‘I don’t know how you can stay so calm, Jo!’
‘I do all my panicking inside. Inside, I’m running about like a mad thing!’ she added with a thrill of excitement, checking her watch for the fifth time. They stood together in Josie’s drawing room, while Antonia fussed around her and they both waited for the staff to announce that the guests were arriving.
Finally, Antonia stood back to admire her handiwork. Josie couldn’t resist glancing at herself in the full-length mirror the staff had set up for the occasion. It was incredible. Antonia was right—she was almost unrecognisable. A smile was the only thing she needed to make the picture absolutely perfect. Blushing with an unusual rush of pride, she looked away from her reflection quickly.
‘Not even Dario would know it’s you.’ Antonia giggled as they got the call from the staff and went downstairs through the cool corridors of the great castle.
‘Here’s hoping,’ Josie said as her heart began to accelerate. After everything she had told Dario about being determined not to come to his party, here she was. All it had taken was this beautiful dress, and the need to prove to him that she could enjoy herself when she wanted. Despite her nerves, she felt as if she were living in a fairy tale. She put a hand to her forehead. Was she delirious? Would she wake up to find she had been dreaming?
Antonia gently led her towards the great marble staircase. The sound of restrained small talk rose from the crowd of guests down in the foyer, each receiving their first glass of champagne.
If I could lose myself in this mob, maybe I would feel less like a human sacrifice, she thought, trying to feel relieved. As she came downstairs, her embarrassment level rose as a wave of silence spread through the crowd below. In the seconds before they remembered their manners and greeted their hostess, Josie felt the eyes of every person in the place trained on her. She and Antonia joined the straggle of other people heading away through the portrait gallery towards the castle’s grand banqueting hall. They were all marvelling at the grand di Sirena ancestors, but Josie’s attention was turned in a quite different direction. The portrait gallery ran around three sides of a glazed quadrangle which was open to the skies. There, the leaves of a big old apricot tree stirred in the sultry dusk.
She nudged Antonia. ‘I think I might have changed my mind about this—I wish I was out there rather than in here!’ she whispered.
‘Rubbish. You’ll love it once the party’s started. Look how you dithered about coming to work here in the first place. I don’t hear you worrying about putting anyone to any trouble now!’
No, thought Josie. That’s because all my other worries have faded in comparison, from the moment I met Dario.
She sighed and tried to look on the bright side. She looked around at the flash and dazzle of diamonds and military medals worn by all the other guests. Why would he even look at her? Getting on well with his sister hardly counted in stellar company like this. Suddenly, her reckless giggle returned.
Dario felt pretty impressed with me when we kissed! she thought, and blushed. What would all these people think if they knew what was going through her mind?
The double doors to the great banqueting hall were open wide, so it would have been easy to slip inside unnoticed. Josie looked around. People had been smiling appreciatively at her from the moment she’d appeared at the top of the stairs. Trying to sneak in wouldn’t stop them doing that. She might as well make the most of her few moments in the spotlight. If nothing else, it would be good practice for the university’s Christmas ball. Taking a deep breath, she pulled herself up straight and tall and strode bravely into the room.
The banqueting hall was already bright with people, but the first and only thing she saw was Dario. He was standing in front of a cold marble fireplace, talking to a languid blonde in scarlet satin.
As Josie entered, there was a lull in the conversation. Dario’s gaze was already raking the room, but at the sudden silence it swooped over to her, then back to his slender companion. A split second later, he executed the perfect double take. Looking across at Josie again, he trapped her in his gaze. It killed his conversation stone dead, and Josie froze. All the polite, charming, witty things she’d planned to say to him fled from her mind. She was left staring at him across the room, speechless with amazement.
