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Dropping his head to the pillow beside her, his body suffered through another brief tremor before going completely still. Only the sound of their breathing could be heard as they both tried to regain control.
Moments later, he turned out the lights and spooned her from behind. Drugged and weary from great sex, Marissa drifted into slumber with one fleeting thought.
Three.
Then she fell asleep.
Wrecked but immensely satisfied.
* * *
Bruno sprinkled his seasoning blend into a small glass bowl of olive oil. He added grated Parmesan and stirred the mixture, which was then added to a tray that included cubes of cheese and prosciutto-wrapped cantaloupe. He and Marissa had worked up an appetite after making love and taking a quick shower together, which had almost resulted in them making love again.
She sat on the counter, legs exposed because all she wore was his white undershirt, which he’d insisted she put on because he wanted to see her in it. Her entire appearance was a tempting contradiction with her rumpled hair, glasses, and kiss-swollen lips.
He dipped a piece of bread in the olive oil mixture and brought the morsel to her mouth. She playfully sucked the bread and his finger between her lips.
“Behave,” he warned, though he didn’t really want her to.
He liked this naughty, adventurous Marissa. She had him by the nose, like the goddess she was, turning him into a lowly priest whose sole desire was to worship at the temple of her exquisite body.
She giggled as she chewed. “Yum.”
“What do you think of the olive oil?” he asked.
“Mmm, really good. Flavorful.”
“Thiago, Ethan, and I invested in an olive grove in Spain,” he explained. “You are one of the first people to try our product.”
“Lucky me. I’m special,” Marissa said with a happy grin. She dipped the bread in the mixture again and ate some more. “How do you know what to invest in?”
Bruno popped a cube of cheese into his mouth. “Growing up, I learned from watching my father. He worked as an actor but was able to build greater wealth by using the money he earned to invest in businesses—building his own or buying into someone else’s. Nowadays, I have a team to give me advice. If I find an interesting business, I ask them to research the sales, market share, et cetera, or they’ll come to me with ideas. Anything involving the food industry, I’m usually interested in, and this olive grove was an exciting opportunity, unlike anything I’d ever done before.”
“You have advisors, but you’re responsible for making the final decision.” Marissa picked up a piece of cheese.
“Yes, and I’m not always correct, but I do my best not to make uninformed decisions. That’s all I can do.” He sipped his water. He felt as if he was always talking about himself and wanted to know more about her. Her likes, her dislikes, her background. “Yesterday you mentioned your brother. Does he live in Atlanta?”
Marissa shook her head. “He lives in Arizona with his wife and daughters. He’s a dentist.”
“Younger or older?”
“Younger by three years,” she replied. “We used to be really close—still are—but I miss him because he’s far away. I’ll get to see him in a few weeks when he visits Atlanta for a dental convention.”
“And Theo’s father? What caused your break up?” He slid in the question and hoped she would answer.
She hesitated for a second. “He cheated on me when I was pregnant with Theo.” She spoke in a deadpan voice, but he heard the underlying emotion.
“Pendejo.”
“I’ve heard that word before. What does it mean?”
“It means he’s an idiot or asshole, depending on the context.”
“That sums him up.” She laughed, but the sound was tinged with sadness. “I’m over him, but he represented the life I wanted. A family. A normal family. Not like the one I had growing up. I was stupid to think...” She slowly shook her head.
He wanted to soothe the pain that appeared in her eyes. The back of his fingers traced the soft curve of her cheek.
“Never blame yourself for someone else’s actions. He could have chosen differently, but he made the choice to step out on your relationship. Sometimes, events of the past prepare us for a better future.”
