by Donna Alward
She backed up against the stone railing, closing her eyes.
“Mari.”
When she opened her eyes he was directly in front of her, his warm gaze steady on hers.
“I know you’ve been hurt badly.” Her eyes widened but he continued in that same, soft, hypnotic tone. “I can see it in you. I realized it after that day in the attic. I won’t hurt you, Mari. We’ll keep our eyes open. I promise.”
He lifted his hand and his fingers disappeared beneath her hair. Her breath caught as she fought against the urge to lean into the pressure of his hand. Luca kept his promises. Eyes open.
“Beautiful Mari. I cannot deny there is something between us. I feel it. You feel it, too. We both felt it today, in the meadow. I could see it in your eyes. But the difference is we set the limits. We set the boundaries.”
“I can’t sleep with you Luca.” It came out on a rush of breath.
A smile teased his mouth. “Perhaps a kiss.”
He was close enough now that she had to tip her chin up to meet his eyes. It was a struggle to keep them open as his fingertips moved through her hair. “Kiss.”
“Surely you’ve kissed before?”
Mari’s insides trembled. She had, but not for a very long time. Not without utter fear.
“A time or two.”
His face was so close his breath warmed her cheeks. Her fingers tightened around the edges of his jacket. Surely, if she could make it through a first kiss, it would all be fine. “Kiss me, Mariella.”
Their gazes held for a second. He was waiting for her, she realized. He understood she’d been hurt and he was letting her make the first move. It was unexpected. She was used to him bossing her around. Now he was giving her the power and it made him even more difficult to resist.
She leaned into his hand, tilted up her face, and with her heart in her throat, touched her lips to his.
For a split second she let them rest there, testing. Their eyes were open, and the connection between them was so strong it rocked her core. His lips were warm, soft, waiting. She let go of the jacket and rested a hand against his heart and felt the thunder beneath her palm.
The simple movement changed everything. Her breath came out in a rush as Luca’s hand commanded her head, tilting it gently to the side and he opened his lips. Her lashes fluttered shut. The kiss was deliberate but soft, easing into the passion slowly, building the fire with teasing nips.
For the first time since leaving her old life behind, she threw caution to the wind, wrapping her arms around his torso and pulling him closer.
The moment she did it, everything changed. His hand swept from beneath her hair and dragged her close. His tongue swept into her mouth and she wilted against him. The jacket fell from her shoulders to the floor of the terrace and his hands warmed her skin as they roamed over the bare flesh of her arms.
Glory.
He broke off the kiss, resting his forehead against hers.
Mariella pulled out of his arms, immediately feeling the cool air and the bite of cold reality. “Thank you.”
His eyes glittered at her knowingly. “Thank you?”
She had to take a step backward. She’d been swept away in the magic of the moment and had forgotten. She was supposed to be afraid. She was supposed to keep personal distance. She was not supposed to let herself be vulnerable. She could not… A sob built in her chest. She could not allow herself to feel.
She wanted to deny it, but he’d know she was running away from it, and him. And to acknowledge it had affected her deeply was to take things where she didn’t want them to go.
“As you said, there’s a certain amount of chemistry.” She lifted her chin, daring him to contradict her.
Instead he laughed, reaching out and grazing her cheek with a knuckle.
“You are a strong woman, Mari. You do my grandmother’s name justice. She was a strong woman, too.”
Mari swallowed. Coming on the heels of the kiss, she was seeing a whole new side to Luca. Whether he recognized it or not, he carried around his own scars, ones indelibly scraped on his heart.
She turned away, leaving him staring at her back as she rested her elbows on the balustrade.
“You remind me of her.” He paused for a moment. “Why did you not correct Gina when she called you by your full name?”
Mari shrugged. “It would have been rude of me. We’d just met.”
“But you didn’t mind being rude to me.”
She heard the dull sound of his shoes on the stone floor as he came closer. “You can take it.”
“I appreciate you being kind to my sister. Annoyance that she is.”
Mari held her breath as his hands appeared on either side of her and he leaned closer, not quite an embrace, but with his chest leaning warm and secure against her back.
“Mariella.”
Mari’s eyelids drifted shut. The soft way he said it was sweet seduction. But it was no better as his image appeared behind her eyes. The way he looked tonight, the way the expensive cut of his suit emphasized his physique, making him look like a movie star from bygone days. Too much like the man from her dreams. She had to resist him. Had to. This was madness. She was supposed to be afraid. Repulsed. She wasn’t supposed to be feeling like this.
His lips touched the back of her neck and she quivered. Tilted her head without thinking, allowing him access to the gentle curve.
His arms tightened around her and his wide hands rested just below her waist, their warmth seeping through to her skin.
“You didn’t correct me just now.”
“No, I didn’t.” The words came out on a breathy whisper.
How could she possibly explain that they way he said it sounded different? How could she do that without making this more than either of them wanted?
“You would honor me if you let me use your given name, Mariella. It was the name of a woman I loved very much, and I’ve missed the sound of it on my lips.”
