This is definitely my fucking lucky day. Heck, I’d have done anything to make sure I get to spend most of the day with this exquisite jewel we picked up off the pavement yesterday.

The universe was looking after me. Now that she’s sitting here with me in the limo, I thank my lucky stars. I’m not really superstitious, but I can’t help wondering if we met her for a reason.

“So, where do you want to go this morning?”

She looks at me all wide-eyed, a bit like a deer caught by headlights. She seems to think about her answer. Whenever I’ve asked a chick this before, the name of a shopping mall spills faster than a waterfall.

Not Sofia. But I guess Sofia is like no other woman I’ve met before.

She’s more exquisite than a diamond.

“I’m not sure,” she says with a smile.

Her smile is infectious, and I return it.

“Shall I just take charge?”

Almost relieved, she leans back into the leather seat and nods.

“I could get used to this,” she says, and I watch her hand pat the seat beside her.

It would be too obvious to ask where she’s from and why she’s looking for a job, so I try and think of something a bit more different.

“You like art?”

She shrugs. “Haven’t really thought about it,” she says and furrows her brow. “What type of art?”

“You know, paintings. Any art, really.”

As she folds her legs, right over the left, her skirt rides up. Now, she taps her foot to some unheard beat.

“I guess? You like it?”

I nod.

Maybe I don’t want to find out about her past.

Sometimes the past is highly overrated. In my case, people totally judge us on our past. Because we come from a long line of questionable business practices, we’re thrown into the same boat.

Our efforts of going honest and straight go totally unnoticed.

I sigh.

“I love art.” I smile an almost apologetic smile. “You’ll have to promise me you’ll stop me when I start boring you.”

“Wow, sounds serious,” she observes. “Before I let you loose on the topic of art, I need to recharge my mobile. Any ideas?”

She holds up the dead device.

Mobile phones are great, but they can be such a pain as well. Sometimes they take over and own us. There are days I wish I could just throw mine in the bin.

“There’s a little cafeteria not far from here. They have charging stations. We can go there after some shopping.”

I look at her to gauge her reaction. Some people can’t stand to be without a phone.

“I hope it’s not as if you’re in desperate need of being contactable. I mean if my brothers want you, they know how to contact me.”

There’s a slightest change in her eyes, but it’s so brief I wonder if I’ve imagined it.

She shrugs. “Sounds like a plan to me.”

The limo stops, and I help her out of the car. I make sure I put my hand on her ass to steady her—but really, it’s just any excuse for me to touch that most gorgeous part of her body.

We’ve stopped outside a large white building. The Italian colors are on one side of the entrance, and in black letters above the door are the words ‘The Italian.’

There really is no other shop for us. Whatever we need, we buy it here.

A slim young man in a black suit and white gloves holds the door open.

Marble floors and soft classical music greets me.

I watch her expression.

I can’t tell for sure, but it looks like she’s impressed. Her eyes are out on stalks, and she half pivots on the spot. I bet she’s never been to a place like this.

Silently, I high five myself.

“Impressed?”

She nods. “I normally just go to a local department store,” she mumbles, and I link arms with her.

“Well, about time you embarked on a whole new shopping experience.”

I pull her toward me and kiss her lightly on the cheek.

“Can we help you today?”

An efficient senior-looking gentlemen with a strong Italian accent approaches us. I hold out my hand, and instead of shaking it, he embraces me.

“Buongiorno, amico mio!”

His greeting is followed by a handshake, a kiss to the cheek, and much talk in Italian.

Eventually, I turn to Sofia.

“Luca, meet Sofia,” I say.

I watch the older man size her up, and I know he’s already picking outfits for my Sofia.

Okay, so she’s not just mine.

“A real jewel, she’s a real jewel, Antonio,” Luca mumbles.

Sofia turns a slight shade of pink.

“You go up to level three, and I’ll have some things send up to you.”

“Let’s go, babe.” I usher her toward the elevator, knowing Luca will make sure we’ve got everything we want available to us.

“How about you try the red one?” I hold out a gorgeous red dress for her.

She shrugs. “Sure.”

By now, we’ve got several piles. There’s the pile we’re going to buy, the maybe pile, and the-no-fucking-way pile.

Luca knows his stuff, and he has made sure we only have the finest of the fine. Sofia seems to be enjoying the entire experience, and I love looking at her in all the different outfits. I’ve tried to make sure not to force her to choose something she doesn’t like.

But I get the impression she’s more reluctant to spend the money than anything else.

“Wow!” I clap my hands. “That’s the one. You must get this one.”

She twirls in front of me, and my eyes are glued to her curves and her porcelain swan neck. Fucking gorgeous. As she’s about to leave again, I stop her.

“Leave it on, Sofia. I just love it on you.”

“Anything for the man with the credit card,” she says and blows me a kiss.

The driver gets her parcels, and we head to the cafeteria so Sofia can recharge her phone. At the same time, we can recharge our own batteries with food and coffee.

When we finish, I turn to her. “Still keen to visit the gallery?”

She nods. “Why not? Let’s learn about art today.”

I put my arm around her and bring my mouth down on top of hers. The kiss starts slow and soft but soon develops into something much more. I debate about giving the gallery a miss.