by Day Leclaire
The instant the doors shut, she leaned against the back wall and closed her eyes. She hadn’t been in the building a full thirty seconds and look at how much she’d already risked as a result of a single, casual handshake. What in the world had gotten into her? For that matter, what had gotten into Lazzaro Dante? Whatever had just happened between them, from this minute on, she needed to put such foolishness aside and focus on work.
Thirty minutes later, she realized that not only couldn’t she forget, but it had become an absolute impossibility. Something about that single touch had changed her. Caitlyn struggled to concentrate on the reams of HR paperwork to be completed and the workaday tour of facilities, trying to convince herself that vital information was being given. But with every passing minute, she grew more and more tense, keenly aware she’d soon see Lazz and discover if she’d imagined her reaction to him.
When the moment finally arrived, she greeted him with a professional demeanor, meant to conceal her nervousness. “So, we meet again.” She caught the faintest hitch in his step and a tiny frown formed between his hazel eyes before he offered his hand, a hand she eyed with undisguised apprehension. “That’s brave of you, after what happened last time. But if you’re game, so am I.”
He paused a beat before inclining his head. “I’m willing.”
To her relief she didn’t receive a zap again. And then the relief faded to a vague disappointment. Maybe she’d imagined the surge of electricity. And though she felt an unmistakable warmth toward the man holding her hand, it bore little resemblance to the unrelenting desire she’d felt just a scant hour before. Not that she let on.
Lazz studied her with just as much interest as earlier, and the hungry spark in her eyes remained, as well. “Welcome to Dantes. I’m looking forward to getting to know you better,” he said.
As before, she couldn’t misinterpret the intent behind his comment. It was an invitation, Caitlyn realized in that instant. Right now, the two of them teetered on the verge of a relationship that went beyond business. The power it offered intrigued her. Her move, it said. She could either back away and put an end to it. Or she could take the next step—cautiously, of course—and see where it led. Time seemed to slow, giving her a moment to consider
She couldn’t be certain what she’d experienced Dantes’ lobby had anything to do with love, but she would never have gotten so far in business if she’d shied away from a challenge out of sheer timidity or contrariness. The opportunity in front of her represented a challenge, but she also spied all the pieces necessary to build the foundation her grandmother had so often talked about. He was sexy and successful, but most of all smart. Someone she could build a castle with. And the tingle they’d shared earlier? Lucky bonus.
She didn’t hesitate another instant. She offered Lazz a brilliant smile and surrendered to whatever fate ordained. Maybe their current setting put a slight damper on that sizzle of attraction. She’d just have to wait and see what happened from here. The bottom line was, whatever had occurred in the lobby of Dantes, she wanted more.
“I’m really looking forward to getting to know you,” she said.
Chapter Two
Six Weeks Later
Caitlyn took her customary seat around a generous-size smoked glass table, joining the two women with whom she’d formed a fast friendship over the six weeks she’d been working at Dantes. They always met for lunch at the same time and place thanks to Lazz, who’d been generous enough to offer the use of a small conference room connected to his office.
The minute they were seated, Britt preened for them, showing off a stunning pair of diamond earrings. “Check these out. They’re a Dantes exclusive. Aren’t they gorgeous?”
“Who gave those to you and how do I meet someone like that,” Angie demanded.
“I bought them for myself,” Britt confessed with a hint of bravado. “I figured it was the only way I’d ever get a pair.”
“On whose salary?” When Britt simply made a face, Angie let it go and glanced at them with barely suppressed excitement. “Well, I have news. You won’t believe what I heard.” She spared a brief glance toward the door exiting onto the executive floor to confirm they’d shut it before staring uneasily at the open doorway leading to Lazz’s office, a doorway only steps from their table. “Maybe I shouldn’t say anything here.”
“Lazz is out to lunch with his brother, Nicolò, if that’s what you’re worried about. I booked the reservation myself,” Britt reassured. “No one can overhear us.”
“Okay.” Even so, she lowered her voice. “I heard something interesting at Dantes Exclusive.”