Her lips parted but no sound came out. How could she refuse him now? They’d moved this far out of the realm of strictly business, and she wasn’t at all sure how it had happened. She only knew they had a connection. Knew that somehow tonight they had shared more than simple family history. Somehow, in between the main course and this moment, she’d started to trust Luca. She’d let him in, whether he realized it or not.
She swallowed, opened her eyes, and turned so that she was still in his arms but facing him.
“You really mean that. That’s not a line, is it.”
He shook his head. ““My Nonna was very special to me. And she would have liked you, Mariella. She’d have liked you very much.”
Mari would have answered, but Luca bent his head and kissed her again, sending all her words scattering into the starlight.
Chapter 7
“You wanted to see me, Mari?”
Mari looked up as Luca stopped at the door to her office. The smooth sound of his voice sent flutters over her skin and she shook them away. The intimate whispers of last night weren’t real. Today was what was real. She had to set the tone.
Last night had been a fantasy, dressed up in finery, gazing at stars from balconies. But today they had to get back to business. Gone was the dashing movie-star hero, and in his place was the real Luca. The one in regular trousers and trendy shirts that showed off the lean physique of his upper body. She couldn’t stop the visceral reaction to his appearance any more than she could stop the instant knowledge that kissing him had been a terrible mistake.
No matter how wonderful.
“Luca, come in.”
He ambled into the office. She’d been here early, had made sure of it. Yesterday had been an aberration. Gallivanting off to picnics and romantic dinners. Being held in his arms and kissing beneath the stars. That wasn’t reality. Reality was The Cascade and the job at hand. How easily she’d forgotten. How completely he’d managed to distract her.
He took a seat across from her desk, crossing an ankle over his kne
e. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here earlier. I had breakfast with Gina. And she doesn’t rise early. If I had known you wanted to see me…”
“You’d have what?” She folded her hands on top of the papers neatly arranged in front of her.
“I’d have made myself available.”
The dizzying thought of Luca making himself available to her spun through her veins, the anticipation of possibility seducing her away from her goal. No one had ever made her a priority. No one had put something off for her before. But for all she knew that could just be pretty words.
“You’re here now. And since we were out yesterday afternoon, there’s a lot to catch up on.”
She began explaining about contractors and unions while he was looking at her. She stuttered over a word, realizing he was gazing at her face, her neck, the buttons on her jacket. He wasn’t paying attention. Scratch that. He was paying too much attention!
“Luca, are you listening?”
He straightened his shoulders and leaned forward a little. “Intently.”
Oh, indeed he was. She blinked, forced herself to keep to the topic at hand. “I needed to see you about these invoices.” She held out a sheaf of papers. “Luca, those numbers can’t possibly be correct.” He’d mentioned upgrading the spa facilities, but the numbers coming in didn’t make any sense to her.
He glanced down at the sheets. “Yes, that’s right.” He tossed off the matter. “What’s on your schedule for this afternoon?”
Her face blanched as she ignored his last and focused on the fact that he’d said the invoices were accurate. “Look again. That decimal point can’t be correct.”
He handed them back to her. “It’s all in order, Mari.”
She tapped her pen against the blotter, unsure of how to proceed. Surely he could see the folly in laying out so much money in addition to all the other things he was adding. She had seen the bill for the new draperies for the Athabasca Room and had nearly fainted. It had gone way beyond what they’d agreed when they’d laid out the budget. Now this…
“This is not what we budgeted. And you went over our budget for the drapes by nearly thirty percent!”
“It was a great price for a much higher quality fabric. Gina found it and…”
“Gina?” Mari stopped fidgeting and put down her pen. Fighting Luca was difficult enough. But now she had two Fioris to keep up with. Gina had delivered a sculpture, but she also did much of the interior design detail for Fiori Resorts. Trying to keep Gina from spending them into the ground was yet another tick on her to do list. She couldn’t take them both on. She took a deep breath.
“I told you she was persistent.”
Then she caught a hint of a smile at the corners of his mouth.
And she remembered that mouth on hers.
And his hands on her skin.
And how everything else had vacated her mind during those moments.
He tried to charm her and then ignored the plans they’d already set out for The Cascade. He’d done it more than once already. This was one time when his charm wasn’t going to work.
They had set out a plan. A plan to enhance the hotel while looking after her staff. It was up to her to keep it, especially if he kept looking at her in just that way.
She ran a hand over her hair, though not a strand had dared to escape her precisely arranged knot. “Luca, we can’t possibly afford the draperies, let alone the spa. The plans already mean incorporating other space into this expanded spa vision. Need I remind you how expensive that restructure is going to be? But this…this is beyond exorbitant. It’s criminal.”
“I assure you it’s not.” He continued on, unfazed, as cool as could be. “This isn’t a third-class hotel, Mariella. It’s a world class hotel. That means going with the best.” He lowered his chin and pinned her with his gaze. “Fiori always chooses the best.”
She heaved a sigh, ignoring what she knew he intended to be a disarming compliment. “This is selective blindness, then. There must be a way to trim these costs. You promised no shutdowns or layoffs. With something of this magnitude…you won’t be able to avoid it. The money has to come from somewhere.”