Dario looked every bit as wonderful as she had known he would, each night when she’d heard him drive away into town. He was resplendent in a formal black dinner jacket and trousers with a plain white shirt and black bow-tie. His crisp shirt accentuated the pale gold of his colouring and the dark allure of his eyes—and that was where she got the biggest reward of all. His gaze was totally absorbed by her. He smiled suddenly, in such a genuine gesture of pleasure that Josie was lost. In that moment all her worries about gatecrashing his party dissolved. The naked desire in his expression sent her senses spinning. Her own burning need for him made her want to stride forward, push her fingers through his unruly tousle of curls and kiss him again and again, no questions asked.
Instead, she blushed, dropped her gaze and shuffled uncertainly on the spot.
Dario abandoned his companion without a backward glance and crossed the room in a few strides. Taking Josie’s hand, he lifted it to his lips.
‘Josie … tonight, you could tempt a saint,’ he breathed.
Speechless, she raised her eyes as his kiss connected with her fingers. Dario’s gaze pinned her to the spot. She relished the feel of his skin against hers, and the touch of his fingers as they curled around her palm. He held her in a grasp that was strong, yet cool. At any other time, or in the hands of any other man, Josie would have pulled away. This perfect man, on this special night, was different.
I’m going to enjoy every moment of this party, she told herself, staggered by the realisation.
She looked around nervously. An appreciative crowd was smiling at the little scene being acted out in front of them. By the time her eyes flicked back to Dario, he had resumed his usual suave, unflappable charm.
‘Thank you for coming, Dr Street. I know how much you dislike gatherings like this, and I’m flattered you chose to make an exception for mine.’ He smiled, then added a compliment that sent shivers of anticipation dancing up and down Josie’s spine.
‘I’ve never seen a more lovely woman. Or one so beautifully dressed,’ he said simply. ‘You are without doubt the most beautiful guest here this evening.’
CHAPTER EIGHT
JOSIE opened her mouth to say something, but every sensible thought in her mind had evaporated. She closed it again, and tried another smile. Luckily, those muscles were still working, despite the effect Dario was having on the rest of her body. She could only hope her expression spoke for her.
No one has ever called me beautiful before. I’ve always been just ordinary old Jo, or Dr Street, she thought.
‘Now, I shall introduce you to some of my charming friends. They will take good care of you for me while I am doing my duty as host.’
Dario drew her away from the throng and towards a stout, cheerful-looking couple. Despite their expensive designer clothes, they had open, weather-beaten faces and expressions that Josie took to instantly.
‘This is Signor and Signora Bocca. They own a neighbouring estate and their son—Beniamino—went off to university very recently. Dr Street will be able to put your minds at rest about undergraduate life,’ he told them, giving Josie a wicked wink.
The couple chuckled, shamefaced.
‘He’s gone to the USA on a scholarship, and Antonia told me you worked in Iowa for a while last summer, Josie. Maybe you could tell them all about it?’ He smiled.
‘It’ll be my pleasure, Dario,’ she said, and it was true. Dario squeezed her hand in parting, and it felt as though he knew exactly what she was thinking.
Despite his affable smile, Dario was uneasy. Something strange was going on inside his head, and his body wanted its own way, too. Once again, it was all down to Josie. He tried to think, but it was difficult to do that wh
ile keeping a buoyant conversation going with the lovely Tamara. Dario felt duty-bound to keep a discreet eye on Josie, now she was here. He knew enough of her shyness to realise that attending his party after all must have taken a lot of courage. He was impressed and relieved at the same time. Although he enjoyed socialising, for the first time in his life he had felt like getting his staff to cancel a party at the last moment. Now Josie had arrived, he could admit her rejection had weighed on his mind like a lead weight. The second she’d walked in, everything had changed. Simply seeing her made him ready to relax and enjoy himself.
After a few more minutes of idly seductive chit-chat with Tamara, he realised something still wasn’t right. The thought of spiriting this long-legged lovely away from the party left him cold. Tamara might be clever and charming, but suddenly that was no longer enough for him. She would be a meaningless conquest, and their conversation had lost all its attraction for him.
