fine. How about you?”

He closed his eyes. “No casualties, and we’re not taking any prisoners, so it’s been the best day of this week.” He thought about that and then corrected himself. “No, wait, that’s not true because Monday was the best day this week–I lied.”

“Why was Monday better?” she asked, peeling off her jacket and then reaching out to stroke her cat, Sinbad, behind the ears.

“I met an incredible lady with an appetite like my own.”

She smiled, remembering how hungry she had been and how she had not left anything on her plate. She suddenly felt very bold. “Still have that appetite?”

“Always,” he said, laughing. “However, these days I have to work a little harder to get rid of the way my body handles it.”

Kelly smiled, thinking about how great he had looked and doubting he had to do much to stay in such great shape.

“Why do you ask?” he said, wondering why she had become silent.

“I was thinking about going wild and actually cooking a real meal tonight versus my usual soup, salad, or sandwich.” She sucked in her breath and quickly added, “And I was wondering if you’d join me.”

Tony pretended to check his daily planner, but he was actually staring out the window, excited by the thought of seeing her again but trying not to show it. “Looks like I’m free and you have yourself a dinner companion. I’d love to join you; thanks for the invitation.”

“Don’t thank me until after you’ve survived my cooking,” she said, laughing softly.

He laughed. “Can I bring anything?”

“Just yourself.”

“Time?”

“Oh…uh, anytime would be fine. We could chat while I’m cooking, if that appeals to you or if not then…”

“I’ll be there soon,” he said, politely cutting her off. He didn’t need to hear another option–there was only one.

They said good bye, and Tony pressed down the release button on the phone and dialed another number. He waited for the answering machine to go through its spiel as he shut down his computer.

“Hey, Marietta, it’s Tony. Something’s come up, and I’m going to have to bow out of the card game tonight. Give my regards to Massimiliano, and I’ll talk to you both soon.” He hung up, smiling at using Max’s full name–it would probably piss him off. Tony fully expected to receive a long-winded message on his machine telling him how much he hated being called that. Making Max mad had always been a hobby he had thoroughly enjoyed throughout his life, and he had no plans of stopping. Max was his best friend, confidant, companion, and mentor at times. There was very little they didn’t know about each other, and that was comforting–and a little scary, too.

He whistled as he grabbed his briefcase and headed out the door of his office. “Good night, Rachelle; don’t stay too late, and have a great weekend,” he said to his secretary.

Rachelle looked up from her monitor and smiled, telling him good night. After he left, she looked at her watch and was shocked to see it was only a quarter after six. She couldn’t remember a time when Tony had left for home before her.

She looked through the peephole, unlocked the deadbolts, and then, with all her strength, yanked open the door. “Hi!”

“Hi, yourself,” he said, a wave crashing down over him–she was prettier than he remembered. She was casually dressed in a pair of faded jeans and a pullover white sweater that formed around her curves. Her hair was in a long ponytail, giving her a very fresh and innocent look.

“Are you okay?” she asked, reaching out to touch his arm. “You look a little flushed.”

“I’m fine, thanks,” he said, handing her a huge bouquet of flowers, to change the subject.

“Oh, Tony, they’re beautiful, thank you!” she said, bringing them to her nose to take in the mixture of sweet fragrances. “Come in, please.”

He closed the door and leaned against it, trying to catch his breath. She looked at him, and he smiled.

“Make yourself comfortable, and I’ll put these in water.”

He watched her walk into the small open kitchen and then looked around as he removed his jacket. Her apartment was small and exceptionally tidy. The furniture wasn’t new but looked like it was well kept and had many more years of use in it. To the right there were two closed doors–bedroom and bathroom, he guessed. He was moving to the couch when she brought out the flowers in a Mason jar.

“I’m afraid that I don’t have a vase,” she said, not ashamed of it.

“They look perfect,” he said as she set them down in the middle of her small table. His eyes followed her as she moved towards him and stood at the end of the couch.

“I’m afraid I don’t have any wine; I’m not much of a drinker. I made some coffee, or I have tea, milk, orange juice…”

“Coffee would be great.” He didn’t need wine: he was on a natural high.

“Black, right?”

“Yes,” he said smiling, surprised that she had even noted that from their dinner together. Sinbad jumped up on the couch and studied Tony closely with his dark green eyes. By the time Kelly returned, he was curled up on Tony’s lap, purring noisily as Tony scratched him behind the ears.

She placed a steaming mug of coffee on the table in front of him and then sat down on the next cushion. “Strange,” she commented, watching Sinbad rub his face against Tony’s hand.

“What is?”

“The last guy I dated–Sinbad attacked him.”

Tony laughed, but he didn’t want to think about Kelly dating anyone and felt pangs of jealousy. “Maybe he’s just giving me a false sense of security before he moves in for the kill.”

Kelly shook her head, staring at her crazy cat. She’d never known Sinbad to like anyone but herself. He was a stray who had moved in with her just after she moved into her apartment. At first, he didn’t even trust her, but one day he seemed to have decided she was worthy of his love and was now her constant shadow when she was at home. Her attention went back to Tony, who was staring at her. She smiled at him. “Hungry?”

“Mildly,” he said, his eyes drowning in hers.

“I was going to make fettuccine, I hope that’s okay. I’m not exactly skillful in the kitchen.”

“Fettuccine is perfect,” he said, turning his body so he was facing her. She had pulled her knees up under her chin and was hugging her legs, looking at him. His heart pounded hard while his mind raced, looking for something to say. “Do you need some help? I’m pretty good in the kitchen, but don’t spread that around, I have an image to uphold.”

“You’re hired,” she said, pushing herself off the couch.

Tony gently removed Sinbad from his lap, setting him down in the corner of the couch. Sinbad meowed, obviously not impressed by his removal from Tony’s warm lap. Tony reached down and scratched him a few more times behind the ears and then watched as the large black cat curled up into a ball and instantly fell asleep.

In the kitchen, Kelly busied herself making the sauce while Tony, who claimed that he made the most amazing garlic bread, secretly worked with the long loaf of Italian bread. They talked and laughed, bumping into each other in the small kitchen. He just about fainted when she stood behind him and leaned into him, reaching into a cupboard above his head for an ingredient.

“There’s not a lot of room in here,” she commented, still pressed against him.

“Feels good,” Tony said and then quickly corrected himself. “I mean it’s cozy–nice, feels like home.”

Kelly laughed softly and moved back to the stove, feeling her body tingling all over. He was right, it had felt good.

She took a small spoon out of the drawer and dipped it in the thick, creamy sauce. After blowing on it, she moved over to him and held it to his mouth, watching intently, as he tasted it.

“Mmmmm, that’s perfect,” he said truthfully. “Are you sure you’re not Italian?”

“Positive,” she said. “I’m a mutt. My father is from Irish descent and my mother English.” She reached up to wipe a small speck of fettuccine sauce off the corner of his mouth. Her fingertip brushed against his lips, and he fought the urge to take it into his mouth. With her, he felt like he was trapped between the old and new worlds. He wanted desperately to take her into his arms and kiss her until her body melted against his and then continue on from there.

“Tell me more about your parents coming from Italy,” she said, removing her finger from his mouth. She found his stories fascinating because he had such a flare for telling them, mixing emotion, humour, and facts she didn’t know. Plus, she needed to distance herself from him because the urge to kiss him was overwhelming.

Tony talked as he set the small table, moving the flowers onto the coffee table so they’d have more room. He was setting a plate down and just about dropped it when Kelly pulled her sweater off over her head, standing in the middle of the kitchen.

“It’s getting hot in here,” she said, tucking her thin tee shirt back into her jeans. Her breasts looked even fuller under the tee shirt, and he tried not to stare.

“Hot, yes,…window…open…”

Kelly smiled at him. “Do you want me to open one?”

“I’ll do it,” he said quickly, suddenly needing a lot of cool air. He moved to the windows in the living room and pulled them both up. Immediately, gusts of wind burst through them, and he sighed, feeling the air surround his warming body.

“Tony?”

Her voice startled him. “Yes?” he said, turning from the window.

“I said it’s ready.”

“I was just admiring the view,” he said. He’d been looking out the window but had seen nothing.

“I’ve often admired that fire escape view myself,” she said teasingly.

They ate and talked, often forgetting about their meal as they found themselves lost in each other’s words. When both of their plates were empty, they cleared the table together and cleaned up their dishes. Tony washed, Kelly dried, and neither of them could understand what was happening between them. When the kitchen was once again spotless, Kelly suggested that they sit out on the fire escape, and Tony readily agreed–the little apartment had become too hot.

“There’s not a lot of room out here,” Kelly said, tossing a blanket out before she crawled out the window. Tony stood behind her, his mouth going dry as he watched her move through the window. Her jeans moved snuggly over her ass, and he held onto the window frame with both hands to brace himself. It was either that or reach forward and hold onto her, which he would have preferred but didn’t think was such a good idea. When they were both on the tiny fire escape landing, they tried to figure out how to fit on it.

“I guess I didn’t think about the shortage of space out here,” she said, smiling at him.

“Well, let’s see,” he said as he looked around. “I’ve got it.” He made her go down a couple steps while he spread out the huge blanket and then sat on it, his back against the building. He held his hand out, and she took it, turning around and sitting down between his legs, her back against his chest.

She shivered. “I should have put my sweater back on.”

“Do you want me to get it?” he offered.

“No way,” she giggled. “We just figured out how to sit out here together.”

He pulled the corner of the blankets up around his back and over his shoulders and then tentatively wrapped his arms around her shoulders, covering her with the blanket in the process. “How’s that?” he asked. Her body was warm against his, and he started regretting choosing the seating arrangement because his body was starting to respond to hers being so close and he figured he was about to embarrass himself big time.

“Very nice,” she said, leaning her head back against his shoulder.

For a while they were silent, enjoying the closeness.

“Tony?”

“Yes?”

“Do you think you’ll know when Colpo-whatchamacallit strikes?”

He laughed. “Colpo di tuono, and there’s no doubt in my mind that I’ll know when it strikes,” he said. It hits you like a lead balloon, Kelly,…it hit me that way, and I wish I could tell you how it feels.

“What if you never feel it?” she asked, not really hearing what he had just said.

“Too late,” he said and then cursed himself for letting it slip. Was he ready for this? Better yet, was she?

“What do you mean?” she asked, turning her head to look at him.

He’d known her for less than a week, and during that time period, he had thought of little else but her. During the day he finally gave up on working and concentrated on some personal business, wasting time until he could call her. Now, she was in his arms, in a round about way, and he needed to tell her.

“I know what colpo di tuono feels like,” he admitted.

“But the other night,…the night we met, you said that you’ve never felt it,” she felt sad, knowing that he had felt “the big one” and lied to her about it.

“At that point in time, the statement was correct,” he said. He couldn’t seem to bring himself right out to say it.

“But between now and then, Tony, I mean, it’s only been a few days, so you’re telling me that you’ve met someone and have been thunderstruck, and now…you’re…telling…” She thought about what she was saying, and her lips parted slightly as she looked at him. He had met someone–he’d met her! “Tony?”

“Yes?” he said, seeing the truth register in her eyes.

“Me?”

“Yes, you.”

“Colpo di tuono?” she said, finally saying it right.

“Yes.”

“Hard?”

“Oh yeah,” he laughed.

“Does it hurt?”

“No, it’s very beautiful,” he said honestly.

“Why me?”

“Why not you?”

“I hate that,” she reminded him.

“I don’t know, Kelly,” he whispered. “I honestly don’t know. What I do know is that I wouldn’t trade this feeling in for anything in the world.”

“Tony?”

“Yes?” he whispered, moving one hand to brush the hair back from her face. His thumb rubbed her cheekbone softly.

“Do you think you’ll kiss me now that you’ve been struck?”

“I think it’s in the rule books,” he said smiling.

Kelly shifted slightly, and Tony cupped the back of her head with one of his large hands, pulling her face close to his. Their lips touched lightly, and then they both moved forward, crushing each other’s lips against their own. Kelly pulled back and turned, putting her legs over one of Tony’s before slipping her arms around Tony’s neck and bringing her lips back to his. They kissed harder, breath quickening as hearts pounded almost out of control. Her tongue touched his lower lip, and he was startled and then moaned, opening his mouth to her. Tony’s mind spun. A kiss on the hand–Old World; passionate kisses, tongue tasting–New World, and where he wanted to be. He welcomed her tongue with his own as his fingers wrapped around her ponytail, his other hand moving slowly up and down her ribcage. Tiny moans escaped them, and the kiss deepened, the passion running high. A siren from a passing police car startled them, and the kiss broke. They looked at each other, panting and unable to speak.

Kelly felt weak after the kiss, and the warm and fuzzy feeling that she got when around Tony overtook her body. She buried her face in his neck, almost embarrassed about how turned on she was by a man she’d only met days before and had only shared one kiss with. She had never shared so much of her life so quickly with anyone she had ever met. When he told her his stories, she couldn’t seem to get enough of them and almost felt disappointed when they ended, for the mere fact that they did end. She’d encourage him by asking more questions, and he’d take off in another direction–another story to a happy audience of one. She felt his body responding against hers, and she hugged him tighter, not moving her face from his neck. She found herself slipping back into their previous moment and started kissing his neck softly–light butterfly kisses.

“Quello ritiene così buono,” he whispered, leaning his head back as she kissed his neck.

Kelly didn’t care what he was saying because it sounded sexy. She kissed his jaw and then put her hand on his cheek, turning his head and pulling it down to hers, kissing him hard. He immediately opened his mouth, the kiss deepening. Her arms flew around his neck as she tried to get closer to him, if that were possible. She could feel him against her hip, and the height of his arousal was intensifying her own. She shifted, feeling her wet panties against her skin, moaning as he brushed his tongue against hers.

Tony’s reached for the clip that was holding her hair in the ponytail and managed to get it open. He tossed the clip in the open window and buried his fingers in her silky hair as his other hand moved up and down her back, feeling her small body tremble against his. He knew there was no way she could miss feeling how aroused he was. With a mind of their own, his hips were moving slowly up and down, rubbing against her hip. Slowly, he pulled his lips away from hers, a longing hitting him hard as he looked at her face. Her eyes were half closed, her lips were parted, and her chest moved up and down quickly. He needed to calm down, control himself, or he was going to take Kelly back into her apartment and make love to her all night. The idea was more than appealing, but it was too soon for both of them.

“You’re so beautiful,” he whispered, gently stroking her cheek with his fingertips. Her large blue eyes appeared from under her long dark lashes and looked questioningly at him.

“Why did you stop?” she asked softly.

“I want to make love to you,” he said honestly. “I want to feel you against me, around me, consuming me…”

“But?”

“I can’t; it’s too soon.”

“Says who?” she asked, challenging him.

“Says everything I was ever taught.” She looked at him, and he smiled softly. “I’m afraid I’m having a struggle, Kelly.” He held her tight and stroked her hair. “I was raised to respect women, which I do–God, how could anyone not? With my upbringing come the values and traditions of what we refer to as the Old World. In that world my behaviour here tonight would not be acceptable.”

“So you always follow those values?”

“No,” he said softly. “Times like this, I get trapped between old and new and become confused. I live most of my life in the present day, accepting what I know to be right and working with it, but there are times, like right now, when I can hear my father in the back of my head. He reminds me that a lady is to be treated with respect. He’s with me every time I open a door, pull out a chair, or kiss the back of a hand.”

“Tony?”

“Hmmm?”

“Do you think we could make your father go away for tonight?”

He laughed softly. “I wish it were that easy, Darling, I really do.” There was a brief silence and then he asked, “Are you disappointed in me?”

Kelly smiled at him. “No, not at all.” Her body was screaming “YES!” but her head told her she had found someone worth waiting for, unlike the last time when she had given her heart and body too quickly and then paid the price.

He breathed an exaggerated sigh of relief, and they both laughed. Cuddled on the small landing, they talked into the wee hours of the morning–only it was different now. Words were softer, more personal than before. They touched while they talked, and occasionally a kiss stopped all conversation.

Tony squinted at his watch. “It’s after three-thirty, can you believe that?” He looked down at Kelly who was dozing on and off in his arms. “I guess you can,” he whispered smiling. He moved around, finding his body a little stiff. Kelly shifted and opened her eyes. “Come on, it’s time to put you to bed.”

She didn’t argue, feeling incredibly tired. Once inside, Tony closed and locked her windows, checking them twice after the initial locking.

“To bed with you,” he said, wrapping his arms around her.

“And you,” she said. They walked to the door, holding hands.

“Thanks for dinner,” he said.

“You’re welcome–thanks for kissing me.”

He laughed and pulled her against him, kissing her again and regretfully letting her go. “Get some sleep, and I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

She unlocked the door and pulled it open. “Good night, Tony.”

“Good night,” he whispered, lightly kissing her once more before leaving.

Kelly closed and then bolted the door, leaning against it. She smiled dreamily, feeling his kisses still on her lips. The knock on the door startled her.

“It’s me,” he said.

She unbolted and then opened the door. “That was a short night, or did you change your mind about making love to me?”

“Don’t even tempt me,” he said as he touched her face. “Actually, I just remembered one of the reasons I called you this afternoon, and I’ve been meaning to ask you all week. I was hoping you’d join me tomorrow night at a gallery shindig.”

“Gallery?”

“Art–probably some weird stuff we won’t understand or like, and guaranteed to be boring as hell.”

“Well, that’s enticing,” she said laughing. “I’d love to go with you.”

