***

Although we had fun catching up for an hour in the bar and having drinks, I could tell Jack was starting to lose his patience by the way he pulled me closer to his body. Eventually Jack stood and not-so-politely announced that we were leaving. Sienna laughed at his abruptness and it dawned on me for the first time that I seemed to surround myself with people who said whatever was on their minds, without filters.

The four of us made our way back to the lobby and the manager jumped to bring us our luggage.

“Syd, can I see your phone for a second?”

I was confused at why he would need it, but I handed Jack my phone without question.

He took it in his hand and turned it off. Then he reached into his pocket and took out his and handed them both to Tyler. “We won’t be needing these. Can you keep them in your suite with Syd’s luggage till we get back?”

I looked at Jack like he was crazy. “All of my clothes are in there,” I responded, as if he didn’t realize what might have been in my suitcase.

Jack turned to face me and looked into my eyes. “You won’t be needing any.” His eyes went from my eyes to my mouth and slowly back up again, making my stomach do a little flip-flop.

“Okay,” I whispered, and Jack gave me the sexy half smile that I loved.

Jack eyed the oversized shoulder bag that I was carrying. “What’s in your bag?”

“Makeup, iPod, wallet, birth control pills.” I emphasized the last part of my response.

“I would guess it would be harder to pry the iPod away from you than it was to get you to give up all of your clothes.” Jack smiled and raised his eyebrows in question.

I smiled back. For a man who had only known me for a few months, he knew me so well. “The iPod goes where I go.”

Sienna interrupted my debate with Jack, her question directed to Tyler. “And what are we doing?”

“Staying at Mr. Romantic’s hotel and seeing how high we can ring up the room bill that he’s going to comp us,” Tyler said, matter-of-factly.

Sienna giggled. “Works for me.”

Jack did the one-arm guy-hug thing to Tyler and I heard him say in a low voice. “Charge anything you want, man. Show her a good time, on me.” I adored that he wanted to take care of his friend and mine and not get credit for it.

***

I wasn’t sure what kind of car it was, but Jack had rented a beautiful convertible that was parked out front of the hotel waiting when we exited. He opened my door and I got in, catching him checking out my legs as I folded in. He smiled at me, not the slightest bit uncomfortable about being caught checking me out. Oddly enough, that quality was one of the things I found most intriguing about him when we had first met. He would blatantly look me up and down, admiring what he saw, and made no secret about doing it. On other men, I would probably have found it to be rude, but when Jack did it I thought it was the sexiest thing I had ever seen. I wasn’t sure why. Maybe it was that I was attracted to his confident and direct personality. Or maybe it was that he seemed to see what he wanted and made no mistake about staking his claim. Either way, I found it damn sexy.

We drove through the city of Rome for a while, slowly moving through traffic. Once when we were stopped at a light, I saw a beautiful young woman waiting to cross the street in front of where we were stopped. I caught her staring at Jack. I turned to see what she was looking at and the sight of his handsome tan face, windblown hair, and square jaw, caught me off guard. I really couldn’t blame the woman for staring; he was truly an amazing feast for the eyes. Jack caught me looking and smiled before leaning over and kissing me with a beautiful, soft, sensual kiss which made my heart melt and my breath catch. As the light changed, I saw the beautiful girl still staring with her mouth hanging open. She had missed the light.

We drove for a few hours and I never once asked where we were going or when we would be there. I really didn’t care. There was no place I’d rather be than where I was going, even though I had no idea where we were headed.

Eventually we turned off the highway and started to drive through what I knew had to be the Tuscany region. The hills in the distance soon fell upon us and we were transported to the middle of a beautiful postcard picture — rolling hills as far as the eye could see, a splatter of olive trees, and a skyline outlined by cypresses. Fields of wheat and sunflowers passed on one side while rustic stone farmhouses stood proudly on the other. I couldn’t take my eyes off of the beauty; it felt surreal, almost otherworldly.

“Wow. This feels like a dream,” I whispered to Jack, in awe of my surroundings.

“I know. It doesn’t seem real.”

“I’ve seen pictures of this, but it just doesn’t do it justice.” I stopped and considered. “Have you ever been here before?”

Jack squeezed my hand. “Once. I was ten or eleven. My father was in Rome on business, busy buying the hotel we were just at. My mom took me for a drive and we got lost. We wound up somewhere around here and I remember thinking I wish I could draw it, but they didn’t make crayon colors as good as this.”

I smiled, thinking of Jack as a little boy traveling with his mother. How adorable he must have been.

“Were you in a convertible?”

“Yes.”

“Were you as adorable as you are now?”

Jack laughed. “I think I was more of a handful back then.”

I pictured a rebellious little Jack driving around with him mom. “I wish I would have known your mom.” My voice was solemn. I hadn’t planned on saying it, but the words just came out because I meant them.

“She would have loved you, Syd.” Jack smiled and rubbed the top of my hand with his thumb as he held my hand in his.

Chapter 11

It was early evening before we finally turned down a long dirt road leading to a secluded but breathtakingly beautiful stone farmhouse. We parked and Jack came around to open my door, extending his hand to help me out. I stood and took a deep breath, smelling the trees and the wildflowers all around me as I turned to take in the picturesque surroundings.

“You like it?”

“I love it. I feel so calm standing here. It’s so beautiful and tranquil. I feel like I just stepped through the wardrobe and landed in another land.”

Jack smiled, pleased with my answer. His hand that was holding me pulled me close and he held me in his arms for a minute as he kissed the top of my forehead, before leading me to the door.

The farmhouse was as beautiful on the inside as it was on the outside. The century old house had been gently updated with all of the modern conveniences, somehow without taking away from its unspoiled simplicity. Hand in hand we wandered around together, appreciating the beauty of the house. But what stopped us both in our tracks was the view outside the wall of windows at the back.