Tamara was twinkling as she tried to win back Dario’s attention, but his gaze took every opportunity to escape. He tried dragging it back to her as she told him some long and complicated story about her PA having to courier lost documents from one side of the EU to the other. He attempted to smile at all the right moments, but his heart wasn’t in it. Tamara had everything—except his attention. He wished he could see straight through her and out the other side.
The only thing that could hold his gaze was a knot of local businessmen and dignitaries over in the far corner of the room.
It has come to something when a girl like Tamara has fewer attractions for me than a bunch of men I speak to every day, he thought, trying to ignore the obvious fact that it wasn’t them holding his attention captive. It was the bright shining star at the centre of their universe.
Dario put a hand up to his neck and felt the muscles as tight as steel hawsers. He had hoped this party would help him to let off some steam, relax a little. Right now he was feeling more tense than he had done in years. What had changed? His guests were all enjoying themselves hugely—Josie included.
What’s wrong with that? he rebuked himself. That’s what parties are for, for God’s sake—so people can come out and forget themselves for a while!
That day in the glade, he had teased Josie about being unable to enjoy herself. As he watched her tonight, nothing looked further from the truth. She was revelling in all the attention, but Dario knew he had one big advantage over the men surrounding her. So far, he was the only one in the place who had taken his interest in her any further. With a flash of relief, he finally realised what had been torturing him for so long.
I want to keep it that way.
Josie was special. Her particular brand of intelligence and charm—not to mention her breathtaking appearance tonight—promised delights far beyond anything Tamara and his other coterie of lovelies could offer him. All he had to do was cross the room to where she stood. The other men were bound to defer to him at once.
Don’t disrupt her moment in the sun, Dario! he growled to himself. She’s enjoying herself.
He took a deep breath and tried to act on his own advice. Then he realised Tamara was reaching out to worm her long slender arms around his waist like overcooked vermicelli.
Dodging neatly out of her reach, he made some noises of regret and moved Tamara by the hand towards a gaggle of women discussing interior design with Antonia. Kissing her freshly powdered cheek as consolation, he abandoned her and began to work his way around the room.
Dario purposely set off to charm the guests furthest away from where Josie was holding court. It was a carefully calculated move. He was always scrupulous about observing the social niceties. As the host, he had a duty to all his guests, not just to his favourite ones. But, all the time, every fibre of his being ached for Josie, her company, her laughter, her … everything. Finally, after the longest hour of his life, hers was the last little clique on his circuit. With one hand, he lifted a glass of champagne from a nearby tray, then stuck the other into his trouser pocket and sauntered casually to the edge of her group.
‘Josie …’
He spoke, and she smiled.
Dario took that as his cue to advance and stand beside her. Instead of lifting her fingers to his lips as he had done the first time they’d met, on impulse, his hand went straight to her waist as he kissed her lightly on the cheek. She didn’t flinch from either gesture, he noticed with a delicious kick of pleasure.
‘How are you enjoying the party?’
‘I didn’t think you’d recognise me,’ she said apprehensively.
‘I would know you anywhere,’ he said, and it was true. She was so lovely, he couldn’t bear to leave her alone for a moment. No one knew more than he did how every single second in the company of a beautiful woman should be cherished. One wrong word, one thoughtless gesture and happiness could be snatched away for ever. Nothing could have persuaded him to risk going through the pain he’d endured in losing Arietta—but he wasn’t prepared to see Josie fall prey to one of his guests. The idea of a treasure like her in the clutches of another man was unthinkable.
‘I really am so glad you felt able to come,’ he said before she had time to think. His fingers were still resting just below her ribcage. When she didn’t automatically pull away, he let them linger, but only fractionally longer than good manners should have allowed. However, Josie seemed uneasy and her eyes flicked away, in the direction of another group of guests. He waited, puzzled. She did it again. Then he realised she was looking at the woman he had abandoned when he’d blazed a trail around the room to her.
‘Oh, that’s just Tamara,’ Dario said casually, stepping back.
On the other side of the room, the blonde raised one hand and blew him a kiss.