“Great. Okay, get to bed, and I’ll call you tomorrow with the details.” He kissed her again and backed up out of the door. Once he heard both bolts lock, he headed down the hall. Physically, he was tired; mentally, there wasn’t a higher place on heaven or earth that he could have been.

“Hello?”

“You sound like you’re still in bed.”

Tony looked at his watch, shocked it was after nine o’clock. “Getting old, Max, I guess. What’s up?”

“Not much really. We’re kind of curious about what kept you from the card game last night.”

Tony could hear Max smiling and ignored him. “Are you going to Lucy’s gallery tonight?”

“I’m told I am, so I guess so. Why?”

“Good,” Tony said, sitting up and running his hand back through his hair and smiling. “You’ll find out then what kept me away from the card game.”

Max was silent for a moment, thinking. “What or who?”

“Who.”

“Don’t tell me that the great Antonio Sicumera has fallen!”

“Okay, then I won’t tell you, Buddy.”

“You’re serious?”

Tony rubbed his eyes, trying to clear the cobwebs from his mind. He had fallen into a deep sleep and dreamed of her–of them. “Completely serious. Hey, I need to get moving here; I’ve slept in more than I should have. I’ll see you tonight, and be on your best behaviour–I don’t want you scaring her away.”

Max frowned. He wanted to know more about this woman since he’d never known Tony to be anything more than mildly “in deep like” with a woman before. “No details? That’s it?”

“Later,” Tony said, standing up and stretching. He knew it would drive Max nuts, which was partly why he did it. “I need to run–see you later, Massimiliano.” He hung up quickly and smirked. Picking up the phone again, he dialed Kelly’s number, wondering if it was too early to call but risking it. She answered on the second ring and sounded bright and alert.

“Hi, Tony!”

“How are you, Darling? You sound bright eyed and bushy tailed this morning.”

Kelly laughed at the saying. “I feel great actually. I should be tired since I got up so early, but I’m not.”

“Are you busy?” He stared out his window and took in the view of the city. “Looks like a nice day today.”

“It’s beautiful out,” she said, pushing a pin through the hem of the dress she was making. “I went out earlier to see if I could find some lace for my latest creation.”

“Were you successful?”

“No,” she said, disappointed. She had hoped to finish the dress today and maybe wear it tonight if it turned out properly.

He frowned. “Why don’t we take a drive downtown and look?” We–he had said “we” like it was a natural thing for them just to go out together.

“You want to go out looking through material stores?” she asked, a little more than surprised.

“I want to be wherever you are,” he whispered honestly, pressing his forehead against the window. His legs were shaking again, and a warm rush consumed his body.

Kelly felt her heart doing cartwheels. “Then why aren’t you here right now?”

He grinned. “I’m on my way.”

“How about this?” he asked, holding a bolt of black lace against his chest. Kelly broke out laughing, and he smiled, wondering why.

“It’s definitely you,” she said. “It won’t work for me, though; it’s too thick.”

Tony sighed and set it back down to continue his search. This was the third fabric store they’d been in, and so far nothing met up to her expectations. He smiled–he liked her persistence. He ran his hand over some white lace and watched Kelly rummaging through a box of scraps of material. He liked the way she looked–beautiful and completely comfortable with herself. She was wearing jeans and a white cotton blouse, her hair in a ponytail. His fingers longed to remove the ponytail holder and let her hair fall down over her face and shoulders.

“Can I help you find something?”

He turned around to see a small middle-aged woman with a tape measure around her neck, pins stuck in the label of her jacket, and a pencil behind her ear. He smiled. “Uh, no thanks. I’m just waiting.” He pointed in Kelly’s direction.

“Does your daughter need help, then? Let me go ask her,” she said and headed towards Kelly.

His daughter. She thought Kelly was his daughter. He tried reasoning with himself–Kelly did look very young, younger than she really was, and when she didn’t have makeup on and her hair like that, yeah, she did look young…but his daughter? He wasn’t sure if that meant he looked too old or Kelly looked too young. He suddenly wondered what other people would think–what his friends that they’d run into at the gallery opening would think. Cradle robber? Was he?

He looked up and watched the woman walk right by Kelly to talk to a girl of around fifteen who was draping some material over her shoulder and staring in a mirror. He smiled and shook his head.

“I can’t find anything here, either,” Kelly said, coming up suddenly behind him. “Geeze, I only need a small piece–you’d think this would be a lot easier.”

He reached out and pulled a piece of hair out of her eyes. “Where to now?”

“I don’t know.” She frowned and looked at him intensely.

Without thinking, he cupped the back of her head and pulled her lips against his, kissing her softly. He felt her arms going around his neck, her body pressing hard against his as they kissed in the middle of the store. Slowly, he pulled back and smiled at her, receiving a dazed one in return.

“I see you found what you were looking for,” the saleslady said, winking at him as she passed.

Tony looked at Kelly. “More than you know,” he answered; although, she was no longer around to hear his response.

“She doesn’t bite, I promise,” Tony said, literally trying to pull Kelly into the dress shop.

“But…but,” Kelly said, pulling back. “Why didn’t you tell me? I would have tried to look a little more presentable.”

“You look marvelous, Darling,” he said, trying to do his best Billy Crystal and failing miserably.

“Ohhhhh…” she moaned, allowing herself to be pulled through the door.

The dress shop was empty, save for a saleswoman who immediately smiled at Tony. “Hi, Tony!” she said, coming around from the back of the counter, still smiling.

“Hi, Maddalena,” Tony said, quickly grasping Kelly’s hand. He didn’t like the way she always looked at him. Maddalena, who insisted on being called by her full name instead of Maddy, was forty-three years old and quite frankly, scared the hell out of him. For years she had been hinting she’d like him to ask her out, and he continued to play ignorant. “Is Aunt Rosa around?”

Maddalena stared suspiciously at Tony and then glared at Kelly. “Yes, she’s in the back. Shall I get her for you?”

Tony headed towards the back of the shop, pulling Kelly behind him. “No, that’s okay, thanks.”

“She’s charming,” Kelly whispered, unable to shake the feeling that she was still being sized-up.

“You don’t know the half of it,” Tony said out of the corner of his mouth.

They entered the back room, which was bright and cheery. Racks of clothing were everywhere, and bolts of material were stacked on every available shelf. Kelly looked around in awe and then was jolted back to reality as soon as Rosa saw Tony.

“Antonio!” she said, dropping the material she was holding and rushing over to him. “Mi’nepito favorito!” Rosa grabbed Tony and hugged him close as she kissed him. “Come sta?” she said smiling, pinching his cheeks like he was seven years old again. She stood back and looked at him with a mock stern look. “Voi troppo sottilo, sta affamato?”

Tony laughed and smiled at her warmly. “I’m fine, I’m not too thin, and I’m not hungry, either!” He smiled adoringly at the small woman in front of him. With both of his parents now deceased, he held on to Rosa as tight as he could, not wanting to lose anyone else. He needed the sense of family that she always provided. “There’s someone very important here I want you to meet.”

Tony moved back and smiled at Kelly. “Rosa, I’d like to introduce you to Kelly McInnis, and Kelly, this beautiful young woman is my Aunt Rosa.” Tony wrapped his arm around Rosa’s shoulder and hugged her to him while she swatted him.

“Such a flatterer,” she mumbled, but she smiled, adoring his attention. “So nice to meet you, Kelly,” she said, offering her hand.

“It’s wonderful meeting you,” Kelly said, taking Rosa’s hand and shaking it. She felt nervous meeting the woman whose work she had admired for years–her being Tony’s aunt didn’t help, either.

Rosa smiled politely, quickly sizing Kelly up. She was too thin, young, very pretty, but probably not Catholic. She knew Antonio wouldn’t be introducing them if he weren’t serious about her. She wondered what a young woman wanted with a man like her nephew–wealth, maybe. “So to what do I owe this honour?” she asked, smiling at the both of them.

“We were in the neighbourhood and thought we’d drop by to see how you’re doing,” Tony said honestly.

Rosa smiled and leaned back against a table. “I’m very well, Antonio. Business is good, I have my health, and God smiles down at me every day and tells me to keep going.”

Kelly smiled, immediately liking Rosa. “I’m a huge admirer of your work.”

“Oh really?” Rosa said, smiling back.

“Yes, and have been for several years.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you in the shop,” Rosa said.

“Oh, I’ve never come into the shop,” Kelly said. “I guess I’ve just been a window admirer.”

Rosa wasn’t sure if she could believe the young beauty or not. She could definitely see what Antonio saw in her, though–she had the look of an angel. She looked quickly at him, seeing the shine in his eyes and the soft expression on his face as he looked at Kelly.

“I remember two Christmas’s ago, you had a deep green velvet dress with ivory lace over the bodice and puffy shoulders tapering down to a tight sleeve. The cut was so clean and simple that I fell in love with it immediately. It was there exactly four days and then disappeared.”

Rosa stared at Kelly in amazement. The green dress had sold just days after dressing the mannequin in it–she was right.

“Last year the wedding gowns were absolutely gorgeous! I was late for work one day looking at all the hand beading–truly incredible workmanship.”

Rosa smiled. “It sounds like you’re more than just an admirer of clothing.”

“Kelly is going to be a famous designer someday,” Tony said.

“I hope to be,” Kelly said, almost whispering.

Rosa smiled at Kelly, noticing that she had become a little uncomfortable. She held out her hand to Kelly, “Come with me; I’d like a second opinion on something I’m making back here.”

Kelly looked at Tony, who nodded and smiled. She took Rosa’s hand and allowed herself to be led to the back of the room, hearing Tony’s soft footsteps behind them.

“This dress was primarily designed by the bride, but I have strong reservations about it.”

Kelly let out a small gasp. Before her on a seamstress’s dummy was a magnificent full length wedding dress. “It’s beautiful,” she whispered, moving closer to it. Tiny pearls were sewn in a lace-like design down the low dipping front and over the cup shaped material that would fit snuggly against the bride’s breasts. “What could possibly be wrong with this?”

“It’s not the dress,” Rosa said, enjoying the look on Kelly’s face. “It’s more the shape of the bride.”
Kelly laughed and moved around to look at the back of the dress.

Tony watched his two favourite women and smiled to himself. He knew that they would be friends for a very long time. Whether either of them would believe it now or not, they had more in common than just their love of clothing. His beeper went off, startling everyone in the room, including him. He pulled it out of his pocket and checked the number. “I need to answer this; can I borrow your office?”

“Of course!” Rosa said.

“You two try not to be too catty while I’m gone,” he said grinning at both of them. “I’ll be right back.”

“Antonio!” Rosa said, pretending to be shocked. “He knows me too well,” she whispered to Kelly, both of them laughing.

“What’s wrong with the bride?” Kelly asked, getting right into the gossip.

“This would be a beautiful dress for someone who has a bigger bust than waist instead of the other way around,” Rosa said, looking sadly at the dress. “I couldn’t talk her out of it, unfortunately, so now we’ll have to add a little padding up top to balance her out.”

“It’s so beautiful,” Kelly said again.

“You’re about her height, Kelly; I don’t suppose you’d like to slip this on for me so I can make sure the train falls perfectly?”

“Are you serious?” Kelly asked.

“I would really appreciate it,” Rosa said honestly. “The wedding is next Saturday, and she can’t make it in for the final fitting until Thursday night, so I’m trying to get as much done as possible to avoid rushing in the end. These girls don’t seem to understand the work that goes into these dresses.”

“If they only knew…” Kelly said. “I’d love to put this on for you!”

Rosa pointed her towards a large changing room, carefully removed the dress, and followed Kelly. She laid it across a long bench. “What size shoe?”

“Seven,” Kelly said, already pulling off her tee shirt. Rosa smiled at her and headed out into the shop to find a pair of shoes with the right height of heel. She stopped to talk briefly to a customer, and when she had returned, Kelly had already slipped into the gown. She put the shoes down and moved behind Kelly, painstakingly doing up the small pearl buttons. When she was finished, Kelly slipped on the shoes and picked up the front of the dress.

“Let’s put you on the pedestal and see how this looks,” Rosa said from behind her. She gathered up the long train and followed Kelly, noting how the dress hung loosely around her waist.

Kelly walked up onto the red carpeted pedestal and stood there as Rosa fussed with the material around her. When Rosa was satisfied, she stood back and looked at Kelly, and she smiled before disappearing behind a door and reappearing with a short veil. Kelly admired the dress in one of the many mirrors, enjoying the feeling of the silky material against her skin.

“We need this, too,” she said. Kelly bent down, and Rosa secured the veil to her head. She stepped back, and Kelly stood up.

“Mama mia,” Rosa said, exhaling.

“Okay, sorry about that ladies, but when duty…calls…you…oh my…God…” Tony couldn’t move–his legs felt like they were made of lead. Kelly looked up and smiled at him, and his heart started pounding hard in his ears.

“Doesn’t she look beautiful, Antonio?” Rosa asked, moving beside him. Tony continued to stare, and she elbowed him in the ribs.

“Kelly,…my…oh…you…” His mouth went dry, and he could barely breathe. He needed to sit down, but his legs wouldn’t move.

“I think he likes it!” Rosa said, giggling. “Okay, let me check this out so you two can get on with your day.”

“…look beautiful…” Tony said, slowly finding the words. Kelly smiled at him, not speaking, and his heart melted. Although the dress was a little baggy around the waist, she filled out the rest of it beautifully.

Rosa moved behind Kelly and gently pulled the dress back a little, tightening it around her waist, and then looked at Tony. She wished he could see his own face right now–mouth half-open and his eyes huge. Rosa squinted as she looked at him, thinking she might be mistaken by what she saw. She knew her nephew well, and she knew she wasn’t mistaken–she could see it in his eyes.

“Doesn’t she look lovely, Antonio?” she repeated softly.

“We’ll take it,” he said, still stunned.

“Pardon?” Rosa and Kelly both asked at once.

“Yes, I said, yes…stunning.”

Rosa laughed softly and let go of the dress. As she worked on the train, Kelly looked around the shop and was envious. This was what she wanted–to be her own boss, to have a little shop where she could design, create the things that only ended up on paper most of the time. She had no great illusions about taking New York and Paris by storm–she just wanted what Rosa had.

As Rosa worked on the back of the dress, Tony continued to stare at Kelly. He could see her in a big church, coming down the aisle, smiling softly behind a thin veil. A shiver ran through his body, and he caught his breath at the image.

“Tony?”

He fought to bring himself back to the present and then smiled at Kelly, who apparently had been staring at him. “Yes?”

“Are you okay? You look a little dazed.”

Rosa looked up and smiled at Tony. “You do look a little dazed, Antonio; are you feeling okay?” The mischievous look in her eyes told him that she knew and now she was going to tease him about it.

“I’m fine,” he said, trying to smile reassuringly; although, he felt like a train had struck him.

“Well, I’m almost done, and then you can have Kelly back.” She lifted up some of the draping material and added a couple of pins. “Unless you don’t mind if I keep her here with me.”

“Not a chance,” Tony said, smiling at Kelly. “We’re on a mission today.”

“What mission?”

Kelly spoke up. “I’m looking for a small piece of black lace for a dress that I’m making, and I can’t seem to find anything that fits the image in my mind.”

Rosa took a pin from between her lips and stuck it in the material. “I have a ton of odds and ends if you’d like to look through the boxes. I can’t make any promises, but there might be something in one of them you could use–I never throw away anything.”

Kelly beamed. “Great! Thank you so much!” She looked behind her and watched Rosa work. “I’d really like to finish the dress I’m making so I can wear it tonight.”

“Did you design it yourself?”

“Yes,” Kelly said, smiling at Tony.

“I’d like to see your work sometime,” Rosa said. “Is she any good, Antonio?” she said teasingly.

“I’ve never seen it either,” he admitted. “But, yeah, she’s very good.”

“Tony!”

He grinned and walked towards Kelly, slowly moving up the red carpeted steps leading to the pedestal. “I meant you’re a very good kisser.”

“Oh, well, that’s better,” she said. She thought for a moment. “You mean I’m only good? Not great or fantastic?”

He stood close, looking up at her. “It’s been too long, and now I can’t remember–old age you know.” His face was level with her breasts, and he couldn’t help but gaze between the deeply cut cups holding her breasts in and take in the roundness of her cleavage. He broke his eyes away and looked back into her eyes. “Perhaps you should refresh my memory.”

A small laugh came from Rosa, and both of them remembered that she was in the room. “Antonio, you leave the girl alone, or she’ll move and I’ll end up stabbing her with a pin!”

“Yes, Ma’am,” he said, moving back down the steps. He wished Rosa would hurry up so he could kiss the bride. The thought made him grin.

“What’s so funny?” Kelly asked.

“Nothing,” he said quickly. If he didn’t sit down soon, he was going to fall down. “I’m going to go make some phone calls while you’re being pinned.”

He headed back into Rosa’s office, noticing that as soon as he was out of hearing distance, they started chatting again. Women–who could figure them out? Sitting in Rosa’s chair, he put his elbows on her desk and rested his chin in his hands. He could still see them out the office door, and he smiled. It was important to him that Rosa and Kelly liked each other. So far, so good–at least they seemed able to talk, which was more than had ever happened with any other woman he’d introduced to Rosa. Not that there had been many. Julie sprung to mind as she often did, and he wondered what she was doing now–had she found the life she wanted so desperately? Thinking about her no longer stabbed his heart as it once had, but sadness still drifted through him, or was it guilt? Julie hadn’t struck him like Kelly had, but he still fancied himself in love with her–or “deep like” anyway. Things had been going fine, or so he thought. Julie had always wanted more than he had been willing to give at that time, but she didn’t walk away when he told her it was too soon to make plans of spending their lives together.

