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Flirting in Florence
Aimee Duffy
Part 6 of Summer Flings – a fun, flirty and laugh out loud rom com series of short stories.Instead of hitting the designer shops with her friends, Ciara’s all about proving Florence can be enjoyed on a budget – and she isn’t talking about the sexy Italians Elle and Gem pick up for the duration!One-on-one with Zack is getting too intense so she plans a grape-squishing trip to a vineyard hoping to leave her problems back in the city. Of course her doomed affair is the least of her worries when her friendship with his cousin is on the line.The ideal summer treat for those relaxing days soaking up the sun!
Flirting in Florence
Book Six of Summer Flings
Aimée Duffy
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First published in Great Britain by HarperImpulse 2014
Copyright © Aimee Duffy 2014
Cover images © Shutterstock.com
Aimee Duffy asserts the moral right
to be identified as the author of this work.
A catalogue record for this book is
available from the British Library
This novel is entirely a work of fiction.
The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are
the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to
actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is
entirely coincidental.
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Ebook Edition © August 2014
ISBN: 9780008106317
Version 2014-07-25
Digital eFirst: Automatically produced by Atomik ePublisher from Easypress.
For the ninja, super-graphic-girl and queen Catco.
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Contents
Copyright (#u8b4706f1-fe28-5100-9193-6ac90bcf6cb3)
Dedication (#u29a4661a-b8d1-56f4-bbd9-eeab69f2f294)
Florence (#u9464f2e7-1080-54cc-9bf3-90e47fbfa913)
Chapter Eighteen (#u28202286-3bca-5216-a50b-0a87fe2ac878)
Chapter Nineteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twenty (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twenty-One (#litres_trial_promo)
Aimée Duffy (#litres_trial_promo)
About HarperImpulse (#litres_trial_promo)
About the Publisher (#litres_trial_promo)
Florence
Chapter Eighteen (#u653ba921-ea44-5382-a35a-c8c28ea51db4)
‘This is much, much better,’ Elle said as she led them through the door of another of the Muirs’ luxury properties.
Ciara realised that the Hollywood mansion in LA, the beach house in Miami, the townhouse in Paris and the spectacular multi-levelled house in Santorini were only a taster of their family’s wealth.
Everything here was marble and gold with Renaissance art in the form of statues and paintings she’d have thought would be in museums, not in someone’s entrance hall. Again there was a spiral staircase and she could see their granddad’s style in the structure, or maybe Zack had helped with the design.
Either way, now she knew why Zack was worried about giving all this up. It must be terrifying to go from having everything to nothing. Not to mention the fact he thought he’d be letting so many people down.
‘Elly, you’re talking like you’ve spent the last few days in a Travelodge,’ Zack teased.
Travelodges were perfectly fine accommodation in Ciara’s opinion. The five star hotel they’d just left was stunning.
‘A hotel never has the same comforts,’ Elle said and on that note a woman dressed in black wearing a white apron came to greet them.
Unsurprisingly, both of the Muirs spoke perfect Italian – or at least she assumed it was perfect by the unfaltering string of words delivered with confidence. More staff appeared and Elle must have instructed them to take the luggage upstairs because that’s what they did.
‘Okay, I say we get showered and then hit the bars. The sun’s going down and I don’t want to waste a night stuck in here,’ Elle said, then turned to the stairs assuming everyone would agree instantly.
‘There’s nothing wrong with a quiet night,’ Ciara protested. After all, her funds were running low and she’d promised Elle she’d show Zack he could have a great time without spending a fortune.
Elle whirled on her. ‘A night out isn’t going to break the bank, Cia.’
A night out with those three could put her in debt for the rest of her life. But they had a point too. She didn’t want to spend the last stop of her trip stuck in a house, even if the house was massive and incredible.
Luckily, she’d abused the wifi at the airport and had pre-planned their trip to the city thanks to travel websites. And the cheapest place for a night out was somewhere the tourists didn’t go much, or so said the reviewer.
‘Fine but if we’re going anywhere it’s the bars in Piazza di Santo Spirito. I hear it’s not as touristy as the other places.’
