flesh, moist with the trauma of seasickness. The fifteen minute crossing stretched into thirty, then forty-five. Tonio came out from the warmth of the cabin to check on her.
"One bite of croissant." She clutched her stomach, though it had nothing left, worried she would wretch in front of him and horrified at the thought.
"Come into the cabin."
She shook her head. He removed his fringed leather jacket and hooked it over her shoulders. "Your coat is too thin for this kind of weather." Then he turned and went back to the cabin.
She watched him retreat, wondering about this small show of kindness. He intrigued her. Too bad she wouldn't have time to discover his motives. When they reached Jersey City, she'd be on her own. Her plan didn't prevent her from burrowing her nose deep into the rich leather of his coat or enjoying its body-warmed heat and the scent he left clinging to the collar. Even with waves of nausea clutching her stomach, he smelled good. Too good. She took a deep breath to slow her racing heart, hoping that Franco Allessandro would be able to set her pulse pattering as Tonio did. She would settle for half as fast.
"Have we missed our train?" Angelina asked.
Tonio, leaning across the ticket counter at the Jersey City terminal, waved her into silence and focused his attention on the clerk behind the window.
Angelina huddled close behind him, listening with interest to the conversation, memorizing as much of it as possible. But they spoke rapidly in quiet tones and she wasn't able to understand much. Still, it would be a useful conversation to have in her repertoire. If she succeeded in her plan she would need it soon. Frustrated, she took a step back and focused her attention on the schedule board posted above the ticket window. Fortunately, she could read English better than she understood the spoken language.
She scanned the board quickly. The fog had delayed them. They had missed their train by ten minutes. The next one with connections through to Chicago didn't leave for another hour, and the one after that three hours later. Perfect! She didn't want to spend the night in the station alone. Much better to be in the safety of the train. The incident in the New York depot had convinced her of that. As soon as Tonio finished at the window she'd ask him for her ticket. Then nothing could foil her plan.
Tonio stepped back from the window and grabbed her arm. "Come on," he said. "The train was delayed—it hasn't left yet. We can make it if we hurry." He grabbed their bags.
Angelina scrambled after him. "Why can't we wait for the next train?" She needed more time! Her thoughts whirled in a panic. She tried to delay him. "Let's stay in the depot, get a bite to eat. I'm hungry."
"I thought you'd sworn off food." He waited for her to pass in front of him, then placed his hand in the small of her back and nudged her along. "This way."
The boarding area was nearly empty when they reached it and the last call was being sounded. Tonio hurriedly hailed a porter, grabbed her arm, and handed her the ticket. "Take this and your traveling case and board the train. Find two seats together while I check the luggage. Damn! We're going to have to travel second class."
This turn of events was more than she'd hoped for. It was too easy! She considered not boarding the train at all, but under his watchful eye there was nothing else she could do. She lifted her skirts and climbed serenely up the loading steps, even pausing to turn and smile at him, but his attention was already focused on the man loading their luggage. Goodbye, Tonio!
She forced herself on with her heart racing. As soon as her feet hit the top step, she sped down the aisle toward the front of the train and the first exit she could find. People cluttered the aisle, stretching and shoving luggage under their seats.
"Mi scusi. Please, I must get through!" She ran with her bag held high, level with her head, dodging people both seated and not, looking back at regular intervals to see if Tonio had boarded yet.
A blast of steam from the engine sounded. Angelina felt a slight shift of forward motion as the engineer released the brake. Another puff of steam followed. The exit lay just ahead. She raced forward, and, head bowed, turned down the