Rosa and Kelly were laughing wildly about something, and he wondered what was amusing them. It didn’t matter–Rosa looked happy, as did Kelly. Rosa was only sixteen when he was born and had always had a soft spot for him–it was obvious to everyone. As time passed and they both grew older, they became closer. She became his conscience sometimes, and there were times when he knew that he let her down. She told him that he would be something someday–she believed in him when he didn’t believe in himself. When he fell, she was there to pick him up, brush him off, and then lecture him until he couldn’t take it anymore. He smiled softly at the memories. She had been full of fire then, and she still was now. She, like him, believed that some day colpo di tuono would strike, and she had waited for it and one day it happened. He had never seen her happier, and for a while the world seemed right. Rosa was in love, and he was making something out of himself.

Then his mother became very sick, and they couldn’t bring her back. The house didn’t seem the same without her. The record player sat motionless, collecting dust. Tony visited his father several times a week, trying to get him out of the house for at least a walk, but he wouldn’t go. Tony’d arrive with high hopes that his father would be trying to move on but would find him holding an old picture of her close to his chest, rocking in his chair. Tony didn’t know what to do, so he just kept trying, but it was no use. Three months after his mother died, his father followed her to Heaven, dying of a broken heart, some said, and he believed it. Sadness was everywhere, and he clung to Rosa, fearing that God was about to take everyone he loved, and he didn’t want to let her go.

Together they worked through it, and he knew it wasn’t easy on her, mourning their losses while planning for her own wedding. He was happy for her because she was so happy. Her giddiness was addictive sometimes, and they’d have a great time together, looking only towards the future. Rosa asked Tony to give her away at the wedding–a job that was supposed to have been his father’s since Rosa’s parents had passed away years earlier. He had been excited and felt good about the wedding, since he fully approved of her choice for a husband. The day approached, and when things seemed to be returning to normal, tragedy struck once again, and Rosa’s fiancé became the victim of a senseless street crime. His furniture store was robbed, and he was brutally beaten and arrived at the hospital in a coma, which he never came out of. He died three days later–four days before their wedding. The tables turned, and he comforted her, feeling helpless the whole time. Julie became impatient with him and gave him an ultimatum–it was either she or Rosa. The answer came quickly, and he never saw Julie again.

He decided to concentrate on becoming the person he believed he could be. Rosa went into a depression, and he set out to change that. He was tired of seeing her work herself to death for someone else. Working was her way of forgetting–he knew, because she was very much like him in that regard. One day he stood with her in front of a small, little shop window and handed her a key for the front door–the rest was history. Rosa slowly moved from her depression and made a name for herself, as he knew she would.

Maddalena’s yell into the backroom for Rosa jolted him back. He grabbed the receiver and pretended to be talking on the phone when Rosa passed.

“I’m done with Kelly; you can have her back now,” she said as she disappeared through the door.

Tossing the receiver back down, he leaped out of the chair and walked quickly back to Kelly who was heading into the change room.

“Need some help?” he joked.

She grinned. “Actually, that’s probably a good idea, so I don’t get stabbed.” She pulled off the veil and smiled at him.

Tony swallowed hard. “Uh, okay…” He followed her into the change room and pulled the curtain. “What do you want me to touch…I mean do, what should I do?” His mouth was dry.

Kelly tried not to laugh. “Rosa undid the buttons, so maybe you could kinda hold the dress, and I’ll try and step out of it.”

He had no idea what she was talking about. “Sounds good to me.” He watched as she slid the sleeves down her arms, and he tried not to have a heart attack when the bodice fell down over her bare breasts.

“Okay, you hold onto the shoulders here,” she said as she offered him the top part of the dress, “and I’m going to step out and hopefully not wreck anything in the process.”

Tony clenched the material, not even really feeling it between his fingers. She put her hands on his shoulders and pulled one leg up and over the dress, and then the other leg. His head started to spin, and he let his breath out, wondering how long he’d been holding it.

“Maybe just lay that on the bench,” she said, smiling at him.

She was standing before him in only her panties and high heel shoes and she was expecting him to move? “Okay,” he said, not moving at all.

“Tony?”

“Uh huh?” He was trying hard not to stare–or blink even, but he seemed to be stuck. Her breasts were full and round with light brown nipples, the size of quarters, sitting high on her breasts. Slender waist, long legs, so much silky looking skin…the panties high on her thighs–he prayed he wasn’t drooling.

“You’re standing in front of my clothes.” Kelly wondered if the sight of her almost naked was too much for him. It was his fault–he asked to help. She smiled sweetly at him, waiting for him to react.

“I think I’m stuck here,” he said, only half kidding. “You’ll have to reach around me.”

She laughed. “Hey, let’s get this dress onto the bench before it wrinkles.” She bent down and picked up as much of the bottom of the dress as she could.

He watched her bend, her breasts swaying and bottom rounding, his heart pounding and his pants tightening. By some miracle, he was able to move the few steps to the bench and set the top of the dress down.

“Thanks,” she whispered, moving close to him. She melted at the look on his face and felt her body responding to it. She’d never been embarrassed by her body and didn’t feel the slightest now in front of him.

“Anytime,…my God, you’re so beautiful,” he whispered back.

Without thinking, he reached out and pulled her against him, kissing her mouth passionately. His hands slid down her back, and they both shivered. He could feel her trembling as they kissed, the passion building, and he couldn’t seem to get her body close enough to his. She leaned harder against him, and he fell gently against the wall. With one arm tight around her waist, he slowly moved his other hand up her side, under her arm. She moaned and pushed forward when his thumb brushed against the side of her breast. His had moved in until his thumb was touching her hard nipple, circling it gently. She moaned against his mouth, pressing one leg between him and lightly grinding against him. There was no way in the world that she wouldn’t be able to tell how turned on he was at that exact moment. His finger and thumb met, the tip of her nipple between them. Pressing the hard nub between them caused Kelly to shiver in his arms. He squeezed a little harder, and she brought her thigh up, rubbing it hard against his crotch. Her fingers clawed at the back of his head, their tongues reaching, stroking, wanting more of each other. He wanted to taste her, feel her nipple in his mouth. Pulling away from her lips, he started kissing down her neck, lazily running his tongue against her sweet skin. Her hands pushed the top of his head down, coaxing him, guiding him to where she wanted his mouth. He could smell her skin and her excitement, adding to his own.

“Tony,” she moaned as she tossed her head back and closed her eyes. “Yes,…God, yes…”

“A woman is God’s most wonderful creation. That source of our lives. They are to be treasured and above all, respected,” his father’s voice rang in his ears. “You never take what doesn’t truly belong to you. Never are you to disrespect that, Antonio–never!”

“Kelly,” he whispered, bringing his head back up and looking into her very confused eyes.

“Yes?”

“I respect you.” His eyes bore into hers; he needed her to know.

“I…uh…thank you, Tony; I’ve never felt that you didn’t.”

“You might if you knew the thoughts in my mind right now.”

She tightened her arms around his neck, wanting him to shut up and kiss her more. His thumb was still against her breast, but he had stopped moving it. “Thoughts of what?”

“Making love to you right here. Tossing that damn dress on the floor and having my way with you on and maybe over that bench.”

Kelly bit her lip, trying to hold back her laughter because she knew he was serious in his thinking that by doing it, he would be disrespectful somehow, and she smiled at him warmly. “I’ve never met anyone like you before, Tony,” she said seriously. “I’m not sure I completely understand where you’re coming from sometimes, but the thoughts in your head are so beautiful and overwhelming.”

He sighed and wrapped his other arm around her, holding her close. Looking into her eyes, he said, “I don’t mean to confuse the feelings. I don’t mean to keep starting and stopping but…”

“Your Dad was just here, wasn’t he?” she asked as she touched his face.

He smiled and nodded. “I’m sorry.”

“Sorry you want to make love to me but can’t because you think it would be disrespectful to me?”

“I guess, yeah.”

“What will it mean when you finally make love to me?”

He looked at her, confused for a moment. “I guess it’ll mean either I’ve stopped listening to my father or we’re married.”

Kelly froze. Married? “Mr. Sicumera, wherever you are, would you please just leave us alone for one night! Go haunt one of your other children!” she said, trying to make light of the situation but feeling sad.

Tony laughed and slowly released her, trying to keep his eyes on hers and not on her body. “Get dressed and we’ll look for your lace, okay?”

“Sure,” she said, feeling disappointed again. She looked down feeling slightly embarrassed now that she was almost naked. She felt rejected.

He lifted her chin with his finger, looking into her watery eyes and reading her thoughts. “It’s not you, Kelly; please believe me that it’s not you. God, I want you more than I’ve ever wanted anything in my whole life, and trust me, it means I want you more than life itself. I want to hold you until the end of time, Kelly. I want to make you happy, share your victories and your disappointments. I wish I could express to you exactly what I feel for you, but I can’t seem to find the words.”

“Try,” she whispered, a tear rolling down her cheek.

“I love you.” The words fell from his lips easily, and suddenly, he felt very calm. Cupping her face in his hands, he leaned down and kissed her softly and then pulled back, brushing the tears back from her cheeks. “You’ve stolen this heart, and I never want it back.”

Kelly blinked back more tears, unable to think or talk. She wanted to tell him, but she wanted to make sure she meant it this time before she said it. “Thank you,” she whispered and then smiled slightly. “Now, how about getting out of my way so I can get dressed before Rosa finds us like this and breaks into Italian.”

He straightened his bow tie and looked closely at himself in the mirror. Gray hair had started to appear at his temples, and if he followed the rest of the Sicumera men, he wouldn’t be fully gray until in his late sixties. The gray didn’t bother him, but the scar on his temple did. He touched it with his finger, and flashbacks of that night flew through his mind–the violence, hatred, and then the knife. They were times he just wanted to forget, but they made up his past–good or bad, it was part of who he was.

Pulling away from the mirror, he looked at his watch and then grabbed his tuxedo jacket, slipping it on. If he left now, he’d be at Kelly’s half an hour early, but he didn’t want to rush her. He smiled, thinking about her as he slid open the French doors that led to a balcony off of his bedroom. The night air was crisp, and he inhaled deeply, taking it in. As the air filled his lungs, thoughts of their afternoon events filled his mind, and his body started to stir. He silently cursed himself for starting with her yesterday, knowing he couldn’t have finished it there, and then hurting her in the process because of his inability to control his passion. She had so much passion, and he could feel it just being near her. The wind blew, and he shivered but didn’t go back inside.

“You’re moving into dangerous territory, Antonio,” his father was saying. “You need to be sure, Son.”

“I am sure,” Tony whispered into the night. “I was sure the second I looked into those blue eyes and felt my world turning upside down and inside out.”

“Do the right thing and only good things will come, Antonio. The easy road is not always the best one to follow.”

“It’s not easy,” he said, talking to the wind. “It’s never been easy, but now I can see it, Poppa. I can see the future, and she’s there at my side. It’s right; I know it is.”

“Be happy and treasure what and who you love, and you’ll never be disappointed, Son.”

The wind died down, and he stood staring out into the night feeling the loss of something and a new calmness–he could explain neither.

Tony handed his keys to the parking attendant and then took Kelly’s hand. “Have I mentioned how absolutely incredibly gorgeous you look tonight?”

“Eighty-six times,” she said, squeezing his hand. Her stomach was in knots as they slowly walked to the front of the building.

Tony laughed. “Oh, so you’ve been counting?”

“No, I made that up.” She stopped walking and looked at him. “I’m scared to death, Tony.”

“Why?” he asked. He reached out and touched her cheek with his fingertips.

“This is your world, not mine. I’m not sure how to act or what to do and I…”

He bent down and kissed her softly, silencing her. Engulfing her in his arms, he kissed her harder, not caring who saw them. He felt her melt against him, and then he pulled back from her lips. “It’s nobody’s world, Kelly. Given a choice, I’d rather be at home puttering around or out on my boat–maybe taking a walk through the park with a certain beautiful woman on my arm. Lucy owns the gallery, and when she has these exhibits, she expects me to go. Obligation brings me here tonight, nothing more.”

Kelly smiled softly, feeling better. “Thank you,” she whispered. “I think I’m ready to face it.”

“I’m not sure I am now,” he said, grinning at her. He cupped her face and kissed her again. “But the sooner we get in there, the sooner we can leave.”

“Let’s go then!”

Hand in hand, they walked up the stone steps, and Tony pulled open the door for her. Kelly caught her breath as they walked into the gallery. The lobby was dimly lit, and the potted trees were filled with small, tiny white lights, sparkling against the pending darkness. A man rushed over and greeted Tony, talking quickly in Italian, and Kelly smiled, feeling like she was being sized up.

“Kelly, may I introduce you to one of my oldest friends in the world, and I mean that in age, not friendship length.” Tony grinned and continued. “Kelly, this is Max, and please don’t be afraid of him, and for God’s sake if he starts telling you stories about me, ignore him.” Tony turned to Max, smiling and whispering loudly. “This beautiful woman is Kelly, and you need to make me look good–I’m trying to impress her.”

Everyone laughed, and Kelly and Max shook hands, smiling warmly at each other. She stood there and listened to their banter, immediately sensing how important Max was in Tony’s life. Max told her that he’d known Tony since “Christ was a choir boy,” and then they became altar boys together, much to the dismay of their friends. She loved the stories, not feeling excluded from the conversation at all.

“Will you be joining us or just hanging out in the lobby all night?”

They turned, and Max and Tony both smiled. Marietta walked towards them, smiling. She was wearing a fire engine red cocktail dress that set off her skin and dark hair perfectly. Tony reached for her hands and kissed her warmly on both cheeks, whispering how beautiful she looked.

“I knew I should have pursued you–such a flatterer!” she said smiling at him. “How are you, Tony? You’re looking very well.”

“Feeling as good as you are beautiful,” he said. “Speaking of beautiful, I’d like to introduce you to Kelly McInnis.” He smiled lovingly at Kelly. “This is Max’s wife, Marietta, and don’t hold her bad taste in men against her.”

Marietta smiled at Kelly. “Nice to meet you, Kelly.”

“And you,” Kelly said, feeling slightly uncomfortable. She didn’t get the same feeling of warmth from Marietta as she had from Max.

“What a beautiful dress,” Marietta said honestly. Kelly thanked her and commented on Marietta’s dress, and then they smiled at each other.

Max and Tony started talking, entertaining Kelly with their stories. Marietta had heard the same stories for years and could probably recite them from memory. Instead of listening, she watched Kelly and wondered who she was and how Tony had met her. The black dress fit the young woman to perfection, like it had been made for her. It seemed to accent her every curve without looking cheap, and she wondered where she had bought it. Once they became more familiar with each other, she made a mental note to ask. She looked sophisticated, and her movements were graceful. Marietta decided that she must come from high-class stock and wasn’t sure she was the girl for Tony. Max had told her that Tony was bringing someone tonight whom he thought Tony had fallen hard for. High-class snobbery was not Tony’s style at all, so why was he with her?

“I suppose we should go in and congratulate JD on his exhibit before he comes looking for us,” Tony said as he reached for Kelly’s hand. He thought about offering her his arm but decided he’d rather hold her hand, as it was more personal to him. “Have you looked around yet?” he asked Max.

Max offered his wife his arm and smiled. “Yeah, a little, but you know I much prefer those Elvis on velvet paintings.”

Kelly cracked up laughing and prayed that he wasn’t serious. He winked at her and grinned as the four of them walked into the main gallery and sought out JD Hans, artist extrodinaire.

“So I thought perhaps a little light reflecting upon the other side would give it a little poussée, oui?”

“Yes, of course,” Kelly said as she studied the picture. It made no sense to her, nor could she see any light reflecting anywhere. She wondered if the local daycare had noticed that someone had been stealing the kids’s paintings. “It’s interesting,” she said, smiling brightly at JD Hans as she lied through her teeth.

“Very,” Tony mumbled and then also smiled. “Congratulations on another fine show, JD.”

“Merci, you are too kind,” he said, taking Kelly’s hand and kissing the back of it. “I must go see to my other guests; please enjoy yourselves.” He shook Tony’s hand, “Always a pleasure to see you, Tony.”

They watched him walk away, and then Kelly looked at Tony and then back down at the wet mark on the back of her hand. She couldn’t believe he had licked her!

“Do you feel like you need to wash your hand now?” Tony asked, trying not to laugh.

“Ewww,” she said and then wiped the back of her hand against his jacket. They both cracked up and then became straight-faced when another couple approached the painting they were looking at.

“Oh goodness, isn’t this charming!” the woman said to her companion.

“Very, Darling, it’s absolutely brilliant! Look at that little light reflection there.”

Kelly’s mouth fell open, and Tony grabbed her hand and pulled her to the next painting, trying not to laugh.

“Look at this one, Darling,” he said softly, taking on a strange accent and wrapping his arm around her waist. “See how the colours blend so wonderfully, and my gosh, look at those angles. What do you think?”

“I think you’ve had too much to drink,” she said flatly.

“Or he did when he painted this,” Tony commented, studying the picture closely.

“Tony!” The voice was Lucy’s.

“Careful,” Tony said out of the corner of his mouth. “Incoming.” They both turned around and smiled.

“Lucy! You look wonderful,” Tony said, kissing her on both cheeks.

“Thank you, Darling,” she said smiling at him, and then she noticed Kelly. “And who might this young woman be?”

Tony ignored the emphasis on the word “young.” “Lucy, this is Kelly–Kelly, this is a friend of mine, Lucy, who also happens to be the owner of this fine establishment.” He ignored using last names since he wasn’t sure which Lucy was using these days.