Elle liked exclusive and Ciara took her shrug as a win.
‘I think tonight I’m going for classy rather than slutty,’ Gem said, following Elle up the stairs.
Hand in hand with Zack, they trailed up behind her friends.
Elle laughed. ‘There’s more to it than wearing a nice dress, Gem. If you get on a guy’s knee two minutes after you meet him, it doesn’t matter what you’ve got on.’
‘It’s not slutty if he’s into it. What do you think Zack? Is it better to go with the buzz or be a tease and frustrate the guy?’ Gem turned to them with genuine curiosity in her eyes.
His cheekbones darkened. ‘Um, I don’t think I should answer that.’
Gem stopped on the stairs and scowled. ‘So you think it’s slutty?’
He held his hands up. ‘Didn’t say that. I meant different guys see things differently. Just like you three.’
‘What do you think?’ Gem was relentless when her temper got the better of her.
‘Well, that depends on the girl.’
Ciara was beginning to hate this conversation. ‘Look, to each her own. Can we drop this?’
‘You don’t need to be jealous, Ciara. He’s all about your fufu. I want a guy’s opinion on this.’ Gem folded her arms and waited while Ciara’s face flushed.
‘Just bloody answer her so we can get ready!’ Elle demanded.
Zack took his time in answering, despite Elle’s death glare. ‘Some guys like it when a woman takes charge and makes the first move, and almost every man I’ve met wants complete honesty up front. If you’re clear it’s just about sex, I don’t think that’s slutty. It’s actually kinda hot.’
Ciara had to bite her lip to stop herself from asking if that was a jibe at her. It wasn’t like she lied to him in LA. It had been crazy sex – the wild, furious, all-night-long kind – and she’d been clear about her no-relationship rule the next day.
But now… her reasons for keeping things light were weak and if he asked where she thought they were she’d be lying if she said they were still in holiday fling territory. Sometime after she’d left Miami she’d realised that much pain wasn’t normal – it was more like she’d been grieving.
So she tuned out of the rest of the conversation and let Zack lead her to their room, situated at the opposite side of the house from Elle’s. But even if she was in the mood for a round before they went out, she doubted any sound would carry through the thick concrete walls.
She went to her case and started to unpack a few dresses while Zack disappeared to the ensuite to start the shower.
It was better to keep her mouth shut and not ask if he meant her when he’d been talking to Gem. After all she’d been the one to kiss him first. Feck, she’d been the one so frantic to get him naked but unwilling to let him go that he had to make the decision for her.
And putting it all down to super pheromones and chemical reactions seemed like a stretch, especially since she cared about him to the point she hurt when he hurt – which she’d been doing ever since he got to Ibiza.
God this really was a feckin mess, wasn’t it?
‘Wanna share to save time?’ Zack asked. He’d disposed of his clothes and was gloriously naked as he leaned against the doorway to the bathroom.
Her mouth got dry and her fingers stung at the tips, like they’d been away from him for far too long and were having withdrawals.
No way was this just pheromones. Borderline addiction, but not a chemical reaction.
But that was the thing about addicts, they got bored and moved onto a bigger high eventually, didn’t they?
‘Ciara are you okay?’ he asked.
‘Yes, I’m fine. Look why don’t you go first? If I get in there the water will be cold before we get out.’ She didn’t mean to sound so distant, but the idea that she was hooked on him was freaking her out.
‘Gem’s wrong. That’s not why I’m here. It’s about more than sex. I like spending time with you, too.’
It took her mind a minute to grasp what he meant – Gem’s vag jokes. She rolled her eyes and forced a smile. ‘After four years I know when not to take Gem seriously.’
He treated her to a delicious half-smile. ‘Good. Now how about you let me wash your back?’
Her gaze darted to his hands. His long fingered, strong hands that happened to be hanging by his sides, framing his hips and a very impressive appendage. Heat sizzled in her lower belly until all her worries disappeared under a craving so deep, she wasn’t sure it would ever disappear.
