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sex, though he had seemed
disgustingly chipper upon waking. She needed coffee before she could even
consider being half that alert.
    She had to admit the previous night had
served to invigorate rather than exhaust her as she might have expected. It had
been too long since her last lover to remember if she had always felt this way
after a night of vigorous sex. Being unable to remember her morning-after
reactions with previous partners spoke for itself. Luca was different, and
being with him was unlike anything she had ever experienced.
    It was going to be hard to leave him, but
she had no choice. Anya needed her, but she couldn’t have stayed anyway, not
under the circumstances. She had come to that realization sometime around dawn.
Her heart was already at risk, but there was no way he would ever love her
after she had taken money to get out of his life. Staying with Luca would
destroy her. Phoebe knew she would have to return to serve her sentence in his
bed, but she needed to figure out a way to protect her heart first.
    She dried off and dressed quickly, not from
eagerness to face Luca but because time was growing short. She had to get rid
of him so she could pick up Anya in time for their flight.
    He had made himself at home in the kitchen,
evidenced by the stack of pancakes and orange juice on the table. He sat at the
table, talking on his cell phone, but looked up when she walked in. He held up
a finger and spent another moment on the phone before closing it.
    “It’s getting late,” she said as soon as he
hung up.
    “Yes.” Luca pushed away from the table and
stood up. “I have to leave now.”
    Relief swept through her, but she tried not
to show it. “Really?”
    “My father is pitching a fit and insisting
his assistant contacts the board to arrange an emergency meeting.”
    She lifted a brow. “Because of…this?” she
asked with a wave of her hand to indicate the two of them.
    He shrugged. “Probably, but I’ll take care
of it. He’s upset things didn’t go his way, but as soon as I point out how his
trying to remove me as CEO will undermine the merger he so desperately wants, I
think he’ll let it drop.”
    Phoebe disdained the orange juice in favor
of a mug of coffee from the pot. She had forgotten to turn on the timer last
night, so he must have brewed a pot, though he rarely drank coffee. His
thoughtfulness caused tears to prick the back of her eyes and she cleared her
throat, impatient with the emotions assailing her. “I’m sure you’ll deal with
it.”
    “Of course.” He drained his orange juice in
a long swallow and brought the glass to the dishwasher. “Hold down the fort
until I make it into the office. I’m confident you can deal with anything that
might arise.”
    “You still trust me?”
    “Not at all, but I know you can handle my
business. You’ve always been good at that.” He ignored her attempt to recoil
when he pressed a kiss against her mouth. “I’ll see you soon.”
    Phoebe managed a nod, holding herself
stiffly until he left the kitchen. She didn’t relax her posture until the front
door closed a couple of minutes later. As soon as he was gone, she set the mug
of coffee on the counter and raced down the hall to her bedroom. She hadn’t
even started packing before his arrival last night, so she retrieved a suitcase
from the closet and tossed items inside haphazardly. She could acquire anything
she neglected to bring with her in Boston.
    Phoebe called a cab with her home phone and
rushed down to meet it five minutes later when the doorman alerted her to its
arrival. Then, cursing all the way, she rushed back to her apartment for the
paperwork faxed to her by the clinic.
    Things went more smoothly after that, with
Anya waiting for her on the corner, suitcase in tow. They cleared security at
the airport in record time and their plane took off only two minutes late.
Phoebe wanted to think everything would be okay, but it all seemed to be going
too well. Still, she