Caitlyn understood that to mean Dantes’ private retail operation, a select by-invitation-only showroom catering to the elite. Angie had started there as a saleswoman two full decades ago, before climbing steadily up the retail end of the corporate ladder.
“Who visited this time?” Caitlyn asked. She’d forgotten to leave her reading glasses in her office, an all-too-common occurrence, and shoved them into her hair on top of her head. “Show business, finance, or royalty?”
Britt offered a catlike grin. “I bet I know.”
Angie laughed. “Since you’re his personal assistant, I’ll bet you do, too.”
Caitlyn blinked in surprise. “Are you talking about Lazz?” At Angie’s nod of confirmation, Caitlyn wrinkled her brow in confusion and asked, “Why is it odd he’d be at Exclusive?”
Angie paused, before dropping her next bombshell. “Maybe because he was looking at engagement rings.”
Both women gazed at Caitlyn with broad smiles, while she sat for a long moment in stunned silence, rubbing her palm. “No. You can’t really think . . .”
“Not only do I think, I’ll bet dinner at Le Premier on it.”
“Well, it makes perfect sense to me,” Britt offered. “You two hit it off right from the start. Plus, you’re so alike. You’re both practical. Logical. Not to mention financial geniuses. It takes every bit of my ability to keep up with him. But the two of you . . .” She shook her head in wry amusement. “Whenever you’re together, it’s like you’re talking in shorthand. It’s almost as if you’re already an old married couple.”
Angie made a face. “You make it sound so dull. It isn’t like that, is it, Caitlyn?” A frown of distress touched her brow. “I mean, there’s romance, right? Excitement? Give an old woman hope. Tell me there’s romance and excitement, even if it’s a lie.”
Caitlyn felt herself blushing. “Of course, there’s romance and excitement,” she muttered. Somewhere.
“Now if it were Marco,” Britt offered, “I guarantee there’d never be a dull moment. Have you crossed paths with him, yet?” Before Caitlyn could respond, she gave an impatient click of her tongue. “No, of course not. He just flew in from overseas today. I think he’s only been home two other times. Once was about a month ago when Sev threw a bash for Francesca to publicize the release of the Dantes’ Heart Collection.”
“I was in New York at the time,” Caitlyn reminded her.
“Oh, right. And then Marco showed up for Sev’s wedding.”
Caitlyn shook her head. “New York, again. I did meet Sev last week, though,” she said. But for some reason, Lazz had shown a notable reluctance to introduce her to the various members of the Dante clan, something that filled her with a vague unease. “But he’s the only other Dante so far.”
Britt tilted her head to one side. “Hmm. Sounds to me like Lazz wants to keep you all to himself. He’s probably afraid if he introduces you to his brothers, you’ll decide you like one of them better, especially his tw—”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Caitlyn interrupted, taking instant exception. “I was attracted to Lazz from the minute we first shook hands.” Just because the weeks since had failed to lived up to that initial contact didn’t mean a bone-deep attraction couldn’t still exist. They just needed to add a bit more fuel to the flames. “As for his brothers, I expect I’ll meet them at his grandparents’ anniversary party ton
ight.”
“Nothing against Lazz, but . . .” Britt leaned back in her chair, a dreamy expression slipping across her face. “Just once, don’t you long to have Zorro come sweeping down and carry you off?”
“And have his wicked way with you?” added Angie.
“Instead of planning every move down to the last nanosecond?” Britt’s gaze sharpened on Caitlyn, filled with open curiosity. “Is that how he makes love?” After an instant of stunned silence, she added with a mischievous smile, “Oh, come on, Angie. Back me up here. It’s not like you haven’t been wondering the same thing. I just want to know if Lazz makes love the same way he works. Is it by the numbers, or is he a bit more creative in the sack?”
“Britt Jones!” Angie reprimanded furiously.