“Nice to meet you,” Kelly said smiling.

“Yes,” Lucy said and then turned to her companion. “You remember Frederick, Tony.”

“Of course,” Tony said, shaking hands with Frederick.

“How are you, Tony?”

“Very well, thanks. This is Kelly.”

“Kelly, my, my…” Frederick said as he eyed up the beautiful woman at Tony’s side. “A pleasure to meet you, indeed.” He took her outstretched hand and turned it, kissing the back of it.

Lucy looked at Frederick, obviously annoyed. “Are you enjoying the exhibit?”

Kelly smiled, and Tony lied. “Yes, it’s very interesting.”

“JD is quite incredible,” Lucy said and smiled brightly. She personally thought his art was immature and quite tasteless, but always went with the crowd.

“And what do you do, Kelly, besides looking beautiful, that is,” Frederick asked.

“I work at Warmstrom Industries,” she said, ignoring his comment.

“Warmstrom…hmmm…What do they do?”

“They, we, manufacture sports clothing.”

“Yes, of course, I remember now,” Frederick lied.

Lucy narrowed her eyes. “You work in the office downtown then?”

“No, actually I work in the factory.”

“Oh really?” Lucy said, a slow sneer appearing on her lips. “And what do you do?”

“I operate one of the industrial sewing machines,” Kelly said, suddenly feeling out of place and not liking Lucy for making her feel that way.

“I bet that is very interesting,” Lucy said, the tone of her voice dripping with sarcasm.

“Well it keeps me off the streets,” Kelly said, her eyes challenging Lucy.

Lucy was taken back and unsure what to say. She’d have continued on if Tony hadn’t been standing at Kelly’s side, looking so damn proud. What the hell had gotten into him? He gave up a night with her to date this little piece of white trash?

“Kelly is going to take the world by storm with her designs,” Tony offered. He knew exactly what Lucy was trying to do, and he remained calm, enjoying the way Kelly was handling her.

“You’re a designer, then?” Frederick asked, looking genuinely interested.

“I need to attend to my other guests,” Lucy said. “Come along, Frederick.” She put her arm through his, and they both politely excused themselves.

“Bravo,” Tony said, smiling at her.

“What?”

“The way you handled that.”

“Handled what? I was just answering her questions.”

Tony pulled her close and kissed her forehead. He knew she knew exactly what had just transpired between herself and Lucy, and he was proud of her.

“You’ll have to forgive Lucy; she has this horrible crush on me, and I can’t seem to make it clear to her that we’ll never be more than friends.”

Kelly raised an eyebrow. “She’s your friend?”

He laughed. “Actually, yes, she is, and when we are alone and she’s not putting on false pretences, she’s a rather interesting person. She just needs to work on that attitude a bit,…okay, a lot.”

“I’ll have to take your word on that one,” she said, looking around the room.

“Having fun?” Max asked as he moved close to Kelly.

“Oh, big time,” she said sarcastically, smiling at him. She decided she really liked Max.

“Yeah, me too. Wanna blow this place and go grab a hamburger or something?”

“Max?”

“Yeah, Tony?”

“Quit hitting on my date.”

Max let out an exaggerated sigh and then laughed. “Okay, I’ll wait until you’re not looking at her, and then I’ll pounce.”

“You’ll be waiting a lifetime then,” Tony said. “Where’s your wife?”

“Last time I saw her, Lucy had her locked in a corner, and I wasn’t feeling brave enough to rescue her.”

“Wise man,” Tony said. He looked at Kelly and watched her as she looked around the room. He couldn’t believe that she had made the dress she was wearing, and was truly impressed. Her skin was fair against the black, silky material, and he wanted desperately to unwrap her slowly; although, she probably wouldn’t let him touch her for fear that he’d once again stop. He vowed the next time he started he wasn’t going to stop–ever. He watched her move to another painting and study it–probably hoping to see what everyone else pretended to see. He studied the back of her dress and felt a little more than a stirring when his eyes scanned over her bare back to where the material covered her round bottom, draping softly.

“You’re drooling,” Max said as he watched Tony.

“Blame me?” Tony asked, eyeing Max.

Max looked over at Kelly and exhaled. “Nope, not a bit.”

They both laughed, and Tony’s eyes wandered back to Kelly, who was being hugged by a man that she wasn’t hugging back. Her body looked tense, and she seemed uncomfortable. He watched in silence, not missing a move on either side.

“And you were worried about me picking her up,” Max said. “Looks like they know each other.”

“Looks like I’m about to know him too. I’ll catch you later.” He walked over and stood beside Kelly, not saying a word.

“I bet that was a lot of fun,” Kelly said and then flashed a relieved smile at Tony. “Jason, I’d like you to meet Tony Sicumera; Tony, this is Jason Willis.”

The men shook hands and nodded at each other. “Tony Sicumera? Comdax, right?”

“Correct,” Tony said.

Jason smiled. “I thought so. I work for Miller, and your name comes up often over there.” Jason wondered how he could impress a man like Sicumera because he had heard that working for Comdax was a very rewarding experience, and he wanted to go places. He decided to play the “buddy” approach since obviously Tony knew Kelly, so at least they had that in common. He wondered how they knew each other–a guy like Sicumera wouldn’t date someone under him like Kelly, so maybe she cleaned his house or something.

Tony smiled. “Don’t believe everything you hear.”

Jason laughed and looked at Kelly. “I didn’t realize you hung out in such high circles, Kelly. You’re moving up in the world. Maybe I should have stuck around.”

Kelly smiled uncomfortably and shifted from foot to foot. Tony’s jaw clenched, but he said nothing. He didn’t like the way Jason was talking to her, nor did he like the way he was looking at her.

“Remember that drink you offered me earlier?” Tony said to Kelly. She nodded and smiled. “Would you mind if I took you up on it now?” Kelly smiled and said she’d be back in a moment.

“I was a fool to give that up,” Jason said as they watched her walk away. He let out a low whistle.

“That?” Tony asked.

“Yeah, that–Kelly. She’s one hot little piece.”

Tony clenched his jaw but remained silent.

Jason looked at him, obviously enjoying himself. “Kelly and I went out a few times, but I didn’t want to get emotionally involved with her; I really just wanted to sleep with her. I didn’t tell her that, though, you know what I mean.” He winked at Tony. “I never would have got any if she had known that.”

The scar on Tony’s temple started to pound, and he could feel his body tense. One hit and the little bastard would be on the floor. He thought about the punks from the pool hall on the day he’d met Kelly
and the talk he’d had with them after dropping her off that night. He’d left no doubt in their minds just how close they’d come to making a serious mistake by bothering her. They assured him it would never happen again.

Jason took a gulp of his drink. “We buy at lot of clothes from the place where she works–for promotions and stuff, you know. One day, I ran into her when she was leaving work and then bugged her until she agreed to go out with me. We went out for a while, but she’s not really my type, you know?”

“What type would that be?” Tony asked, trying hard to remain calm.

“I need someone high-class on my arm, you know? Kelly’s hot, but she’s nothing socially,” he said before draining his glass. “I mean, don’t get me wrong; I’d do her any day of the week, but I’m not about to spend the rest of my life with someone like her.”

“Jason?”

“Yeah?”

“You said you work for Jake Miller, right?”

“Yup, best job I’ve ever had; although, I’m always open for offers.” Jason smiled, thinking he’d played his cards right.

“I see. Do you realize Kelly is here as my date?”

“No shit? I didn’t realize that.” He smiled at Tony and punched him playfully on the arm. “You are in for the ride of your life, man: she is one hot little piece of ass!”

In a flash Tony had one large hand around Jason’s throat, pinning him against the wall. “Listen to me, you little piece of shit, I don’t want you talking to Kelly. I don’t want you looking at her or even thinking about her, because if you do, I swear I’ll find out. Life is a real fragile thing, and it’s amazing how quickly it can change. Capiché?”

“Hey, man, you can’t threaten me.” Jason felt the wall pressed against his back and his toes barely touching the floor. Tony’s hand tightened around Jason’s throat, and he could barely breathe. Fighting Tony wasn’t an option considering their differences in strength.

Tony leaned in, his face only an inch from Jason’s. “Oh, it’s not a threat; it’s a promise.” He let go of Jason’s throat and let him down, grabbing the lapels of Jason’s jacket to keep him from falling. Jason coughed and tried to catch his breath as Tony released his jacket.

Tony saw Kelly walking towards them out of the corner of his eye and backed up. As Jason pushed himself away from the wall, Kelly handed Tony his drink and looked at Jason.

“Are you okay? You look pale,” Kelly said to Jason.

Without a word or even a look, Jason took off across the room and never looked back. Kelly watched him go and then looked at Tony questioningly.

Tony smiled and took a sip of the drink he didn’t want. “Nice guy.”

“He’s a jerk.”

Tony swallowed, trying hard to regain his composure, but his hand was still shaking. “Okay, you win,” he said dryly.

“What were you talking about?” she asked, eyeing Tony suspiciously.

“You.”

“So you know then.”

“I know you…dated,” he said, almost having to force the words out.

“I believed everything he said, and he turned out to be a jerk,” she said slowly. He turned out to be a huge jerk, and she’d been kicking herself and licking her wounds since he left her.

Tony listened, wanting to reach out and take her into his arms but not doing it. She looked like she wanted to talk it out, so he remained quiet–as he imagined how good it would have felt to finish Jason off.

She looked at him: blue, watery eyes staring right through him. “I thought I loved him, and he said he loved me. As soon as he got what he wanted, he left me.” She couldn’t figure out why she was telling Tony about it, but for some reason it seemed important that he know.

“Some guys are like that,” Tony said, feeling stupid after saying it.

“I should have listened to Sinbad.”

“My buddy?”

“Yeah,” she said, smiling. “As soon as Sinbad bit him, I should have known. I would have saved myself a lot of pain and tears.”

Tony thought about how Sinbad had curled up in his lap and let him rub his tummy. “Yeah, if I were you, I’d take dating tips from the little furball.” He smiled warmly at her. “Hey, how about you and I make a quick exit and…”

“Tony!”

“Incoming,” Kelly said, her eyes shining.

Tony turned around and smiled at Lucy and Marietta. “More beautiful women, I must be in heaven.”

Kelly wanted to roll her eyes but refrained. She looked at Marietta and received a very warm smile in return and wondered what had changed. Just a little while ago, the woman probably wouldn’t have given her the time of day.

Lucy looked at Kelly and flashed a phony smile. “I need to borrow Tony for a few moments.” She took Tony’s arm and led him across the floor.

“If you’re lucky, she’ll bring him back in one piece,” Marietta said smiling.

“Does she not normally bring them back?”

“Rumour has it there’s a trail of ex-husbands out there somewhere, nothing but little pieces of them left. I once told Max that Lucy was only looking for human scratching posts.”

Kelly laughed and started to feel a little more comfortable, but she wished Tony or Max would join them. She wasn’t sure what to say to Marietta.

“Lucy told me that you work at Warmstrom’s.”

Here we go again. “Yes, I do.”

“Is Kathy Reid still there?”

Kelly’s mouth dropped open a little. “Uh, yeah, she is. She’s the Operations Manager actually.”

Marietta smiled. “I always told her that she was going to take her last breath in that place! My goodness, the woman must be pushing seventy by now.”

“You know her?” Kelly said in disbelief.

“Know her? Hell, I used to work for her!”

“You used to work at Warmstrom’s?”

Marietta grinned. “Oh yeah, for about ten years actually. I worked there for a few summers while I was going to high school and then for several years after that. I worked there until I had our first baby and then left to become a full-time mommy. I had some great times there and still miss it sometimes.” She smiled at Kelly and felt bad for her first impressions.

Kelly smiled and whispered, “Are the rumours about what Kathy used to do with the button machine true?”

Lucy stopped and turned around. “I think we need to talk, and I’d like to do it in private.”

Tony looked around. “Here’s good. What’s on your mind?”

Lucy moved close to him. “It’s about your new little friend.”

“Kelly?”

“Yes, Kelly,” she said slowly.

“You can’t have her; she’s mine,” he said grinning.

Lucy ignored him. “I’m just looking out for your best interests.”

“And what would those interests be, Lucy?”

Lucy looked at him like he was stupid. “Tony! Look at yourself and then look at…her.”

Tony knew where she was going and found his anger building. He looked down at his tux and then over at Kelly. “Yes, I can see it–we both wore black and look pretty coordinated with each other, and that’s a good thing, right?”

Lucy clenched her fists. “You’re not funny!”

“Why don’t you just say whatever is on your mind,” he said, growing impatient. He had a feeling he knew what she was about to say, and he prayed he was wrong. It would mean he had been wrong about her.

“You’re Tony Sicumera, President and CEO of one the largest and fasting growing computer companies in the States, and she’s…she’s a little sewing machine operator!”

“Correct. Where’s the point you’re trying to make.”

“Tony, are you blind?”

“No, my vision is actually pretty good.”

Lucy let out a little scream of frustration. “She’s not worthy of you!” she spat out.

Tony laughed, feeling sick. “You’ve got to be kidding.”

She put her hands on her hips. “No, I’m not kidding! What are people going to say when they see you together?”

“What a lucky guy? What’s a beautiful woman like that doing with a geezer like him?”

“You’re impossible!” she said angrily.

Tony lowered his voice, tired of her game. He knew for sure where Lucy was going with her little speech and decided he’d had enough. “And you’re a stuck up bitch, but let’s make ourselves perfectly clear, shall we?” Lucy gasped and pursed her lips together. “Kelly is an incredible woman with more compassion, class, and intelligence than anyone I’ve ever met…present company included.” Lucy let out a little huff and was about to cut him off when he started talking again. “I came from where she is now, and I’m not ashamed to admit it. In fact, given a choice, I’d rather be there hanging out on the streets than in some art gallery filled with snobs and phonies. By insulting Kelly, you’ve just insulted me.”

“Are you finished?” she asked.

“Maybe.”

“You seem to have forgotten that you’re not the same person you were then, and you have a whole new lifestyle. You just can’t let it go, can you? You have to keep going back there and doing your good deeds like you have something to prove to them! Well, why don’t you forget about them because you don’t need those single mothers who can’t give up their drugs and support their family, or your stupid community projects for those all those little punks who aren’t going to amount to anything anyway! Good God, Tony, it’s not your job to take care of everyone from your old neighbourhood.”

“You’re right, Lucy,” he said sighing. “I don’t need them, but they need me, and unlike you, they are grateful for what I’ve been able to do for them.”

“You’re being unreasonable, Tony. You’d be much better off without people hanging off you always wanting something!”

Tony looked around the room and frowned. “You’re right again, I would be.” He looked at her, feeling like he was seeing her for what she really was for the very first time. “You’ve just made me realize I need to get a rid of a few people who have been hanging off me, and I should cut all the ties immediately. Thank you.”

Lucy smiled, feeling like she’d finally gotten through to him.

“Good bye, Lucy.”

“Are you going to tell me what’s wrong or do I have to guess?” she said.

Tony zoomed past another car, ignoring the speed limit. “You know, you give someone the benefit of the doubt, and they turn out to be everything you despise in a person.”

Kelly leaned her head against the headrest and stared at him, wagering her guess. “Lucy?”

“Are you hungry?”

“Yes.”

Tony checked his rearview mirror and then crossed over two lanes before turning off the freeway. He headed down a dark road, away from the city. “It just pisses me off that I couldn’t see it before, and maybe I didn’t want to see it, I don’t know. I mean, I always knew she had a snobby side to her, but I never knew the extent of it, I guess.” Light rain started to fall on the windshield, and he turned on the wipers.

“It has to do with me, doesn’t it?”

“That has nothing to do with it, Kelly; it’s the fact that she’s like that and I’ve been an idiot for not noticing it sooner, or maybe I didn’t want to notice it because I think there is good in everyone.”

She reached out and touched his arm. “You’re kind of feeling like I did when I discovered what Jason was all about.”

Thinking about Jason, Tony’s hands tightened on the steering wheel. “That guy needs to be taught a lesson.”

“Which lesson would that be?”

“He needs to keep his mouth shut and learn some manners.”

“Keeping his mouth shut was never one of his strong suits.” Kelly noticed there was an edge to Tony’s voice that she had never heard before. “Besides what I’ve told you, how much do you know?”

“That he was only looking for one thing from you,…and he got it and left,” he said honestly and then immediately regretted saying it.

Kelly looked out the window, not sure how to respond to the basic truth of her relationship with Jason. “Where are we going?”

“I have no idea,” Tony said. He looked at her and smiled slightly.

“I’ve been there,” she said, grinning at him. “Hey, can I just say what’s on my mind?”

“Always.”

“Well, Jason isn’t worth getting upset over, and my guess is Lucy isn’t either, so let’s just forget them, okay? What matters here is you and me.”

Tony took her hand in his and held it on his lap. “How can you be so smart at such a young age?”

She frowned. “Do you think of me as that? As young, I mean.”

“Actually, no. I mean I did when I first met you because I thought it might matter, but then I gave up worrying about it.”

“How come?”

He brought her hand to his lips and kissed it while keeping his eyes on the dark road. “Because colpo di tuono doesn’t follow any rules and couldn’t give a damn about trivial things like age.”

“Do you?”

“Should I?”

“Tony, I hate…”

Tony started to laugh. “Yeah, I know, you hate when someone answers a question with a question. My answer is this–I don’t give a damn what other people think, and I can only tell you since we met, I’ve never been happier. This is such an incredible and powerful feeling and I never want to lose it, but I wonder…”

“Wonder?”

