ONE ITALIAN LOVE

- Chapter 12 -

What could be said of paybacks?

They come around unexpectedly, and with undertones of satisfaction if they result with the premeditated intentions...

Knocking on Bianca's front door bright and early, quarter past 3:00 a.m., Massimo felt nothing short of triumphant. He considered winning cases in court at the top of his list of accomplishments. Waking up stubborn Miss Bianca Foxx when she least expected it topped that list by a mile.

Did he decide to go out of his way to bring out her obviously Italian temper? Yes, though he did not consider his actions to be selfish - nor carrying any ulterior motives. He was not interested in her. Or any relationship for that matter. Especially a long distance one. He was simply paying her back for being rude to him. Why? He was not a fan of regret. And he was well aware that when he returned to the United States, he would have regretted not paying his companion back for her actions.

With the thought lingering in his mind, he stood at Bianca's front door, knocking on it over and over. And over. Until the door opened with a strong overexaggerated swing, bringing to view a furious grimace of one sleep deprived Signorina. And so much more...

"Have You lost Your mind?!?" Bianca hissed out with a temper Massimo was actually looking forward to.

"No," he smiled, unbothered. "Have You lost track of time?"

"Il porco!" She retorted, swinging the door shut in his face.

Massimo grinned, glad his plan worked like a charm, and knocked on the door once more. She opened it again, though just by an inch, leaving the choice of leaving or entering to him. He grinned wider, and stepped inside. "I would ask You not to call me a pig. I tend to take insults personally."

"Ha!" She puffed out air with sarcasm, limping her way up the stairs to the kitchen area. She did not bother to turn around to see if he would follow her. She knew he would. "I tend to take rude midnight invasions of privacy personally."

"Visiting my travel companion is not an invasion of privacy." He retorted stoically as he closed the front door behind him. He waited by the door before following in her footsteps. It was a good idea to give her a moment to cool off. It was an even better one to allow himself to cool off from the sight of her long off-white embroidered silk nightgown that left little to imagination.

"What do You want, Toscana? Don't You know it's rude to barge in on people without advance notice?" She hissed out, limping toward the espresso maker.

"Duly noted. You should have take note of it as well." He clicked his tongue, trying his best not to stare.

"Note taken." She gazed at him with disgust. "You did not answer my question. What are You doing here?"

"Making sure we leave on time for the first leg of our trip around Italy."

"You want to leave for Milan at this hour?!?" She paused half-movement while reaching for an espresso cup from the cupboard.

He tipped his head, paying as much attention as he could to her words, given the fact he was staring at her. He was man enough to admit to himself that he was. And there was little he could do about it. Reminding himself he was not looking for a relationship, for the second time that morning, he swallowed hard and blinked at the sight of Bianca in the silk nightgown with her long dark hair cascading down her exposed back. "What's wrong with this hour?"

"Everything." She whispered under her breath. "I should sue You for disturbing my peace."

"Back at You," he said before he could stop himself, clearing his throat.

"Toscana, You wanted to go to Milan. We're going to Milan today. Why on earth do You want to leave at this hour?"

"Crowd control."