She must have realized she’d gone too far. She mouthed a hasty apology to Caitlyn before deliberately changing the subject. “So, tell me how the Dante’s Heart Collection is going. I realize five weeks isn’t much time to determine its success, but considering Dantes’ CEO and the designer of the collection married shortly after its big launch must have helped sales. Am I right?”
Caitlyn smiled reluctantly. “Sorry, Britt. I can’t answer that. It’s confidential, I’m afraid.”
She changed the subject, all the while uneasily studying her friends while they chatted about the whirlwind marriage of the eldest of the four Dante brothers. To tell the truth, she couldn’t have answered Britt’s earlier question even if she’d been so inclined. She didn’t have a clue how Lazz made love, since matters hadn’t progressed quite that far. Though now that she thought about it, why hadn’t they had sex?
Because they were busy putting all the pieces together, that’s why. Well, clearly not all the pieces. She wanted to be sure they were standing on firm ground before taking the next step. And although that sounded good in theory, it still didn’t resolve the issue to her satisfaction.
She pretended to give her full attention to her lunch. It seemed that after the sizzle and heat of her first meeting with Lazz in the lobby of Dantes, the sexual tension between them had eased to a pleasant, comfortable warmth. Since that first shocking handshake, she’d never again experienced the spark and burn, no matter how many times they touched or kissed, nor how often she longed for it to happen just once more, if only so she’d know she hadn’t imagined it.
Their dates had been enjoyable. No. That struck her as too bland a description for her time with Lazz. They felt passion. Sure they did. Lazz left no doubt about his feelings for her. He’d made it crystal clear how much he wanted her, and expressed his interest in taking their relationship to the next step. If anything, she had slowed the pace, something he’d reluctantly allowed. She picked at her salad. And why had she done that?
She released her breath in a slow sigh. Because she’d been waiting. Waiting to feel that amazing rush of emotion again. To be swept away exactly the way Angie described. But with each passing day, it became clearer and clearer she and Lazz were as alike as two peas in a pod, both far too practical for their own good.
It looked as if all the pieces for a proper foundation were there, just the way Gran had instructed, but the longer she and Lazz worked at putting those pieces in place, the more she realized some vital parts were missing. Such a shame since she really, truly liked Lazz. And too bad that whatever spark had first ignited between them had died in the weeks since to no more than a warm glow.
She set her fork down and slipped her glasses onto the tip of her nose, her “getting down to business” mode. It was time to face facts. She wanted more than a warm glow. She wanted what she’d felt when she and Lazz had first met. Tonight she intended to confront Lazz, to take their relationship to the next step and discover once and for all whether the spark still existed, waiting to be fanned to life, or if it had been extinguished before it ever had a chance to catch fire.
“Caitlyn?”
Her head jerked upward and she realized her friends were standing by the door exiting the conference room, staring at her in concern. “You okay?” Britt prompted.
“What are you waiting for?” Angie added.
Caitlyn knew what she was waiting for, what she wanted and who she intended to have. “Zorro,” she murmured in reply. “I’m waiting for Zorro.”
“No, Marco.” His grandmother’s whispered order stopped him in his tracks, preventing him from bursting from Lazz’s office into the conference room and confronting the women they’d just overheard. “You cannot go in there. You would embarrass them.”
He hesitated, driven by a compulsion so strong he shook with the effort to control it. “Don’t try and stop me, Nonna. I’m going to put an end to this. I’ve waited so long to return home again, to have an opportunity to finally approach Caitlyn. These past few weeks have nearly driven me insane. And now . . .” He shook his head. “I can’t let Lazz propose to her. She doesn’t belong to him.”
His grandmother crossed to his side and slid a gentle hand along the clenched muscles of his arm. “He claims otherwise, nipote. You have been gone much of this past month and a half. A lot has happened in that short period of time. Lazzaro and Caitlyn Vaughn have experienced The Inferno.”
He spoke between clenched teeth. “That’s not possible.”
“Of course it is. Just because you are attracted to this woman—”
“No. You don’t understand.” Marco swiveled to face his grandmother, barely able to restrain himself.