“Wonder what you’re feeling–you haven’t said.” He turned the high beams on and saw a sign for an inn only a few miles down the road. “How about that place?” he asked, pointing to the sign. “They probably have a restaurant there.” The rain was falling heavier, and he turned the wipers on full.

“Sure,” she said, not even looking at the sign. “Do you honestly want to know how I feel?”

“Yes.”

“I feel like I’m having a dream and any second someone is going to wake me up.”

“Why?”

“Because you’re too good to be true.”

“Not true.”

Kelly turned in her seat, still holding his hand. “No really, you are. You’re this perfect gentleman and every girl’s dream.”

Tony snorted. “Hardly, Kelly.” He slowed the car down and pulled into the well-lit parking lot of the inn, glad to see that they advertised a restaurant. Rain pelted hard off the hood of the car, and lightning flashed in the distance.

“Well, whether you believe it or not, it’s true–to me, anyway. I mean, I thought I’d found it with Jason, but he…”

“He’s a fucking idiot who we weren’t going to mention remember?” Tony let go of her hand and pulled the car into a parking spot. He turned the car off and then pulled the keys out of the ignition. “I’m sorry, that was uncalled for.”

“Why? You’re right, he is a fucking idiot,” she said seriously.

Tony heard Jason’s voice again, telling him what a hot piece of ass Kelly was, and his blood started to boil. He wished he had choked him and finished off the job. “How the hell could you get involved with someone like that?” The question fell out of his mouth before he realized what he was saying.

“I didn’t know he was like that, or I wouldn’t have gotten involved with him.”

“But it’s obvious he’s a loser; I could tell that one minute after talking to him.” He couldn’t shut himself up.

Kelly felt insulted and defensive; although, she knew what he was saying to be true. “I know that! I couldn’t see it then.” She glared at him. “Haven’t you ever made a mistake before?”

“Sure, lots of them.”

“Then worry about your own mistakes and forget mine,” she said.

Tony looked at her, catching the hard look on her face. He couldn’t stop the image of Jason and Kelly in bed, and the anger within him grew. “If he bothers you again, I want you to tell me.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Exactly what I said. If he contacts you, I want to know about it.”

“Why? So you can finish what you started back at the gallery?”

Tony clenched his jaw–he had hoped she hadn’t witnessed that. “I just want to know.”

“This isn’t your fight, Tony. What happened with Jason has nothing to do with you.”

Was she sticking up for the little fuck? “It has everything to do with me.”

“How do you figure that?” she asked. A deafening clap of thunder rumbled in the night.

“I care about you,” he said reaching out to touch her cheek and was surprised when she moved back. He put his hand back on the seat. “I just don’t want to see you hurt again.”

“What? Do you think I’m stupid enough to go back for seconds?”

“No, I don’t think that; it’s just…”

“You do! You think I’m some kind of idiot who is going to run back to Jason! Well, I’m not, and if you really think that little of me, then I don’t think I know you at all, either!” She could feel herself being unreasonable, but she didn’t care. She wanted to be mad–she needed to let go of the anger she had carried around for a long time; even though, she was directing it at the wrong person. Grabbing the handle, she swung open the door and jumped out of the car. Immediately, the rain soaked her dress and seeped into her skin. She had no idea where they were as she started walking quickly out of the parking lot to the highway.

“Kelly!” Tony yelled from behind her. He ran after her, puddles of water splashing under his shoes. Lightning lit up the sky and crashed around them. The rain fell even harder.

She stopped and turned around. “Go away! Go find yourself a woman who has no history and has never fallen for some guy’s lines.”

“Kelly, that’s not what I meant,” he said, walking slowly up to her.

“You didn’t have to say it!” she screamed with the thunder. Rain was running down her face, her hair sticking to her neck.

“I just…fuck, I don’t know, Kelly; the thought of you with him just…”

“You’re jealous!” she said, letting out a laugh; although, she didn’t find it amusing at all. “I can’t believe it! You’re jealous and taking it out on me!”

“No…yes…”

“I’ve beaten myself up about this enough on my own, Tony; I don’t fucking need your help!” She turned and started walking down the road again, and he chased after her.

“Kelly, come back and let’s talk about this someplace dryer.” He stopped and watched as she kept walking, which didn’t surprise him. “God damn it, Kelly, get back here!”

She stopped and turned around looking at Tony standing on the side of the road completely drenched. “Or what? You’re going to try and choke me too?”

Tony sighed and ignored her last comment. “Or I’m going to pick you up and carry you kicking and screaming back to the car!”

“Fuck you!” she yelled and then took off one of her shoes and threw it at him.

Tony ducked, and the shoe whizzed over his head. She had pretty good aim. He smiled as he watched her continue down the shoulder of the road, hobbling on one high-heeled shoe. He grinned and followed her slowly, finding he was probably enjoying the situation more than he should be, but he liked this fiery side of her.

“Do you know what your problem is?” he yelled.

She stopped and turned around and glared at him. “My bad taste in men?” she yelled back.

Tony laughed, despite himself, and then ducked as her other shoe flew over his head. “No, you’re too damn stubborn!”

“Oh really?” she said, marching up to him.

Her whole body was trembling, and he wanted to reach out and just hold her close to him, but he didn’t move. “Yes, really,” he said softly.

“Do you know what your biggest problem is?” she asked.

“My quick ducking reflexes?”

Kelly laughed and then brushed the wet hair back from her face. “No, and stop looking at me like that! I’m still mad at you!”

He grinned. “Okay then, what’s my biggest problem?”

“Your quick temper.”

“Excuse me? Am I the one who stormed out of the car? Am I the reason we’re getting soaked and probably going to catch pneumonia?”

“It’s your fault!”

He bit his lip and tried not to smile–he wasn’t going to win this one, and he wasn’t even going to try. “You’re right, I let my anger and jealousy get the better of me, and I’m sorry.”

“And…” she looked at him and gave up her fight–he didn’t belong in it anyway. “Wet enough for ya?” she said, trying to change the mood and feeling embarrassed over her behaviour.

Tony laughed and reached out, pulling her into his arms, holding her small body against his. “I’m sorry,” he whispered into her ear. “I’m so sorry, Kelly.”

Kelly pulled back a little and looked at him, about to say she was sorry too, when a transport truck roared by and sent a tidal wave of water over them. They looked at each other and laughed, water pouring down both of their faces.

“It is now,” Tony said, touching her face.

“Is what?” she asked, confused.

“Wet enough for me,” he said, laughing as he bent down and picked her up. He felt her arms wrap around his neck and her small body shivering against his. “Let’s see if there’s room at the inn,” he whispered as he started walking, holding on tightly to the only thing in the world that meant anything to him at that moment.

Tony flicked on the switch, and the log in the gas fireplace burst into flames. “What a boyscout I am,” he mumbled to himself as he pulled off his wet tuxedo jacket and put it over the back of a chair.

Kelly came out of the bathroom with a stack of white fluffy towels and dropped them on the bed. “I can’t believe that truck ran over my shoe!”

Tony tried not to laugh but couldn’t contain himself, remembering the look on her face when he had picked up her flattened shoe.

“It’s not funny!” she said laughing.

“Right,” he said and then bit his lip trying to suppress his laughter.

She tossed a towel at him, and he caught it. “Okay, so it’s mildly amusing, but those shoes were just starting to get comfortable.”

Tony moved to her, the towel between his hands. Without speaking, he pressed the towel against her hair and started rubbing gently. He draped the towel over her head and then pushed her head back before leaning down and kissing her softly. Her teeth were chattering, and he smiled and shook his head.

“We need to get you out of those wet clothes before you freeze.” He left the towel on top of her head and reached behind her, slowly sliding the zipper of her dress down. Moving his hands to the neckline of her dress, he hooked his fingers under it and slowly started to pull the wet material down her body. He watched as her body slowly revealed itself to him.

Kelly watched him from under the towel. She was freezing, and the heat of his fingers against her skin felt sensational. She could feel the wet material slide over her hard nipples and then down around her waist.

“Tony?” she whispered.

His eyes met hers. “Yes?”

She took a deep breath. “I won’t be able to handle you stopping again,” she said honestly.

He smiled and touched her face with the tips of his fingers. “Wild horses couldn’t drag me away from you this time.”

“It’s not the horses I’m worried about.”

“It’s different now,” he said, his index finger running down her neck. “Trust me.”

“I do,” she whispered and then shivered again.

He smiled and kissed her as his hands moved to her hips and slowly pushed the clinging dress down over them. Letting go of the material, he kissed her a little harder and heard the wet dress fall with a thud on the floor.

Kelly wrapped her arms around his neck as they kissed. She felt him pull the towel off her head, and then she felt it against her, over her shoulders and down her back. He rubbed his hands over it, pulling her against him tightly. She couldn’t stop her teeth from chattering when he pulled back from the kiss.

“Okay, first priority here has to be to get rid of all these wet clothes.” He knelt in front of her and put his hands around one of her thighs, slowly rolling down her wet stockings.

She held the towel around her with one hand and put the other on the top of his head, steadying herself as she lifted her foot and he pulled the stocking off. She could feel his breath against her thigh; his face was close to her. She trembled from both excitement and chill.

Tony slowly rolled the other stocking down, trying hard to concentrate on the task at hand but unable to ignore her body so close to his. He gently removed the other stocking and then looked up at her: wet shivering, and so beautiful above him. Reaching, he grabbed another towel off the bed and began to dry off her legs. He ignored the chill of his own body, which was slowly being consumed by the fire of his passion. Leaning forward, he kissed her thigh as the towel rubbed against her ankle. Her fingers tightened in his hair as he ran his tongue down her skin and then back up.

The knock on the door startled both of them.

“Must be our food,” Tony said and stood up. He touched her chin and then moved out of sight to answer the door.

Kelly moved closer to the fireplace, feeling the warmth immediately. She wrapped the towel around her body and then wiggled out of her panties. She listened as Tony talked to the woman who was delivering their food. When he returned with the tray, she was hanging her clothes on the back of a chair she had placed to the side of the fireplace.

“She apologized that the best she could come up with was soup and sandwiches, but the kitchen was closed. She looked surprised when I thanked her for the feast.”

“It smells wonderful,” Kelly said, feeling her stomach growling. “I’m starving!” She watched him set the tray down on the small table and then turn to her. “Aren’t you cold?” she asked as she slowly walked over to him. “I think maybe we should be getting you out of your clothes, too.”

“Are you warmer?”

“Much,” she said as she reached for the buttons on his shirt. The material felt cold and clammy under her fingertips.

He stood there unable to move as he watched her fingers work their way down the front of his shirt. One by one she pushed the buttons through the holes. After undoing the last visible one, she reached behind him and started pulling the shirt out of his pants. After undoing the last button, she ran her hands up his stomach and over his shoulders, pushing his shirt down his arms. The shirt fell but the cuffs remained around his wrists.

“Cufflinks,” he said, smiling at the confused look on her face.

“Ahhh,” she said as she smiled back at him. She put her hands on his cheeks and pulled his lips against hers, kissing him softly.

Tony moved his arms up and tried to wrap them around her but couldn’t quite do it. His shirt was twisted, and he couldn’t shake it off. He pressed his lips harder against hers, pressing his tongue between her lips as he struggled with the shirt behind him, trying to swing it up and over his shoulders.

Kelly pressed her body hard against his as their kiss deepened, and then when she could no longer control her laughter, she pulled back. “Having problems?”

“New kind of bondage,” he said laughing. “Help me!”

Kelly looked at his chest and then ran her hands over it before leaning in and kissing it. “Help is on the way,” she whispered.

He moaned softly as she kissed down, letting her tongue dart at his skin. Her thumbs brushed across his nipples, and he leaned his head back, moaning as she rubbed them. Her kisses moved lower, and he looked down, watching her head move further down his body. He moved his arms, wanting to touch her hair, but his shirt stopped him. He pulled hard and felt something slam against him. Looking behind him, he noticed his shirt was caught on the back of a chair. Moving his arm up, he tried to unhook it, and that’s when he felt her hands undoing the button on his pants. Turning his attention back to her, the shirt forgotten, he watched as her long fingers released his zipper. She was on her knees in front of him, and he admired her breasts tucked beneath the towel. Her fingers moved under the waistband of his pants ,and as she pulled them down, he let out another soft moan.

Kelly slowly pulled until his pants were around his ankles. He lifted his feet out, and she picked up his pants by the cuffs to move them out of the way, leaving a trail of pocket change behind. Tony watched as she removed his socks, and he started struggling with his shirt again, becoming frustrated at not being able to touch her.

He gave up and looked down at her as she looked up at him. Her eyes stayed locked on his as she started pulling his briefs down, slowly revealing how aroused he was. The briefs dropped to the floor, and he shivered when her fingers touched the backs of his thighs.

“Set me free, please,” he whispered.

“Soon,” she said, and he watched as her tongue touched the tip of his cock.

“Kelly?” he moaned.

“Hmmm?”

He moaned again as the head of his cock disappeared and the warmth of her mouth surrounded him. “My God,” he whispered as her mouth moved slowly up his shaft.

She held the base of his cock with one hand and stroked it gently as she moved her head forward, taking more of him into her mouth. Her tongue played against his skin, and she felt him shudder and then start moving around. Moving her head back and forth, she looked up at him, watching him struggle with his shirt. Smiling, she lowered her eyes and closed them, enjoying the sensation of him throbbing against her lips.

Tony groaned and started moving his hips, forgetting about his shirt once again. He looked down at her, watching her blonde head move back and forth as her amazing tongue moved hard against his flesh. His legs started shaking hard, and he leaned back against the back of the chair, gripping it. Her hands moved to his hips, pushing and pulling him, controlling the speed. Her lips tightened, and she sucked in and then pulled back, shooting waves of ecstasy through him. He moved his hips faster and felt her nails digging into them as she sped up. Her forehead was bumping against his stomach, brushing his skin with her soft hair.

“God…” he moaned as his fingers tightened around the wood frame of the chair.

Kelly sucked in hard and pulled her head back, tipping her head back to look up at him. His eyes bore into her, the passion burning behind them. Taking his cock in her hand, she pulled her mouth off him and smiled as she pressed it against his stomach and then licked it from base to tip. His body shook, and he moaned again, thrusting his hips forward. She smiled and teased him with her tongue, pressing her lips against his shaft and moving them slowly up and down. He sucked in his breath and held it, glorious sensations tingling up his legs.

“Kelly,…God,…if you don’t stop soon…”

“Yes?”

He looked down. “I want to touch you, taste you,…consume you.”

“What’s stopping you?” she asked, smiling as she rubbed his cock against her lips.

“My shirt…this chair…help me!”

She laughed and stood up, pressing her body against his. “I dunno, Tony, I kind of like you like this.”

“Please,” he said and then kissed her. “Pretty please?”

“What will you do to me if I let you go?” she asked, rubbing her hands over his chest.

“The list is shorter if I tell you what I’m not going to do to you.”

Kelly laughed and moved behind him, studying the shirt, which was wrapped around the chair. She straddled the chair and kissed his back. “You’re really stuck here.”

Tony turned his head and watched her as she untangled the shirt and then removed his cufflinks, allowing the shirt to finally fall to the floor. He turned around, rubbing his wrists and smiling at her. “Thank you,…now you’re all mine.”

“Oh really?”

“You have no idea how badly I want you,” he said as he reached out and stroked her hair.

“I think I can see,” she said.

Tony laughed and looked down. “Yeah, that kind of gives it away, huh? Come here,” he said, holding out his hand to her.

She took his hand and got off the chair. He pulled her against him, holding her tight as he kissed her passionately. He pulled on the back of the towel and dropped it to the floor, immediately feeling her body against his. As they kissed, his hands moved down her back to her ass, fully expecting to feel her panties, and he was surprised when his fingers contacted nothing but bare skin. He wondered when she had removed them and then grasped her cheeks, squeezing them gently as their bodies rubbed together. He reached down a little further and cupped her cheeks firmly, lifting her off the floor.

Kelly held him tightly, her arms around his neck as she wrapped her legs around his hips. She could feel his cock pressing against her pussy and moaned into his mouth. Holding her, he walked a few feet and leaned over, dropping her onto the bed, his body falling with hers and never breaking the kiss.

Tony slowly pulled back and looked down at Kelly, smiling softly. “You’re so beautiful,” he whispered and then leaned down and kissed her neck. He sucked softly on her skin, moving down her neck leisurely. He moved his hand slowly under one breast, feeling its fullness as he massaged it gently. She moaned and pressed against him, and he continued kissing down while his fingers took her hard nipple between them and rolled it.

Tony eased himself down her body a little until he could take her other nipple in his mouth and tease it with his tongue while rolling the other one between his fingers, pinching it gently and then pulling it out.

Kelly watched his sucking on her nipple and moaned as she moved her hands to the back of his head, pressing his mouth harder against her breast. She arched her body up, rubbing and grinding against him and feeling him respond by pushing down on her. She dropped her head back against the soft mattress and closed her eyes, feeling his tongue, lips, and fingers all over her breasts.

Tony moved down further, kissing between her ribs and then her stomach. When he kissed her bellybutton, she started giggling, and he smiled and moved down until he slipped off the end of the bed. His eyes moved over her body and settled between her legs. He moaned softly just looking at her almost completely shaven pubic area. She had groomed her hair in a small arrow pointing down, showing him the way. On his knees at the end of the bed, he put his hands on Kelly’s thighs, spreading them further apart. He felt her tense, and he looked up at her.

She leaned up on her elbows and looked down at him, blushing slightly.

“Is there something wrong?” he whispered.

