Emily had never been more grateful. She was pretty sure she’d spend the whole night thinking about Sabato Montepulciano and the effect he had on her, but at least she could now put some physical distance between them.
And if she hadn’t?
Would she have been at risk of falling under his spell and into his bed?
She lifted her hands distractedly to her lips, touching her tingling mouth with awe. His kiss had been unlike anything she’d ever known.
She took her apron off distractedly and hooked it against the wall, then she pressed the button to hail the lift.
The elevator descended and with it, Emily’s feet came back to earth. Within minutes, she was behind her housekeeping cart, going through her regular duties. And even though nights weren’t as busy as the mornings, when all the rooms had to be cleaned and freshened, she had enough to keep her distracted. Enough to keep her mind from wandering to thoughts of Sabato Montepulciano.
At least, she should have.
“How’d you go up there?” Ewan found her somewhere just before five in the morning. Emily was rounding out her shift, and though she was exhausted, she was also still reverberating with a new frequency of pleasure. Her body had been made to feel things she’d never known possible. A door had been opened, and her body was slowly unfurling through it.
“Heck, what are you still doing here?” She jumped, unplugging one of her earpieces. She was putting away linen in the enormous store room. It was a job she usually loved, for the order she could create. But not that night.
“We’re short staffed across the board.”
“Just as well Andrew’s got musical camp, then,” Emily smiled, switching the music off on her iPhone and slipping it back in her pocket.
“Yes, talk about flukey timing.” He reclined against one of the benches, close to her. “So?”
“So?” She prompted, reaching for the last bale of towels.
“Did you like it? Waitressing?”
“Oh.” Her cheeks flushed. Sabato’s dark eyes loomed into view. “Yeah. It was nice to do something different.”
“See. I told you you’d be fine.”
She nodded. “It wasn’t as bad as I thought. Mostly they were too wrapped up in their own conversations to notice me.”
I see the way you look at these vapid women. Her heart turned over. She forced a smile to her lips.
“I find that hard to believe,” Ewan said, his manner teasing. They’d been friends for years. The flirtation was harmless.
“Anyway, now that I’ve done it once, I’m happy to help out if you’re in a bind again.”
“I’ll keep it in mind. What are you up to for the rest of the day?”
Her cheeks flushed as she thought of what she could have been doing, if she’d listened to her instincts and desires instead of her common sense.
“Home to rest, then I’ll try to get some painting done.”
“How’s it coming along?”
Ewan was the only person she’d confided in. Her dreams of being exhibited in an actual gallery were closer to coming true than ever before. “Good. I lik
e it.”
“When do I get to see it?”
She reached out and playfully punched his arm. “Not until it’s finished. You know my rule. I can’t have someone see it and jinx it. Not before I’m ready.”
“How do you know I’m not your good luck charm?”
“Because.” She slid the last clutch of towels into a shelf and put her hands on her hips.