The idea tingled over her like a static shock. ‘No, I hadn’t thought of that.’ But then she sighed, the instant’s pleasure draining away as reality hit. ‘I guess I’ll never know. I wish I did. I wish I felt part of Tori, felt a connection with what I lost. I’ve started to dream I can’t find her, which is stupid because she’s gone, so obviously I can’t.’ She tipped her face up to gaze at the black satin sky spangled with a million diamonds. ‘I don’t think I’ve ever been able to see so many stars. And the longer I look, the closer they seem. Some are big and bright; some so tiny I have to concentrate to see them at all.’

‘Their brilliance has travelled for light years to twinkle down on this mountainside, on us, on this night.’ He stroked her fingers.

Conscious of the whisper of skin on skin she continued to gaze up, lulled by the night’s sounds. A buzz. A whirr. A flutter. A man breathing beside her. Her thoughts turned in his direction. He was like the black coffee he drank: strong, bold, straightforward; but cream and sugar graced the coffee tray presumably because he’d remembered she liked both. It was a tiny thing but she knew that if Brendon had taken coffee black, he wouldn’t have brought the cream and sugar. She would have had to ask and he would’ve been surprised her need was different to his. And it wasn’t just the tiny things he felt entitled to control either. That bloody text telling her that if she didn’t come to heel he’d end things had been an attempt to seize power by making it his decision. It rankled. She’d made that decision months ago. Attempts to control her had always been a bone of contention, so why the hell did he think the correct response to losing her was to escalate that crap?

Her ideal man valued a woman as an individual … without making the mistake of treating her as if she were another man. Her ideal man definitely knew how to make her feel all woman. Could Piero?

She felt her blood quicken as she realised what she was actually thinking about.

She was attracted to Piero. Her senses heightened when he was near. Her hand reacted to the touch of his. How exciting would it be to experience his hands on other parts of her body? And his mouth. His lips looked soft and sensitive. She risked a sideways glance. Her night vision had come in now and she could make him out, head back, gazing at the sparkling sky.

As if catching her movement, he turned to her, making her breath skip. He murmured, ‘I suppose if you’re going to meet Gerardo you’re running out of time … this trip, anyway.’