“No…yes…it’s just that…”

“What’s wrong, Sweetie?”

“I don’t think I like that.”

“Oh.”

“It’s nothing personal; it’s just that when uh…well when someone did it to me before, I didn’t enjoy it at all.”

Tony touched her thighs lightly with his fingertips. “So only one person has ever done this to you?”

“Yes.”

“Can you tell me what it is that you didn’t like about it?”

Kelly thought about it. “I’m not sure, it just didn’t feel…good.”

Then he wasn’t doing it right, he wanted to say. “If you really don’t want me to, I won’t, but Kelly, I really think you’ll enjoy it.” She looked unconvinced. “I’ll make you a deal: you say stop, and I stop instantly, okay?”

Kelly flopped back onto the bed. “Okay, but I’m not going to like it.”

“That’s my girl,” he said smiling. “Optimistic right to the end.”

Kelly laughed and smiled at him, taking his head between her feet. “Make me change my mind,” she whispered.

He kissed one ankle and then the other before taking them in his hands and placing her feet on the bed, far apart. He glanced up at her, smiling although she had her eyes closed. Leaning forward again, he kissed her inner thigh lightly, letting his tongue swirl in small circles over her skin. She wiggled a little, and he kissed down, taking in her fragrance. He ran a fingertip down her slit, watching her body shudder beneath his touch. Running it back up, he could feel her moisture collecting on his skin. Pushing a little harder, his finger entered her lips, and he dragged it down, lightly brushing her clit.

Kelly moaned and raised her hips a little, wanting to feel his finger inside of her. She wondered if he had changed his mind about what he really wanted to do to her. She felt his hands move under her ass cheeks and lift her up off the bed, and then the most incredible feeling happened. Something warm and wet was between her lips and brushing against her clit, making it tingle. She opened her legs as far as she could and pushed up, wanting to feel more, and her wish was granted. She moaned and looked down at Tony, his face buried in her pussy. She could feel his tongue: licking, poking, and flicking against her skin. Touching her lightly in one spot and then jabbing at her in another, sending bolts of electricity through her body.

“Oh God,” she whispered, moving her hands to the back of his head and pushing herself against his face. “Oh, Tony,…God…yes…”

Tony basked in the sounds of her moans and the way she was wiggling in his hands, pushing his face deeper between her folds. He stabbed his tongue at her opening and entered her, and she grabbed his ears and started pulling his face up and down her pussy.

Tony pulled his head up a little. “Kelly, Honey?”

She looked down at him panting. “Yes? Why did you stop–don’t stop, don’t stop,…more…please.”

“Can you let go of my ears, please? I know where I’m going, and you don’t need to steer.”

Kelly laughed as she let go of his ears, moving her hands to the back of his head, and then she forced his head down.

Tony squeezed her cheeks and then brought her body up higher, licking and sucking her pussy lips into his mouth as he gripped her firm ass cheeks a little harder. He felt her feet on his shoulders and noticed her lips opening further when she moved her knees apart. Diving into her opening with his tongue, he fucked it as fast as he could while she ground her clit against his nose. Her whole body was shaking as he relentlessly pushed his tongue into her as deeply as he could. He could feel her juices covering his face, and he lapped harder. Her hands rubbed furiously through his hair, and then she grabbed onto it and started pulling.

“Oh God!” she screamed and brought her legs up, clamping Tony’s head firmly between her thighs. She moved her hips up and down, grinding on his face as her orgasm approached. She couldn’t believe the rush–waves of pleasure crashed against her body, and when the final wave approached, she held onto his hair tighter and thrust her hips up, shaking violently in his grasp.

Kelly gasped for air and dropped her body back down into his hands, slowly loosening her thigh grip around his head. As her body went limp, Tony set her back on the bed and licked her gently, enjoying the small aftershock shivers running through her body.

“My God!” she whispered as she threw her hands back on the bed. “Who knew? I mean, that was so incredible.”

“Well, I hate to brag,” Tony said, inching his way up the bed and lying beside her. “But I was pretty sure you’d enjoy it.” He brushed her hair back and smiled lovingly at her. “Here’s something else you might enjoy,” he said and then propped himself up on one elbow and leaned down, kissing her lightly at first. Then he pressed his tongue into her mouth, knowing she’d be tasting herself on him. Her arms went around his neck and pulled him down, and he pulled her close and kissed her harder, feeling her devouring his tongue. Her fingernails pressed into his back and then slowly scratched down his back while she pulled him hard against her.

Kelly pulled her head back, breathing hard. “I want you,” she stated.

“I’m yours,” he whispered, leaning to kiss her.

She pushed one hand against his forehead, stopping him. “No, you don’t understand. I want you. I want you right now!”

Tony grinned. “Oh, you want me.”

“Badly…now…” she whimpered as she tried to shimmy under him. “Now, now, now…”

“Now,” he repeated as he moved his body over hers.

She spread her legs, allowing him to move between them, and then wiggled beneath him until she was in the right spot. As he leaned down to kiss her, she wrapped her legs around his hips, pulling him down. He kissed her harder, his passion erupting as he felt her wet pussy rubbing against his shaft. Moving his hips a little, the head of his cock started bumping against her clit, and she bit his lip as she arched into him.

Kelly loosened her legs a little and moved her hand between their bodies. She pressed her fingertips against his cock, pushing it back until it was sitting right against her opening. Then she rubbed her clit, feeling her cream clinging to her fingers, and then moved them to her lips, spreading her cream. Tony groaned as he watched her lips shine with her juices. He wanted to thrust into her and feel her warmth surround him, but instead, he stayed still, watching her lick her lips.

“Kiss me,” she whispered, and when he leaned his head down and pressed his lips against hers, she tightened her legs and thrust her hips up, driving his cock into her deeply.

Tony moaned into her mouth, his head spinning. Her body clenched his, pulling him in and causing spine-tingling sensations to wash over him. He pulled away from her mouth, looking down into her lust-filled eyes. Aggressively, he started pounding into her, feeling that it was what she wanted and feeling unable to hold back what he needed.

“Yes,” she moaned, holding onto his shoulders. “God, yes…don’t stop…so good…fuck…”

Tony smiled at his wild, little vixen and thrust into her harder with long, solid strokes. Her pussy was wet and tight, contracting around his cock and hungrily taking him in. She bucked wildly under him, moaning and whispering dirty words, which excited him beyond belief. They didn’t sound dirty when she said them–just incredibly arousing.

He pulled back, pushing his chest against hers and only leaving the tip of his cock inside of her. Her eyes grew wide, and she struggled to pull him back in, but she couldn’t because he had her pinned, which was driving her wild.

“Tony,” she whimpered, scratching her nails down his arms.

“More, Baby?” he whispered. He wasn’t sure how much more he could take. He never expected to see such passion before or to feel it.

“More!” she growled, wiggling frantically under him. “Fuck…more…more…damn it…”

He pushed himself up and then rammed himself back into her in one long, hard stroke. She moaned and began thumping her body against his. The rhythm was fast, unruly, and when he looked down and saw her breasts bouncing up and down, he moaned and felt her body begin to tense.

“I want you to cum,” he growled in her ear.

“No, not yet,” she moaned. “God, this feels so fucking good.”

Tony smiled–he was in love with a sailor. Reaching back, he grabbed one of Kelly’s ankles and pulled it up, hooking it around his arm, and then repeated with her other leg. He looked down at her and smiled before driving himself deeply into her again.

Kelly brought her legs up and hung onto her ankles, pulling her legs up against her shoulders. She looked down, watched Tony’s cock plunging into her pussy, and moaned.

“You feel so good,” he moaned as he leaned down and pressed his chest against her legs. Beneath him, she was almost folded in half–squirming and moaning loudly. “I wondered what this was like from the first moment I saw you.”

Kelly thrust up against him and closed her eyes, listening to the sounds of him dipping into her wet pussy. “You thought about fucking me?” she panted. She let go of her legs and put her hands on his shoulders, letting her nails scratch against his skin.

He moaned and pulled his cock almost right out of her and then drove it back in, bumping her up the bed. “Yes,” he growled. “I thought about fucking you…and then I thought about making love with you…then fucking…God, you’re so wet,” he moaned. He found himself getting turned on just by the way they were talking to each other.

“Tony…” Kelly panted. “I want to turn around…”

Tony moved slower, looking into her eyes. He leaned down and kissed her gently and then harder, sucking her bottom lip between his. When he pulled back, he looked at her again and caught his breath. Her eyes were shut, her lips half parted, and her thick mane was fanned against the pillow.

She opened her eyes and pushed his shoulders back. Slowly he leaned back and watched his wet cock slowly emerge from her. Her juices were thick and shiny, clinging to his skin. He watched her squirm and turn over, slowly stroking his warm wet cock. With her on her knees in front of him, he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her back, attacking her neck. She rubbed back against him, pressing her ass against his cock, sending shivers of desire up his spine. She turned her head and kissed him hard, biting on his lip.

“I want you to fuck me,” she growled and then pulled away from him. With her head and breasts against the mattress, she pulled her knees up and spread them wide.

“Oh God,” he whispered, looking down at the image in front of him. Between her thighs, her pussy was pink and dripping with her cream. He ran his finger between her swollen lips and watched her body shake as she pushed back against it.

“Tony, please,” she whimpered.

He shuffled up snuggly behind her and grabbed her hips, pulling her back and then pushing her forward. Each stroke rubbed her pussy lips up and down his shaft, with the head stroking her clit.

She whimpered more, and he smiled. “Are you sure you want this?”

She slammed back against him. “Yes, fuck…”

His hands slid down her ass cheeks and spread them as he pulled back and then inched forward, the head of his cock slowly penetrating her.

They both moaned, and then Kelly pushed herself back hard, impatiently needing to feel him back inside of her. “Yes…”

He held her hips again and started pounding into her. The sound of their bodies slapping together filled the room, combined with whimpers and moans. Tony looked down and watched where their bodies had joined. The site of her inner lips sticking to his cock was almost too much to bear.

“Oh God!” she screamed and shoved back. She reached her hands out, grasping onto the comforter as Tony continued to drive into her. “I’m cumming!” she screamed, and her body let go of the orgasm it had been building in a series of shakes, thrusts, whimpers, and moans.

“Kelly,” he whispered, finally letting himself go. He moaned and dug his fingers into her hips as his body released, jerking into her writhing body, and he came hard, locked deep inside her pussy. “My God…”

Kelly flopped down against the bed, and he smiled as he moved from between her legs and laid down beside her. She rolled onto her side and pressed herself against him. They held each other close, panting hard and enjoying the feeling of their bodies sticking together, bathing in the afterglow. Tony kissed her forehead and then her eyelids, working his way down to her lips. The kiss was gentle and full of tender feelings, which didn’t need to be spoken.

Tony broke the kiss and looked at Kelly, feeling his heart swell. “Hang on,” he whispered and held her tight, rolling onto his back.

Kelly looked down at him, and pushed back, feeling him brushing against her. “How much for a ride, Mister?” she asked, grinning at him.

Tony laughed and touched her face. “It’s free, but the ride doesn’t start for another couple of hours.”

She smiled and rubbed her nose against his. “It’s well worth the wait.” She kissed him and then hugged him tightly. “I love you, Tony,” she whispered softly.

“Pardon?”

Kelly moved up. “You heard me.”

“No, I didn’t,” he lied.

She took a deep breath. “I said, I love you, Tony.”

“Pardon?”

Kelly laughed and shouted, “I love you, Tony Sicumera!!” Her voice rang out through the small room, and he laughed.

“Pardon?”

Kelly swatted his head playfully. Her stomach growled loudly, and they both laughed. She smiled sweetly at Tony and said, “How about dragging that table over to the bed, and we’ll see how many items on it can be spread and then licked?”

Tony smiled and touched her face. “Consider it moved.” He looked deeply into her eyes, seeing the fire and passion but also something more that was deep and tender. His heart pounded fast, and when he went to stand up, his legs just about gave up on him. Despite his physical weakness, he had never felt better. As he pushed the table to the end of the bed, he looked at Kelly and swore to himself he would do everything in his power to make every day and night better than the last.

“Tony?”

“Yes?”

“You look like you’re a million miles away,” she said as she crawled to the end of the bed.

His eyes gazed down her body and then back up, settling on her eyes. “I love you,” he whispered. The words didn’t seem like enough; although, they said it all–pure and simple.

She smiled at him. “Pardon?”

He grinned. “I said, I love you!”

She cupped her ear. “Huh?”

“I love you, Kelly McInnis! Will you marry me?” he yelled and then they both looked at each other, shocked. He had been thinking it, but somehow it slipped out. She would think it was too soon, he was sure of it.

“Marry?”

“Yes.”

“Me?”

“Yes.”

“You?”

“Yes, it works better with two people, I hear.”

“Can I think about it?” she asked.

Tony smiled gently, but inside his heart was breaking. “Yes.”

“Thanks,” she said softly and patted the bed beside her. Tony sat down. “Tony?”

“Yes?”

“Yes.”

“Pardon?”

“I thought about it, and my answer is yes.”

He pulled her into his arms and then down onto the bed, leaving the food untouched for another few hours.

“I think my dress shrunk,” she said, pulling at the sides.

“Maybe you ate too much,” he said and received a smack. He laughed and put his keys in the door and then let Kelly in before entering himself.

“This is beautiful,” she said, looking around the spacious penthouse apartment.

He moved behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, kissing her neck. “It’s a place.”

“Well, it’s not as nice as mine, but it would do,” she said as she tilted her head to the side, allowing him to nibble on her neck.

“I’ve always wanted to live in the country,” he admitted before taking her earlobe between his lips.

“Why didn’t you move there, then?” She moaned softly as his hands moved up to her breasts.

“Too lonely by myself, and at least by living here, I’m close to the office which is actually more of a home than this showplace.” He squeezed her breasts and then attacked her neck again, tasting her skin.

“Would you like to live in the country now? With me?”

He stopped sucking. “Depends.”

“On?”

“Can I roll you over in the clover?”

Kelly laughed. “Only if you end up on the bottom.”

“Done,” he said and rubbed his thumbs against her nipples. He could feel them hard beneath her dress.

She moaned and pressed her ass back against him. “I have a thought,” she said.

“Hmm?” He rubbed against her, fully aroused and completely in love.

“Before we move to the country, we need to practice rolling–just in case we find that we don’t like it.”

“Excellent idea,” he said and he pulled her to the floor, lying her back on the thick carpeting. “Let’s start right now.”

“You’ll love him, Mom; I promise,” Kelly said absently as she looked down at her drawing. She frowned and erased the top of the sleeves and made them not quite so puffy.

“I’m sure we will,” her mother said, sounding not really convinced. “Are you sure roast beef is okay for dinner? Maybe I should make something a little fancier, I mean…”

“Mom…Mom…Mom,…really, that’s perfect. You’re the best cook I know, and that’s saying a lot considering my love for food.”

“But maybe Tony would like something else.”

“Tony will love whatever you make,” she said, smiling at her drawing. “Trust me on that.”

Her mother still didn’t sound convinced and let out a sigh. “Okay…”

Kelly smiled at her mother’s nervousness. “I need to go. We’ll see you tomorrow night, okay?”

“Okay, Honey, bye.”

“Bye, Mom,” she said and dropped the phone back in the cradle. She put her sketchpad in her portfolio case and then put on her shoes and coat and ran out the door.

“This is amazing, Kelly.”

Kelly let out her breath. “You’re sure? You’re not just saying that?”

Rosa looked at her and smiled. “No way, this is really beautiful, and I can picture it.”

“Rosa?”

“Yes?”

“Would Tony’s parents have liked me?”

Rosa smiled softly. “Tony’s mother, Catherine, would have been thrilled with you. She always wanted a daughter; although, she loved the boys dearly. She always said there would be something magical about having a little girl. By you marrying Tony, she would have had the daughter she wanted, and I know that you two would have gotten along famously.”

Kelly smiled. “And his Dad?”

“Emil wouldn’t have been a hard sell at all,” she said with a distant look in her eye. “He was tough on the outside but a marshmallow inside, and he would have been wrapped around your little finger very quickly. He had a soft spot for women and always treated them with such respect that it was almost annoying sometimes, but it was the way he was raised.” She smiled at Kelly. “Tony is very much like his father that way.”

“I’ve noticed,” Kelly said smiling.

“So, yes, they would have loved you dearly. I wish they were still alive to see their youngest finally getting married.”

“I think they are still around,” Kelly whispered.

Rosa looked at her, a little shocked, and then she smiled. “Colpo di tuono.”

Kelly looked confused. “I thought that meant thunderstruck.”

“It does,” Rosa said, sitting down beside Kelly. She looked around her shop and smiled wearily. She was starting to feel her age and then some. “It is said that when colpo di tuono strikes, you actually find yourself sharing a soul with your partner. It’s like pieces of you and Tony trade places–senses, feelings, and the such.”

“Really?” Kelly said slowly, trying to figure out exactly what Rosa was saying.

“Yes,…and by you saying you think Catherine and Emil are still around, it proves what they say about colpo di tuono is true.”

“How so?”

“Tony had a close relationship with both of his parents, and I think he suffered their loss more than anyone else who knew them. Sometimes when he talks about them, he speaks of them in the present tense, which I’ve always taken as them still being quite near him.” Rosa looked into Kelly’s eyes. “Can you feel them?”

Kelly shivered and nodded. “Last night, I was on Tony’s balcony, and I felt something, almost a closeness and it was powerful. I can’t explain it and people might have me locked up for even thinking it, but after the feeling left, I actually felt like…this sounds so stupid, but I felt like I just got to know them.”