“I won’t?” He grinned suddenly. “Oh Mari, that sounds like a challenge. And I do like a challenge.”
Her heart slammed against her ribs, but she narrowed her eyes. He hadn’t had to say the words to know that he considered her a challenge. And she didn’t like that, not one bit. She’d been a challenge to Robert, she understood that now. She’d been independent and free, and she knew the challenge had been for her stepfather to break her. And he’d done a fabulous job of that, for a long time.
But last night she’d proved that his power over her wasn’t absolute. She’d enjoyed Luca’s touch. She’d come alive beneath his hands and had welcomed his kiss. And somehow that made her feel just a little bit powerful. She wouldn’t be under anyone’s thumb ever again. But she refused to be a challenge for Luca.
The trouble was, she wanted to trust him. So far he’d kept to his word about the changes to the hotel, despite his exorbitant taste. And the staff was, for the most part, happy. Luca had a way about him. Even when he’d explained to some staff that in order to stay, they’d have to do different tasks than was the norm, they’d greeted the news enthusiastically. No one had been dismissed or made redundant. In fact, the whole place was running remarkably smoothly, considering.
And the fact that his sudden smile had her entire body warming didn’t help either. It drew her eyes to his mouth again. And that made her remember last night and how magical his mouth had felt on hers.
For once, in those moments in Luca’s arms, she’d forgotten Robert Langston even existed. And he’d been a constant for the last twenty years, present or not. For once she’d felt sheltered and protected and not defined by what had happened to her before. The world had opened up for her in the moment she’d twined her arms around Luca’s ribs. And it had been exhilarating and terrifying.
Now in the cool light of day, it seemed impossible. For nothing had really changed. Robert was still out there, and nothing could change the things he’d done to her, or her mother. Luca would still be leaving in a matter of weeks and her goal had to be the big picture. Wasn’t that what Luca had said? And the big picture was holding on to this job that she’d worked so hard for.
“It’s not a challenge, it’s fact.” She bolstered her argument with numbers. If they could just keep this about the hotel, and not about them, then she might stand a hope of keeping things clear and professional. “This invoice alone is for over a hundred thousand dollars.”
“And every guest who comes out of our spa will feel like a million.”
“I doubt it.”
Mari watched as Luca ran a finger beneath his bottom lip and she remembered how their bodies had been close. How she’d shamelessly wrapped her arms around his ribs and pulled him in so that the warmth of his body pulsed through her. That couldn’t happen again. A relationship was out of the question. Boundaries. He’d said they could set the boundaries. She wished he’d let her.
“Have you ever had a spa day, Mariella?“I’ve had facials and pedicures, sure.” Once, when she’d first moved here and had treated herself. When she’d been reinventing herself.
“No, not that kind. The kind where you spend a whole day. You are massaged and buffed and polished from head to toe, so that when you’re done you feel like you own an entirely new body.”
She shook her head.
“You must. I’ll talk to Gina.”
Gina again.
She was losing ground quickly. Somehow this conversation had gotten away from the topic of expenditures and she had to bring it back.
“I do not have time for a spa day, Gina or not.”
His smile was crafty. “But if you’re with Gina, she’s out of my hair.”
“And conveniently, so am I.” She raised her brows so he would know she was on to him. “You made these changes without even consulting me.”
“I am the owner.”
Mari unclenched her fingers, relieved they were back to the safe topic of talking about the hotel again. “As I’m well aware.” She smiled coolly. “I have to run these figures again, if they are, as you say, correct. Find a way to streamline somewhere else.” She didn’t add that she blamed him for the extra work; there was no need. He never seemed to listen to her cautions about money. He simply forged ahead with whatever scheme he had in mind. And he was great one for schemes.
“Mariella, you are going to worry yourself into the ground. Take the day. Enjoy it.” He reached over and put his hand over hers. “You’re no good to me or the employees here if you’re out on stress leave because you’ve pushed yourself too hard.”
Words seemed to strangle when she tried to talk, and she paused. He wasn’t goading her or criticizing. His eyes were sincere. He actually sounded like he cared.
He was so hard to resist when he was this way. It had been easier for her to deal with the work this morning than think about the what if’s with Luca. But he was here now, and work didn’t solve a thing. If anything, it only served to increase her awareness of him. To highlight how often during the day they were together. To remind her of how much she’d lost herself in his arms last night. To remind her of how much she longed to trust someone, to have them fill that empty space she’d become so adept at ignoring.
Luca saw her face change, saw that little hint of vulnerability she tried to keep hidden. He recognized that look. Gina had had it, less now that she had her own family, but he’d seen it enough growing up. In his days here, he hadn’t seen Mariella with any friends. She never talked about her family. She was, to his recollection, the most alone person he’d ever met. And something told him she had it that way on purpose.
It would be good for her to have a day with Gina. Moreover, it would get them both out of his hair for a blessed few hours so he could work in peace.
“I want to do this for you, Mariella. I want you to take the rest of the morning and treat yourself to a massage or a wrap or whatever you like.” And he lifted her hand and kissed the back.