PunishingPhoebe by Kit Tunstall

purse. A hollow feeling filled his chest
when he saw it was gone. Luca searched on the desk, hoping for a note. His
stomach churned when he found a brief message on the notepad.
     
    Caprice’s ring
is ready at Laurant’s.
     
    His eyes widened and he cursed. Having
given specific instructions not to leave any messages pertaining to the ring
with his assistant, it angered him the jeweler had disregarded his wishes. Now
Phoebe knew about the engagement ring, which was the last thing he’d wanted.
    The phone rang, interrupting his thoughts.
He answered it before the first ring had finished. “Phoebe?”
    “No,” said a voice remarkably similar to
Phoebe’s. “I’m trying to reach her though.”
    “Who is this?” asked Luca.
    “I’m Anya.” At his pause, she added, “Her
sister.”
    He hadn’t even known there was a sister.
“Of course. She isn’t here right now.”
    “I guessed,” she said with a hint of sass.
“She’s been trying to get hold of me. I had my phone off, ’cause I was with
someone.” She sounded embarrassed at the admission. “Do you know where she is?”
    “No. I haven’t seen her since earlier in
the morning.” Had it really only been a couple of hours ago that she had
ushered Capro and his team into the conference room adjacent to his office? She
had flashed that lascivious little smile in his direction, the one that always
made him want to tear her clothes off and make love to her, regardless of the
circumstances. He suspected she knew that and had been torturing him, knowing
he couldn’t act on the impulse.
    Anya groaned. “Oh no. I’ll bet she’s gone
to Boston to find me.”
    “Boston?” He frowned. “Were you in Boston
last month?”
    “Yeah. That was why she took time off, to
get me settled at the clinic. She was supposed to stay with me in Boston, but
you needed her.” She sounded resentful.
    He tugged at his collar, loosening the tie
impatiently. “What clinic?”
    “You sure don’t know much about Phoebe, do
you, Mr. Androtti?” asked the girl sharply. “I’d think somewhere in the past
month, you’d have had time to ask a few personal questions between bedroom
sessions.”
    Luca winced, acknowledging the girl’s
assessment was accurate. They had talked about many things the past month, but
her past hadn’t been one of them. He had put an edict on hearing it and she had
obeyed. The truth was, he hadn’t wanted to know about her sordid history. He
couldn’t stand to hear the details. In avoiding the subject, he hadn’t learned
much of anything about her. “I’m sorry,” he said, sounding lame even to
himself.
    “Whatever. Phoebe had her heart set on
getting me into the clinical trial. She just can’t accept there is no cure for
my Retinitis Pigmentosa.” Her tone softened. “She’s overprotective, but I guess
she’s entitled. Our parents died when I was thirteen and she was nineteen. She
became more like my mother than my sister.”
    It was odd to hear these details from the
sister, instead of his lover. He felt like he was spying on her while she was
naked and oblivious to his presence. “That must have been difficult.”
    “It wasn’t easy for either of us. So she’s
taken it really hard that I couldn’t see, and she can’t fix it.” Anya sighed.
“Honestly, that’s why I’ve put off calling her, because I didn’t want her to
feel too badly. I messed up though. Now she’s probably out looking for me
without a clue where I am.”
    “I’ll find her.” He sounded more confident
than he felt. “I’ll start in Boston.”
    “I’m here in Boston, so you don’t need to
come all that way.”
    “I’ll be there in a couple of hours.” Luca
had to find her. “Where are you?”
    “It’s a bed and breakfast. The name is
Honeywell House. The address—”
    Luca interrupted. “I’m familiar with it.”
    “Hey, can I ask you something?” She sounded
hesitant.
    “What?” Please no more guilt trips about
how he’d ignored