Rosa lifted Kelly’s chin and looked into her eyes. “I won’t have you committed, honestly.” She smiled softly. “Some things shouldn’t be explained; some things can’t be explained;…sometimes you need to feel and not think.”

“You sound just like Tony,” Kelly said.

“Well, he learnt from the best,” Rosa said smiling and then reached out and hugged Kelly close. “Welcome to the family, Kelly,” she whispered.

Lucy waited in her car until she saw Kelly coming out the factory doors, and then she jumped out of her car and crossed the street.

“Hello, Kelly,” she said.

Kelly put on her sunglasses and smiled at Lucy, wondering to what she owed the pleasure. “Hi, Lucy.”

“It’s a beautiful day, isn’t it?”

“Uh huh, it is.” Kelly stared at her, waiting for the bomb to drop. “Is there something I can do for you or were you just in the neighbourhood?”

Lucy smiled. “Actually, I wanted to congratulate you. I heard through the grapevine you and Tony are getting married.”

“Yes,” Kelly said, unsure what else to say. “Thanks.”

“That was fast, wasn’t it? Him proposing, I mean.”

“Yes, it was, I suppose.”

“Well that’s Tony,” Lucy said, letting out a little forced laugh. “He sets his mind to something and he just goes after it.”

Kelly smiled. “I guess, yes.”

“I knew he’d accomplish his mission.”

“Mission?”

“Yes, his mission to find a woman from his old neighbourhood.”

“I don’t understand,” Kelly said.

“You know,” Lucy said, smiling for real this time. “Tony is so involved with his old neighbourhood. He helps people, puts up buildings, builds parks–it’s one big community project for him.”

Kelly crossed her arms over her chest. “So you’re saying I’m part of Tony’s community project?” she said dryly.

“Of course not!” Lucy said laughing. “You just fit the description he was seeking for a wife.”

“Description?”

“Yes,” Lucy said and then paused for effect. She could tell she had Kelly’s complete attention now. “He was looking for someone from his old class so he could prove to those “non-believers” that he still cared about the neighbourhood.”

Kelly stared at Lucy, feeling her stomach turn.

Lucy smiled and continued. “It’s very important to Tony that people believe he’s still the same man he was when he lived here–Italian pride or something. By marrying someone from here, he knew he would still be taken seriously.”

Kelly didn’t know what to say. On one hand, she didn’t believe Lucy because she knew Lucy didn’t like her and was jealous. On the other hand, Lucy probably knew more about Tony than she did; although, she did know that Tony was very involved in the community–trying to save it. Was he really going to marry her because of what Lucy said? Was he that shallow?

“I’m not actually from the neighbourhood,” Kelly said. “I just live there now.”

“It doesn’t matter. I mean you’ve lived there for a while, and you work here, so you’re as much a part of it as anyone who was born here.” She smiled and continued. “Tony was probably very pleased to find you as opposed to some of the other women he might have had to settle for.”

Settle? Kelly felt her temper rising. She didn’t believe Lucy–she wouldn’t.

“He was lucky the day he went for a walk and found you like he did. He said so.”

“He told you how we met?”

“Of course,” Lucy lied. “Some thugs from the pool hall were harassing you, and he saved you. A regular knight in an Armani suit, he is.”

Why would Tony tell Lucy that? She thought he wasn’t even talking to her anymore. Maybe he told her that before the night at the gallery opening. Or maybe what she was saying was true. Kelly thought about it. Tony had proposed very quickly, which seemed weird since he seemed kind of “Old World” about most everything else. Maybe he was worried that she’d go back to Jason, and then he’d have to marry some recovering junkie or something! The more she thought about it, the more betrayed she felt.

“I have to get home,” Kelly said as she walked by Lucy.

“Okay! Well, have a great weekend, and congratulations again. I’m sure you’ll be very happy.” Lucy sneered and watched Kelly hurry down the sidewalk. “Slut,” she whispered and headed back to her car, whistling softly to herself.”

Tony hummed along to the song on the radio as he drove the long stretch of highway which eventually would lead him into Kelly’s hometown. He checked his watch and wondered if he would make it on time. He hadn’t counted on his flight being delayed or the hassle of trying to find his luggage, which the airline was positive was still in Los Angeles. He didn’t care–he was glad to be back home and, more importantly, on his way to see Kelly. After four days without her, he found himself longing for her. His heart did flip-flops just thinking about her. They had talked every night on the phone for hours, and a couple of times she had even briefly fallen asleep while he was talking to her.

He wondered if he should be nervous about meeting her parents. He was positive they would be as wonderful as she was and he had no reason to worry, but he still did. He wondered what they thought of their daughter marrying someone seventeen years her senior. How would he feel if it were his daughter? As much as he knew that age didn’t matter when it came to how they felt about each other, he still couldn’t help but worry that her parents would hold it against him.

He checked her directions again as he slowly entered the town. Her instructions said to go to the lights and turn right. He laughed, remembering when he asked her which set of lights and she had replied that there was only one set. Stopped at the red light, he looked around and admired the little town. There was something very charming about it. The streets were decorated with pumpkins and bales of hay, reminding people that Halloween was just around the corner. The gas station on the opposite corner had big black spiders and wispy spider webs hanging in the window, and he watched as a little boy and his mother stopped to admire the display. Someday, that might be Kelly and our son, he thought and then smiled. He wanted kids–he always had.

A horn beeped behind him, and he noticed the light had turned green. He turned the corner and headed down the road, checking the direction again. About one mile out of town and then right on the first paved road; go down the road, over two large hills, and it was the house on the left at the bottom of the second hill. He smiled and shook his head at her directions.

When he pulled into the driveway, he knew he was at the right place because Kelly had once described the massive brick house she had grown up in. After parking the car, he took a deep breath, grabbed the two bouquets of flowers from the passenger seat, and then headed to the front door.

Kelly opened the door before he could knock, and he smiled brightly. “Hi!”

“Hi, Tony,” she said, flashing him a quick smile.

He frowned. “What’s wrong?”

“You’re late,” she said, staring at him.

He checked his watch. “I’m sixteen minutes late, you’re right. My apologies.”

She shrugged. “Come in.”

Tony didn’t move. “Kelly, please tell me what’s wrong.”

“Nothing–come in.”

“No, I won’t come in until you tell me what’s wrong.”

“Fine, then stay out there,” she said and turned around, closing the door behind her.

He stood there, not really believing what had just happened. The door opened and he was about to ask her what the hell was going on, but he found himself looking at Kelly’s mother. “Hi,” he said.

She smiled and held out her hand. “I take it you’re Tony?”

“Yes, Ma’am,” he said, shaking her small hand.

“I’m Anne,” she said. “Come in, please.”

Tony followed her into the house, immediately greeted with the smells of dinner. His stomach growled, and he realized how hungry he was. He looked quickly around, trying to catch a glimpse of Kelly.

“Did you have a nice trip?”

“It was nice,” he said, feeling uncomfortable. “Oh, these are for you–well one is for you and the other for Kelly. I don’t suppose you know where she went?”

Anne took both bouquets and smiled. “They’re beautiful, thank you. How thoughtful.” She smiled at him and asked him to follow her to the kitchen where they could talk.

“Have a seat while I put these in water,” she said.

Tony sat at the kitchen table and watched her. He could see where Kelly got her good looks from–Anne was a beautiful woman.

“Can I get you anything?”

“Sure,” he said. “How about my fiancée?”

Anne laughed. “Actually, I meant something to drink–how about some white wine? You look like you could use a glass…or two.”

He smiled. “I’d love some, thanks.”

He watched as she finished putting the flowers in vases and then as she poured two glasses of wine.

She handed him a glass and then sat down across the table from him. “Kelly said she was going to take a walk through the fields, and then mentioned you were standing outside the door.” She smiled softly. “She’s been in a mood since I picked her up this afternoon. I’ve been trying to pry out of her what’s wrong but so far, nothing.”

“I was expecting a warmer reception,” he said before taking a sip of his wine. He smiled at her. “She seemed fine when we talked last night–very excited about coming here and me meeting you and your husband.” He frowned, wondering what had changed. He wracked his brain, trying to figure out if there was something he had forgotten. Surely, she wasn’t upset that he had been a little late.

“Kelly needs to sort whatever it is out in her mind, and then I know you’ll hear about it,” Anne said reassuringly.

Tony laughed. “Yes, I suppose I will.” He remembered the night in the rain.

They talked comfortably as they enjoyed their wine. Anne told him stories about the kids when they were growing up–the mischief they got in, their disappointments, and their victories. It was obvious she was proud of each and every one of them.

There was a thunderous noise from outside, and they both looked at each other.

Anne frowned. “It must be serious.”

“Why? What was that noise?”

Anne stood up, and Tony followed her as she went to the set of French doors that led out onto the deck. Pulling the blinds back, she and Tony watched as Kelly went flying through the field on a huge black horse.

“She rides like that when she’s upset,” Anne said, leaning against the glass and watching her daughter. “The horse she’s on is Black Magic–her baby, if you can call a stallion that size a baby.” She smiled at him and then returned her gaze out the window. “That horse seems to sense when she’s upset and runs like hellfire for her. No one else can make him do anything he doesn’t want to, but he’s always had a soft spot for Kelly.”

Tony watched as they disappeared over a hill and then reappeared farther back in the field. The horse was beautiful and huge–powerful. Kelly looked small on his back. “Isn’t it dangerous riding him like that?”

Anne smiled and touched his shoulder. “She’s fine. She’s an experienced rider, and Magic wouldn’t do anything to hurt her.”

She moved from the door and returned to the kitchen to check on dinner. Picking up her glass of wine, she watched Tony. Kelly hadn’t exaggerated when she said he was good looking, and he certainly didn’t look forty-four. He looked mid-thirties dressed in his faded jeans and rugby shirt. She smiled to herself at the look on his face–he was definitely a man in love. The phone rang, and she sighed and then went to answer it–it was probably Gord telling her he’d be late for dinner–again.

Tony watched Kelly as she circled the field over and over again. Black Magic’s powerful legs moved gracefully as he ran. He wished he knew what was wrong with her. He knew how damn stubborn she was and wondered how long it would take her to tell him. He stood there for another moment, listening to Anne chat on the phone, and then pulled open the sliding door and slipped outside.

Jamming his hands in his pockets, he walked slowly to the fence, feeling the cool October breeze. He shivered and thought about going to the car to get his jacket but then decided against it. He could see Kelly coming, and he leaned against the fence and watched her. Black Magic roared by him, the sounds of his hooves against the hard ground was almost deafening. Tony opened the gate and walked into the field, not knowing where he was going, just that he needed to do something. The ground actually shook behind him, and he knew they were close. He stopped and turned around and then saw his life flash before his eyes as the stallion moved quickly towards him. He stood there, trying to show no fear, as the pair moved quickly to him and stopped suddenly. The horse’s black coat was soaked with sweat, and he snorted.

“You shouldn’t be out here,” Kelly yelled to him.

Magic started to prance and then snorted again–he looked agitated over Tony’s presence. “Why not?”

“Because you could get run over.”

“Is that what you want?” he asked, looking up at her. He wanted to move forward but knew he was no match for the black beast who stood between him and Kelly.

“Yes…no…”

“Which is it Kelly–yes or no? If the answer is yes, then I’ll just lay down in the grass here and make it easier for you and this monster.”

Kelly looked at him and frowned. She threw her leg over Magic and slid down the saddle onto the ground. Pulling the reins over his head, she started leading him back to the barn. Tony walked beside her, a little more than uncomfortable with the horse following so closely behind him. He could feel its hot breath on his back.

She handed Tony the reins, pulled Magic’s saddle off, and then disappeared into the barn with it. He stood there and stared at the horse, wondering what to say. “Thanks for not running over me out there,” he said, smiling at Magic. “Listen, maybe you could tell me what’s wrong with her? It would save me a lot of grief, and she’d probably put a lot less miles on you too.” Magic snorted and shook his head. “Okay, okay,…it was just a suggestion.”

Kelly returned with a bright red horse blanket and draped it over Magic, securing it around his thick neck and under his belly. She took off his bridle and hung it on the fence, replacing it with his halter and a lead. Holding the lead, she started walking in a circle around the small pasture. Tony leaned against the fence and watched as Magic lumbered behind her, slowly cooling off.

“Why don’t you tell me why the hell you’re so mad at me?” he said finally.

She stopped and looked at him, her heart breaking. Over the course of a few hours, she had fought with herself, over and over again. She tried to reason with herself, but it wasn’t working. As much as she didn’t want to believe what Lucy said, she couldn’t help it. The pieces fit just a little too well. She looked at the ground and then at him, anger taking over her body. “You’re no better than Jason!”

“What? What the hell are you talking about?” He moved towards her, and Magic started stomping his front feet, making Tony stop. “Explain what you just said.”

“You told me you loved me, and it’s nothing but a farce: you just want a trophy wife from your old neighbourhood!”

Tony shook his head. “What?”

“You just want to marry me to prove some kind of a point, and I won’t do it!”

“Kelly,” he said softly, moving forward again until Magic started stomping again. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Kelly started to cry. “You weren’t looking for a wife–you were looking for someone else to save; well, I don’t need that! I don’t need you to save me! I’m not one of your community projects so you’ll have to find someone else,” she screamed between sobs. She held the robe tightly, feeling the horse tugging.

“Where the hell did you get an idea like that?” he asked, daring to step closer. He looked at her and the black beast behind her whose eyes were boring into him.

“Why don’t you just admit it so we can end this!”

“I’ll do no such thing!” He was yelling now. “Tell me why you think that.”

“Lucy said..”

“Lucy? When did you talk to Lucy?”

“Today–she came to see me today to congratulate me and let it slip about your plans when you were looking for a wife.”

Tony laughed angrily. “You fucking believe a word she says?”

“It fits!” Kelly sobbed. “Everything she said fits;…she knows how we met and…”

“And what?” He could feel his temples pounding. “You believe something that a conniving bitch like Lucy says over what you know to be true?”

“I don’t know what’s true anymore,” she cried. “I only know that I trusted you with my heart, and you broke it.”

Tony swore and walked towards her. Magic started stomping and snorting, shaking his head wildly. “You!” Tony yelled and pointed at the horse. “I’ve had about all I can take of you; now fucking stop it!” Magic stopped and stared at him. “Thank you,” he said and then looked at Kelly. “And you,” he yelled. “How can you believe anything she says–and not just that, how can you not believe everything I’ve told you up to this point is anything but the truth. I’ve waited for you my whole life, and you’re going to throw away what we’ve found because of that lying bitch?” His voice grew softer. “I love you, Kelly–not because of where you come from or where you are now. I love you–plain and simple.”

Kelly sniffed. “She lied.”

Tony reached out and touched her cheek with his fingertips. “Yes, she lied.”

“The fucking bitch!” Kelly said. “Damn it, I knew she was lying! I knew she was trying to get to me, but I couldn’t stop thinking, and the more I thought, the more it made sense, and the more it made sense, the madder I got and the madder…”

Tony grabbed the back of her head with both of his hands and pulled her lips against his, kissing her tenderly. He felt her arms wrap around his neck as he pulled her into his arms. He pulled back from the kiss and looked down into her watery blue eyes.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I feel so insecure about this relationship.”

“Why?” he asked.

“Because I keep thinking I’m going to wake up and find it’s all been a dream and you were nothing but a figment of my imagination.”

“Would it help if I told you that I feel exactly the same way?”

She smiled at him weakly. “Yes.”

He pulled her close. “Sometimes I wonder why it took so long to find you, and then I worry that you’re going to decide I’m not what you were looking for and leave me. I feel like I’ve known you forever, and then for only a few seconds. We have so much to learn about each other still, and I hope to spend the rest of my life learning.”

Kelly started to cry again, feeling like a fool. She hugged him tight, pressing her wet cheek against his. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered.

“It’s okay, Baby,” he said softly. He closed his eyes and sighed happily while he stroked her hair. He thought about Lucy for a brief second and then pushed the thought away–he would deal with her very soon.

Dinner was comfortable and delicious. Tony complimented Anne several times and thought if he had too many meals at their house, he’d need to work out a lot. The conversation consisted mostly of Kelly’s Dad, Gord, firing questions at Tony, which he seemed to answered to Gord’s satisfaction.

Anne served warm apple pie for dessert and then looked at Kelly and then Tony. “So when’s the big day?”

“Good question,” Kelly said. She looked at Tony and smiled. “Next spring?”

Tony was about to take another bite of his pie and he stopped. “Next spring? I was thinking next week.”

Kelly laughed. “Yeah, right.”

He smiled. “I’m serious, I was.”

“Next week?”

“Okay, a couple of weeks then.”

“Do you know how long it takes to prepare for a wedding?” Kelly asked.

“It can’t be that hard,” Tony said.

Gord laughed at the look on Kelly’s face. “I think Tony just needs a ladder.”

Tony laughed and grinned at Kelly. “I could get a ladder fairly quickly or we could just use your fire escape.”

“You two aren’t funny,” she said. “I want a real wedding.”

“How about Vegas,” Gord asked, looking directly at Tony.

“Hey, now that works–I’ve always wanted to get married by Elvis.”

“If you go to Vegas, then you’ll be marrying Elvis,” Kelly said.

Tony smiled at Kelly and then took her hand in his. “I will marry you anywhere, anytime–name the time and place and I’ll be there.”

Kelly smiled at him. “Okay, five weeks tomorrow–here.” The room went quiet, and Kelly looked at them all and grinned. “Well, how hard can it be?”