“Caitlyn and I experienced The Inferno, not Lazz. And he knew it. That’s why he sent me away, Nonna. Deliberately. He found crisis after crisis in the foreign offices that required my personal attention. The few times I’ve been home, Caitlyn has conveniently been sent off on Dantes’ business. And it was all done to keep me away from her so Lazz could take her for himself. Something his assistant, Britt, said to me on the phone the other day finally clued me in on what he’s been up to.”
Nonna stared at him, shocked. “Do you realize what you are suggesting?”
He held out his right hand, palm up, and dug his thumb into the center where the bond had first formed. He softened his voice so they wouldn’t be overheard. “I felt the burn the day Caitlyn arrived at Dantes. From the moment I saw her, I suspected. But when we touched, I knew. It was her first day at work, her first few minutes under our roof. We met in the lobby and shook hands and ever since that moment the need for her has grown. Grown to unbearable levels. I realize now she mistook me for Lazz.” His expression darkened. “And when my dear brother discovered that fact, he took great care not to correct her error.”
“She does not know you are twins?”
“Apparently not.”
Nonna sank into the chair in front of Lazz’s desk and made the sign of the cross. “You came here to confront him over this, to demand he give her up, didn’t you?”
“I landed an hour ago and came to find him,” he confirmed. “I want to know why he’s trying to take my woman.”
“From what Lazz said, we all thought—” She broke off with a look of confusion. “We assumed he’d felt The Inferno for Caitlyn.”
“You assumed wrong.” Marco hesitated, a sudden thought occurring to him. “Or did you? Is it possible twins can feel The Inferno for the same woman?”
To his relief, she didn’t hesitate. “No, Marco. That much I do know.” She made a helpless gesture. “What I do not understand is why he would claim her if she is not his. How could he make such a mistake?”
“I haven’t made a mistake,” Lazz announced from the doorway. He stepped inside his office and crossed to where his grandmother sat. Leaning down, he gave her a kiss on each of her cheeks. “Did you bring the ring?”
She nodded unhappily. “Lazzaro . . . Are you sure? Marco claims—”
“You took Caitlyn Vaughn from me,” Marco interrupted, fury ripping through him in the face of Lazz’s absolute calm. “You had to know something had happened between us or you’d never have gone to such lengths.”
Lazz gave a ca
reless shrug. “You’re right. Based on how Caitlyn greeted me, I knew immediately you’d been up to your usual tricks. Fortunately for me, she has no idea we’re twins or that I wasn’t the one in the lobby that morning.”
Marco took a step closer to his brother and balled his hands into fists. “Maybe I should rearrange your face a bit so she has an easier time telling us apart from now on.”
Bull’s-eye. More than a hint of irritation slid from behind Lazz’s impervious facade. “Last time we fought over a woman, I ended up with a scar. One from you is plenty, thanks.”
“Has she seen it?” He’d have given anything to call back the words the instant they’d been uttered, especially when Lazz offered a lazy smile of confirmation in response. “You son of a—”
“Marco!” Nonna interrupted sharply.
Lazz’s voice cut across the reprimand, aimed straight at his brother. “Let me explain something to you. You have this insane notion that I’ve somehow taken Caitlyn from you. For your information she’s not mine to take, any more than she’s yours. She’s her own person and will make her own decision about who she will or won’t date.” He paused deliberately. “Or who she will or won’t marry.”
Marco fought to maintain control. Where he preferred action, Lazz chose reason. Long, hard experience had taught Marco one simple fact. When it came to a war of logic, his only chance at winning required he keep his temper in check. And when that failed, beat his brother to a bloody pulp. Right now, a thorough beating struck him as the most satisfying option. If he could find a way to maneuver Nonna out of the room, he might just give it a shot. Until then, words were all he had available.
“You told the family you’d experienced The Inferno with her,” Marco accused. “You and I both know that’s a lie.”
“As is The Inferno.”
“Lazzaro!” Nonna lifted a trembling hand to her throat. “How can you say such a thing?”