Abruptly, she backed away and reached for the door.
She’d missed Amanda so much.
* * *
It was going on two o’clock by the time she got off the subway and took the stairs up to State Street. She paused in the lobby of Macy’s when a woman offered to spritz her with a brand of perfume that she knew she liked, but couldn’t afford. She was in the process of rubbing her wrist on her neck, when her phone began to ring in her purse. Plucking out her phone in a distracted, unhurried fashion, she noticed the number.
“Hello?” she asked quickly, worried she’d taken too long and he’d hung up.
“It’s me,” Vanni said. “Where are you?”
“Downtown,” she said, her voice ringing with amazement not only at hearing his voice, but also at his brisk question. “I’m at Macy’s.”
“I know,” he said. “But where?”
“How did you know I was at Macy’s?”
“Emma? Where?” he growled softly.
“Okay,” she said, hearing the amused warning in his tone. She looked around the setting of the vintage, huge department store. “I’m in the perfume section on the first floor. Why?”
She glanced up, noticing that the salesgirl who had sprayed Emma’s wrist was staring in wide-eyed fascination over Emma’s shoulder.
“Because I’m looking for you,” Vanni said.
Emma’s mouth fell open in shock. She’d heard him speak in addition to hearing his voice on the phone. She looked over her shoulder.
He was hanging up his phone and slipping it into his back pocket.
“There you are,” he said briskly, blue-green eyes lowering over her in a satisfied manner. It was as if it were the most natural thing in the world for him to approach her in the middle of a bustling department store. “I was worried I’d have trouble finding you.”
Emma spun around all the way, sure for several seconds she was hallucinating. But no, he didn’t disappear. He looked very vivid to her stunned eyes, not to mention indecently gorgeous in a sexy, light blue T-shirt that sexily skimmed his lean, muscular form, and a pair of jeans. His tan had grown deeper since she’d last seen him. The color of his shirt, the sun-gilded skin, and the dark brows and lashes all combined to make his aquamarine eyes even more striking looking than usual.
“Vanni . . . what are you doing here?” she mumbled, her brain vibrating with shock—shock and something else even more powerful and primal. A thrill of pure excitement had gone through her at the vision of him, leaving her body tingling.
“I came back from France early,” he stated the obvious. He looked behind her, quirking his dark brows, and Emma glanced over her shoulder. The salesgirl was still staring at him with that goofy grin. She seemed to come to herself at Vanni’s glance and muttered an apology before she walked away, silly smile still in place. Emma rolled her eyes at the show of female weakness he inspired.
“But how did you know I’d be here?” she asked.
“I stopped by your place. Amanda told me you’d gone shopping here.” His gaze flickered over her face and landed on her lips. He glanced aside distractedly when a woman with several large bags bumped into him. “Is this what you came shopping for? Perfume?”
“No,” Emma said, still staring at him. She still couldn’t believe he was here. She had an almost uncontrollable urge to touch him. Memories of sleeping in his arms when they were last together flooded her consciousness. She’d lain against his solid chest all night and stroked him whenever she chose, which was often. She’d allowed him to tie her up and spank her. They’d made love with savage abandonment.
Now he stood here so unexpectedly, and it was all so unbelievable. Her longing for him was still there—in fact it felt doubled. But the idea of touching him suddenly made her shy.
Idiot.
His eyebrows arched. His head lowered and she realized he was waiting for her to speak. “What are you shopping for then?” he prodded quietly as a group of shoppers rushed past them.
“Oh . . . you know. Just looking,” she managed. “A dress, maybe. Possibly a swimsuit.”
His steady stare seemed to swallow her whole.
“Damn it,” he said suddenly under his breath. He stepped forward and his arms encircled her. “When are you going to stop going shy around me?” he asked, his mouth slanted in amusement.
“I’m not—”
His mouth cut her off. All her awkwardness and uncertainty evaporated in a second beneath his kiss. She forgot where she was as he pierced her lips with his tongue and his taste flooded her consciousness.