Kelly smiled at Rachelle and walked into Tony’s office. “I am officially unemployed and soon to be homeless,” she announced.

Tony smiled at her and held out his arms after pushing his chair back. Kelly sat on his lap, and he hugged her tight, burying his face in her neck and hair. “You’ll never be homeless,” he said, kissing her neck.

“Guess what I did?”

He looked up at her and smiled. “You found us a house?”

“Nope.”

“You cancelled the church and booked us a flight to Vegas?”

“Nope.”

“I give up.”

“You’re really bad at this guessing thing,” she said. “After I turned in my notice for my lease, I was heading back into my apartment, and the door to the apartment across from me was open. There was a little boy standing in the doorway smiling at me. I guess they just moved in, or I’ve just never noticed them, but anyway, his mother came over to bring him back inside, and I talked to her for a few moments. I noticed they had no furniture. There was a little girl playing with something in the middle of the empty living room.”

“How come?”

“I didn’t pry, but I suspect she just moved in with her two kids–no husband around from what I could gather.”

“Ahhh…” he said. He rubbed her thigh and kissed her shoulder.

“So now they have furniture, and I’ll need to move into your place sooner than planned.”

Tony laughed. “You gave them all your furniture?”

“Uh huh. Poor Sinbad is walking around mewing trying to figure out what’s going on.”

“Kelly?”

“Yes?”

“Do you have any idea how absolutely incredible you are?”

Kelly pulled off his tie and started unbuttoning his shirt. “No, why don’t you tell me about it.”

“What are you doing?”

“I’m undressing you.”

“Here?”

“Why not?”

“It’s the middle of the day, and this is my office.”

“And?”

Tony smiled and shook his head. “And…and I see no reason why not.” He held her tight, stood up, and then planted her in his chair. After popping his head out the door and telling Rachelle he was not to be disturbed, he closed the door and flipped the lock, just in case.

“Now you’re in big trouble,” he said.

Kelly leaned back in his big chair and put her feet up on his desk. “Think so?”

“Know so,” he said as he walked back to her.

“And should I hire you, Mr. Sicumera, what can you offer my company? I mean, you president types are a dime a dozen, so you’ll need to sell yourself to me.”

Tony scratched his head. “Well, Ms. McInnis, I’m not really good at explaining things; maybe I could show you–a visual application for the position, if you will.”

Kelly grinned. “I like your approach, Mr. Sicumera. Show me how you’d get the job done, and it’ll be yours. And if I approve of your tactics,” she said as she waved her arms around his office. “All this could be yours, too.”

Tony looked around. “Sorry, I’ll need something a little more enticing than this office.”

Kelly smiled and cupped her breasts through her blouse. “Okay, these could also be yours.”

“A much sweeter offer,” he said as he watched her hands fondling her breasts. “Anything else?”

“Depends,” Kelly said. “What position are you applying for?”

Tony leaned against his desk. “I was thinking about you over my desk for starters.”

“I like the way you think,” she said, grinning at him.

“How about you…” Tony stopped and listened. Outside his office there was a flurry of voices and then a pounding at his door. “How about you hold that thought, and we’ll see who is about to piss me off.”

He walked to the door, unlocked it, and swung it open. “What the hell do you want?”

“I came to see you,” Lucy said, smiling at him.

“I’m sorry,” Rachelle said, “I tried to tell her that you were busy and didn’t want to be disturbed, but she wouldn’t listen.”

Tony smiled at Rachelle, letting her know it was okay, and then he glared at Lucy. He stood back and opened the door, allowing her to enter his office, and then he closed the door.

Lucy smiled and walked in, happy that she had once again gotten her way. She continued smiling until she saw Kelly sitting at Tony’s desk.

“Hey, Lucy,” Kelly said. “What’s shakin’?”

Lucy ignored her and turned to Tony, who had just closed the door and was now leaning against it. “Could we talk in private please?”

“Anything you want to say to me, you can say in front of my wife,” he said.

“Your wife?”

“Yes, didn’t you hear? We ran off to Vegas on Friday and got married.”

“Friday?”

“Yes, right after you talked to Kelly, she came here and was thrilled to be another one of my community projects. She was so thrilled in fact that she couldn’t wait to become my wife.”

Lucy turned and looked at Kelly, who was smiling. “It’s true. Your speech was so inspiring to me, I just couldn’t wait.”

“But…”

“But what, Lucy?” Tony said, the anger very apparent in his voice. “You thought Kelly would run? You hoped the things you said to her–the blatant lies you told–would scare her away from me?”

“No, I…” Lucy felt cornered and became defensive. “I thought I could talk some sense into her–for both of your sakes! I was trying to help, that’s all.”

“Help? You think that by telling Kelly lies about why I chose her for a wife, it would be helping?” Lucy began to cry, and Tony glared at her. “What’s wrong Lucy? Can’t you worm your way out of this one?”

“Why are you being such a bastard to me?” she asked.

“I haven’t yet become a bastard, Lucy, but very shortly you’ll find out that I really am one.”

“What does that mean?” she asked. She looked worried.

Tony smiled, wondering where all the tears went. “Well, I only allow myself to donate a certain amount of money a year towards charities and community projects, and since Kelly is now my biggest project, I’ll no longer be funding any part of your gallery.”

“You can’t do that!” Lucy squealed.

“I can and I have,” he said calmly. He opened the door. “Next time you decide to fuck with someone’s life, maybe you should think twice about how it’ll affect yours.” Tony looked behind Lucy at Kelly and wondered who she was phoning.

“But, Tony!” Lucy started crying again–this time they were real tears. The thought of losing his financial support for her gallery was overwhelming.

“You’re no longer welcome in this building or in my life,” he said.

“Is there a problem, Mr. Sicumera?”

Tony turned to see a security guard outside his office, and he bit his bottom lip so he wouldn’t laugh. “I’d like you to escort this woman out of the building–she is not allowed back in here, ever.”

“Tony!” Lucy said.

“Please come with me, Ma’am,” the guard said.

“You can’t do this to me!” Lucy yelled and lunged at Tony. The guard grabbed her and carried her to the elevator, kicking and screaming.

Once the doors closed, Tony turned to Kelly, who was still sitting in his chair grinning. “Was calling security really necessary?”

“No,” she admitted but couldn’t stop smiling.

Tony laughed and held out his arms. “Come ‘ere.”

“Why?” she asked as she got out of the chair and moved slowly towards him. “Are you going to toss me out, too?

“No, your punishment will be a life sentence,” he said as he engulfed her in his arms and held her tight. “Now about that position I was going to apply for,…where were we?”

“It’ll have to wait; I told Rosa I’d be there at three o’clock.”

“Hey,” he said, looking down at her. “What about me?”

Kelly slapped his ass and then pulled away. “You go back to work and play nice with the other kids while I get ready to become your wife.”

“Sounds fair, I guess,” he said, trying to look serious. “But I think I was about to get laid, and it doesn’t look like it’s going to happen now.”

“Play your cards right, Sicumera, and maybe it will…later.”

Tony laughed and looked at his watch. “Why don’t you come back here after you see Rosa, and then we’ll go over to your apartment and pack your things and my furry buddy into my car so I can take you both home.”

Kelly smiled and hugged him tightly, loving the way that sounded. Home.

Kelly looked at her mother and smiled. “Whose idea was this anyway?”

“Yours,” Anne said, pinning up the back of Kelly’s hair. She smiled at her daughter. “I can’t believe you’re getting married today.”

“That makes two of us,” Kelly said. Her stomach was in knots, and she had to clasp her hands in her lap to stop them from shaking. “Ouch!”

“Sorry, Honey,” Anne said, readjusting the pin. “Cover your eyes.” Kelly put her hands over her eyes while Anne sprayed what seemed like half a bottle of hairspray on her hair. “There, a tornado couldn’t knock your hair down.”

Kelly smiled and waved away the hairspray. “Thanks, now I can register my hair as a lethal weapon.” She studied her reflection in the mirror and smiled. “Is this too much makeup?”

Anne studied her daughter’s face. “I don’t think so, no. Okay, what now?”

Kelly looked at her watch. “Oh, look! It’s just about time for my nervous breakdown!”

Anne laughed and sat in a chair beside Kelly. “You’re going to be fine, Kelly; really, you are.”

“I’m scared.”

Anne touched her face. “It’s perfectly natural to be scared, but I don’t think you have any reason to be.”

“Why does he love me, Mom?”

Anne smiled. “Oh, Kelly, how could he not love you? I’ve seen the way he looks at you and heard his voice when he talks to you–the man is completely head over heels in love with you.”

“Colpo di tuono,” Kelly said.

“What’s that mean?”

“Thunderstruck.”

Anne grinned. “Then, yes, colpo di tuono.”

“Do you think he’ll always love me?”

Anne lifted Kelly’s chin so they were eye to eye. “Unless I miss my mark, Tony will love you beyond the end of time.” She smiled softly. “Now quit stalling, and let’s get you into that beautiful creation of yours.”

“You have the wedding ring, right?”

“For the hundredth time, yes,” Max said smiling.

“Both rings?”

“YES!”

“Okay, good,” Tony said, taking a deep breath. “I can’t believe I never gave her an engagement ring.”

“When was there time?” Max joked.

Tony laughed. “Can you believe this? I met her about three months ago, and today we’re getting married–it’s unbelievable.”

“Getting cold feet?”

“No way,” Tony said, straightening his bow tie.

Max sat in the only chair in the small hotel room and leaned back, watching his best friend. “How does someone pull together a wedding in five weeks?”

“Easy,” Tony said as he sat on the corner of the bed. “You put two superwomen on the case, and the job got done.”

“What does Rosa think of all this?”

“Sorry, make that three superwomen,” Tony said smiling. “Rosa was only too delighted to get wound up in the wedding plans. She spent a lot of time with Kelly and Anne these past couple of weeks and seemed happier than hell.”

Max picked a piece of lint off his tuxedo jacket. “You know, as the best man, it’s in the rule books that I get to kiss the bride.”

“I guess that’s only fair since I planted a few on your wife when you got married.”

“You did?”

“Yeah, quite a few actually–she kept following me around and begging for more.”

Max laughed. “You’re full of shit.”

“Probably so,” Tony said as he checked his watch. He drummed his hands on the bed. “Why do you think Kelly loves me?”

“Why wouldn’t she? Hell, you’re a great guy–I’d marry you myself if I were a woman.”

“That’s reassuring, thanks.”

Max leaned forward. “Do you love her, Antonio? I mean really, really love her–heart and soul.”

“Yes, absolutely.”

“Then never question why she loves you–just accept that she does, and cherish her forever.”

Tony smiled softly. “You’re a wise man, Massimiliano,” Tony said and then ducked as a pillow flew over his head.

The wedding was to take place at four o’clock, and Kelly checked her watch again, sighing softly. She was a little nervous but no longer scared. She stopped wondering why Tony was marrying her; she just accepted that they loved each other and there didn’t need to be any other reason. She stood by the French doors and blocked out all the sounds around her. Her sister’s voice faded into the background, and she didn’t hear her Dad joking about taking the pickup truck and shoving her and her massive dress into the back.

The wind was blowing softly over the field–she could see the browning grass swaying gently. It was the first week in December, and there was still no snow. In the glass of the doors, she looked at her reflection. Rosa had done an amazing job of bringing one of her drawings to life in such a short time. She remembered the first time she slipped it on and how amazed she had been that something from her imagination looked as beautiful as she had dreamed. The dress was made from beautiful white Italian satin and had off-shoulder sleeves, and the tight bodice that scooped slightly between had appliques all over it. The full skirt was gathered tightly at the waist and billowed out around her. She had asked Rosa about the train and whether she thought it was too long. Rosa had replied, “Hell no!” and laughed, and now her dress sported a cathedral length train. As they worked on the dress, Rosa kept dropping little hints about it being time for her to retire and the need for someone to take over–Kelly had only smiled at her, but on the inside she was thrilled: it was her dream come true.

The wedding was being held at the small church in town, with around fifty guests who were all close friends and family. After the wedding they would go to the community hall for a catered dinner, reception, and dance. Tony had asked where she wanted to go on their honeymoon, and the choice was obvious–she wanted to see Italy. Tony had readily agreed and made all of the travel arrangements. In two days they left for Italy for a month–they would spend their first Christmas together there, and when they came back, their focus would be on looking for a house in the country.

Gord stood behind his daughter and put his hands on her shoulders. “The limo is here, Honey; it’s time to go.”

Kelly took a deep breath and smiled. She was ready.

Sunlight poured through the stained glass windows, flooding the aisle with a rainbow of soft colours. Tony waited at the front of the church, hands clasped in front of him and Max at his side. His heart pounded hard when the back doors opened and the crowd stood. Slowly, Kelly’s sister, Jenny, moved down the aisle, smiling at the crowd. Tony’s glance shifted to Anne and Rosa, who were in the front pew. Both women looked beautiful and excited, and he smiled knowing they had found a good friend in each other.

Jenny made it to the front of the church and took her place, giving Tony a reassuring wink. Tony smiled, briefly thinking about the family dinner at Anne and Gord’s place where he was introduced to Kelly’s brothers and sister and their spouses and children. The house had been packed and loud with activity, but he had loved every moment of it. Both of his brothers and their families had flown into town a couple of days before the wedding, and they had both congratulated him in private, letting him know they fully approved of his choice. Kelly had been perfectly at ease with all of them and had even played Barbie dolls with his three nieces, promising them once life settled down a little, she would provide each of their dolls with new wardrobes, which excited the girls to no end. Each of his nieces said several times, “Uncle Tony, we really like Aunt Kelly!”

The church was quiet, and then several gasps broke the silence as Kelly and Gord started their descent down the aisle. Tony caught his breath and felt his legs go weak at the sight of her. Her dress was a masterpiece, and she looked like an angel. Somewhere under the billowing veil was the woman he was going to spend the rest of his life with. She carried a single white rose with a long red ribbon hanging from it. His head spun and he felt weak. Behind him, Max moved closer and put his hand on his shoulder, steadying him.

Gord took Kelly’s hand and Tony’s, placing them together, before looking at Tony. “Take care of my little girl,” he whispered and smiled before taking his place beside Anne, who was crying softly.

Kelly squeezed Tony’s hand, and he brought her hand to his lips, kissing her fingers. They both smiled and then turned to the priest, ready to take their vows.

Kelly brushed out her hair, wincing as she worked the brush through the hairspray. “It would be easier and less painful just to cut it all off,” she said to Tony.

Tony stopped unbuttoning his shirt and looked at her. “Don’t you dare cut it all off!” His eyes roamed down her body. She was only wearing a white strapless bra and matching panties, and he couldn’t help but stare at her.

“What is it with you guys and women with long hair?”

He just grinned and pulled off his shirt, tossing it in the laundry hamper. He stretched and looked at the clock. “I can’t believe it’s three o’clock in the morning,” he said.

“I didn’t think they were ever going to let us leave,” Kelly said as she bent over, flipping her hair over her head before brushing it.

Tony looked at her bent over and felt his body stirring. “I was having fun–I don’t think I’ve ever been kissed so many times in one day before.” He moved behind her and put his hands on her hips, stroking them. “Although I must say, Mrs. Sicumera, it’s certainly nice to have you alone for a few hours.” He bumped playfully against her bottom.

“Hey now! I’m trying to brush my hair.”

“I don’t mind,” he said as he slipped his hands up her back and then gently grazed his nails down over her skin. He then leaned down and started kissing her spine as his arms slipped around her tightly. Kelly wiggled against him, and he smiled before standing up and pulling her with him.

“Hey, I wasn’t finished!” she said, laughing as he carried her over to the bed and dumped her on it.

“You’re finished now,” he said as he pulled off his belt and tossed it over his shoulder. As he took off his pants, he watched her move into the middle of the bed and wiggle suggestively at him. “Oh, you’re really finished now.”

“Promise?”

“Yes,” he whispered and then pounced on the bed beside her. He pulled her against him, and they kissed and touched, lying side by side.

“Are you tired?” he asked between kisses.

“Uh uh.”

“Wanna do something then?” he asked as his hand rubbed her back.

“Maybe,” she said as she moved one of her legs between his and pressed against him. “What did you have in mind?”

“I was thinking we could play that game where you’re a sailor and about to be shipped out to sea.” Kelly laughed and swatted his head. Tony grinned–he loved teasing her about her swearing while they made love. “Oh come on,” he said as he crawled on top of her. He bent down and kissed her. “You have no idea how much that turns me on.” He found himself addicted to making love to her. When their bodies moved together and became one, he could hear her thoughts and see her dreams. Months ago, he never would have believed that he could feel the kind of closeness he did when he was with her.

“I have a better idea,” she said as she wiggled under him and then brought her legs up and wrapped them around his waist, locking his body against hers.

“What would that be?” he asked as he rubbed against her.

“Let’s play a couple on their honeymoon about to spend the next month sightseeing in Italy and having sex in every possible place and position they can imagine!”

Tony grinned. “It’s a stretch, but I think we can pull it off.” He kissed her neck as he rocked against her. Only her panties stood between them, and he could feel her heat. Kelly started moaning, and he looked up at her. “Baby?”

“Yes?” Her hands were playing with his hair as she loosened her legs a little, allowing him to move down her body.

“Are you sure we can’t play sailor first?”

Kelly laughed and pushed his head down. “I really do ship out in the morning,” she said and then whispered to him what she wanted him to do to her.

———

Together they will prove that love knows no boundaries and it can overcome anything if it’s strong enough. It’s not a fairy tale: it doesn’t fade over time, nor does it give up.

Colpo di tuono.

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