‘Hmm. It doesn’t look as though she’s saying, “Oh, that’s just Dario,” to those other people,’ Josie said stiffly.
Dario felt a surge of purely male satisfaction. She was jealous—tonight she was as good as his.
‘Would you like me to introduce you to her?’ he said innocently. ‘We’ve been friends—just friends—for years.’ He smiled, and her lovely face lit up with a promise that was reflected all through her body. He saw her tension vanish. She took two languid steps towards him like a gentle breeze, and the effect was instantaneous. Dario forgot all about keeping control or seducing her slowly. All he wanted to do was take possession of her.
‘I meant what I said, Josie. I’m really glad you decided to come after all,’ he murmured.
‘After you kept telling me that I should relax more? How could I do anything else?’
His dark eyes sparkled with amusement. ‘You’re the very last person I’d expect to find a party relaxing. I assumed you’d take up residence in my library tonight, as it’s the least likely place to find other guests. Have you seen my library yet?’
‘Yes. It was all very … interesting,’ Josie said tactfully.
He smiled. ‘That’s a good answer. One of my forebears bought a lot of those books by the yard, back in the nineteenth century.’
She nodded. ‘That explains the strange order they’re in.’
‘Not necessarily. My staff don’t always bother to put things back in the proper place after I’ve read something.’
‘You actually read those books?’ she marvelled.
Dario took a sip of champagne. ‘I’d invite you to come and look at them again with me sometime, but I know what your reaction to that would be.’
‘You never know.’
‘After our picnic the other day?’
‘I’ve changed my usual clothes for this evening, and my appearance. How do you know I haven’t changed in other ways?’ she teased him back.
‘Because a mermaid can never forsake the sea.’
Josie giggled, and lifted her glass to scrutinise its contents. ‘This must be very good champagne. I’m not entirely sure I understood that!’
‘In that stunning outfit, you would make the perfect mermaid.’ His hand went to her hair, delica
tely lifting a strand back into place.
‘Josie … in honour of this special occasion I should like to offer you a little memento.’
She was so carried away by the look of appreciation in his eyes that he might have been offering her the moon. Nodding wordlessly, she saw him signal to one of his staff. The man disappeared, only to hurry up to them a few seconds later, holding a spray of white cymbidiums, their throats flecked with pink and cream spots.
Dario took the flowers with a nod of thanks and smiled. ‘The most beautiful flowers, for my most beautiful guest. May I?’
‘Yes, please,’ Josie breathed.
Dario took another step closer to her, so that his smart black shoes were toe to toe with the sparkly little stilettos she had borrowed from Antonia. Then he slid the fingers of one hand between her dress and the pale skin of her breast. Lifting the fine material away, he pinned the orchids safely to her shoulder.
‘There,’ he said, taking his time to remove his fingers. They trailed gracefully over her skin, making her delicate tan seem pale in contrast to his nut-brown fingers. She shivered at the delicious friction of their touch, but made no move to stop him or pull away, not even when she saw him take the opportunity to admire the swell of her breasts beneath the fabric of her dress and the delicate line of her throat.
His gaze moved back to her face and he smiled down at her. ‘I also suspect that your adoring fans will soon block your way to the buffet. Let me act as your pilot.’
Without waiting for Josie’s reply, he slid his arm lightly around her waist and swept her around the vast room with flair. Everyone turned to watch as they passed. They were all smiling and with satisfaction Dario saw that Josie was, too.
The buffet had been set up on a long row of polished tables in an anteroom. It was a feast for all the senses. Flower arrangements in the di Sirena colours of blue and gold, pyramids of tropical fruit and baskets of hand-made bread rolls in every shape and variety all gave off a wonderful fragrance. Light from the chandeliers dazzled over silver trays and crystal bowls of titbits. Dario knew the glorious sight and the polite murmur of conversation surrounding it would make both her work and England seem a very long way off for Josie—and that was exactly what he wanted.
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