ONE ITALIAN LOVE

- Chapter 3 -

'Misfortunes travel in threes'.

That thought shot through Bianca's mind as she watched the most unnerving cocky smirk forming on the face of the man she wanted to wish out of existence. Not only did she ram straight into the person she was supposed to welcome in Italy on behalf of her grandmother, but she also made it obvious to him how much she disliked him. And she never allowed her opponent to be aware of her feelings - after all dealing with an exposed deck of cards never fared well for anyone.

The only thing making matters worse for her was the acknowledgement that if her grandmother was right, as she usually was, the third misfortune coming her way was just around the corner.

Bianca would soon find out how ominous those words were, even if she wasn't ready for a chain of events she initiated herself...

"Massimo Toscana," the man staring at Bianca across the terminal hallway with eyes that all but pierced her soul greeted her nonchalantly and for reasons known only to him began the conversation, completely oblivious to the absurdity of it.

"Funny, aren't You?" Bianca hissed back before any other words came to her mind.

"Excuse me?" The man cocked his eyebrow. His voice may have revealed a faint trace of amusement, though his reserved, poised, and stoic stance did not.

"You heard me," Bianca replied. She considered throwing the phone she held in her hand at him, then remembered that it was a payphone. Not only would it not make it all the way to him, it would result in her looking like a fool. Not that she did not feel like one already.

"First You insult me by calling me savage, then You ridicule me as funny?" He responded with annoyance.

"Says the lawyer who just called me classless?" Bianca narrowed her eyes on him. "You must not win many cases with that conceited attitude, do You?"

"Your assumption proves my point," he retorted in a dry tone. "For someone who judges the book by its cover, You seem to think even less of the book once You think You know its content."

"Crude books seldom carry interesting content," Bianca almost smiled at her own comeback. Almost, because the moment the words rolled off her lips she remembered her grandmother and the reason for her presence at the terminal. She was a businesswoman. She was confident and well mannered. And no brute of a man, however rude, was going to change that. Then again...

"Primordial reading skills speak louder than crude books, especially the ones yet unread," Massimo grinned, much to his own misfortune.

"And whose fault is it that no one took interest to read such a book?" Ha! Oh, did that feel good! The man wished for a fight? He got one! And she never backed down because she knew her own worth.

The look on the man's face left no doubt in her mind that she won the battle. His silence only proved Bianca's conviction. Though, the prolonged silence on Massimo's part somehow pulled at her conscience. Even if only for a moment.

"Signorina Foxx, I presume?" Massimo's formal tone surprised her a bit, but her face showed none of it. She may have revealed her dislike of the man at first, but sure was not going to make that mistake again.

"Veramente," she admitted, agitated by the way her name sounded coming from him. "Should I find it bothersome that You appear to be aware of my identity?"

"Not all crude books are that easy to read," Massimo noted, circling the rim of his espresso cup with his index finger.

"It would appear so," Bianca agreed. The man held an upper hand at the moment, and she was never a fan of such circumstances. "Welcome to Italy, Signore Toscana."