He shook his head.
‘That’s why Papa wanted to open the first Maldini hotel here. Mama was working as a nurse. Papa came here for business. She ran into him on her bicycle.’
He grinned. ‘No doubt her nursing skills came in handy.’
‘Papa always said he fell for her then and there.’ Bella grinned. ‘But Mama said that was nonsense and that he’d just hit his head too hard.’
He laughed. ‘I like the sound of her.’
Bella wondered what her mother would’ve made of Dominic. She’d probably have liked him; he’d have made her laugh. But given his reputation she wouldn’t have wanted him for her daughter.
Bella swallowed. She didn’t want him either.
Liar.
She forced her mind back to the conversation. ‘Mama told me that Papa was the only man she’d ever been with. And her face when she said that...’
‘What?’
He leaned forward, his eyes intense and intrigued. Bella shrugged. ‘She just looked so happy. And grateful. And...and happy.’ She couldn’t think of a more honest way to describe it. She would never forget that look. ‘I don’t care how lame that sounds, that’s how it was.’
He frowned. ‘And?’
He hadn’t moved. She told herself they had a kitchen’s width of distance between them. ‘And I knew then and there.’
‘What?’
‘That that’s what I wanted for myself. I want a true and lasting love like the one my parents had. I’m prepared to wait to get it. I expect in some instances love can’t and shouldn’t be rushed. In the meantime, though, I don’t want to waste my time experimenting with shallow love affairs. I’m not interested in taking part in a string of meaningless encounters.’
His jaw dropped. ‘How do you know they’ll be meaningless unless you try?’
‘If a man won’t wait until I’m ready, then I figure he wasn’t worth my time in the first place.’
‘That’s true, but don’t you have to kiss a lot of frogs before you find the prince?’
‘Kiss, not jump into bed with.’ She folded her arms and frowned. ‘Besides, love isn’t something you have to practise for.’
‘But what if you marry someone and then discover the sex is awful?’
She rolled her eyes. ‘I’m guessing this isn’t the time to point out that there’s more to marriage than sex.’
He thrust out his jaw. ‘Sex is important.’
‘Okay, fine. You and me—we aren’t going to, but if we did make love do you doubt that it’d be satisfying?’ Because there wasn’t a single doubt in her mind.
‘No,’ he growled out.
‘Then I’m hoping that’ll be the same when I finally meet my prince.’
‘And in the meantime you’ll be missing out on...’
‘What?’ she snapped. ‘What exactly do you get out of all your bed hopping?’
‘Pleasure,’ he snapped back.
‘And what about the awkwardness afterwards? The vague sense of dissatisfaction? The guilt? Maybe you don’t feel those things, but I’m pretty sure I would. Pleasure, pah!’ She smacked the air. ‘I get pleasure from a good red wine, from chocolate mud cake, from a steamy, scented bubble bath, and none of those things leave me feeling awkward, dissatisfied or guilty.’ That wasn’t a hundred per cent true; she might feel a bit guilty if she overdid it on the chocolate mud cake. ‘Besides—’ she suddenly rounded on him ‘—a woman can pleasure herself, you know?’
Dominic stilled. Bella’s cheeks flamed. She couldn’t believe she’d said that out loud. She couldn’t look him in the face. Burying her head in her hands, though, wouldn’t do any good. ‘You said you wouldn’t scoff,’ she finally choked out.
He raised both hands in surrender. ‘I’m not scoffing, I swear. But, Bella, don’t you think you’ve put your parents’ relationship on an impossibly high pedestal?’
‘High, yes,’ she acknowledged. ‘But not impossibly so.’
He folded his arms and his eyes suddenly narrowed. ‘Are you sure you don’t use your virginity as a kind of weapon, or as a shield?’
‘A shield?’
‘To stop a man from getting too close.’
‘Of course not! Why on earth would I do that?’
‘We all have secrets, Bella, insecurities. Loving someone means sharing those things.’
Her mouth went dry.
‘Of course, it could simply be a sign of immaturity.’
Her chin shot up. ‘That is such a male thing to say! Having sex does not equate to being an adult.’
‘Being an adult means knowing right from wrong, and knowing your own worth. It’s not about pleasing other people. You want to please your father, Bella, but at what cost to your own identity? Besides, being adult means knowing the difference between reality and fantasy. From where I’m sitting, I’m not thinking you have a great grasp of the former.’
‘What on—?’ She gaped at him and then saw his game. This time it was she who folded her arms. ‘You’re just trying to deflect attention from yourself. You’re right, sex is important. It means something. Or, at least, it should. That’s why virgins like me scare the living daylights out of men like you—our expectations, our rosy view of love. It’s why you never spend longer than a week in the same woman’s bed, because you want to stop the sex from meaning something. Running away from the truth won’t change it, though.’
They stared at each other for a long moment. Dominic finally shrugged. ‘That’s something I think we’ll have to agree to disagree on.’
Her shoulders suddenly sagged. ‘For heaven’s sake, Dominic, don’t you get tired?’
He didn’t say anything. She couldn’t read his face. She shook her head. ‘Chalk and cheese,’ she murmured. ‘That’s what we are.’
‘Oil and water,’ he agreed.
‘I’m starting to wonder if we belong to the same species.’
He laughed. She leapt down from the bench before the sound could beguile her completely. ‘Chocolate mud cake?’
‘Excellent suggestion.’
* * *
Dominic muttered an imprecation under his breath when a key rattled in the apartment door. Damn. He’d meant to be long gone before Bella arrived home for the day. He turned his laptop off and shoved it into its bag.
He’d taken to working late and eating a takeaway in his office, not returning to the apartment until Bella would be in bed. With her door firmly closed. And hopefully bolted.
He hated this damned apartment. Living in it for over three weeks had not succeeded in reconciling him to cherubs, love seats or gilt furniture.
He clenched a fist. Over three weeks of having to resist the temptation of Bella!
He turned as she tripped into the room. She pulled up short when she saw him. ‘Hey.’ She tried a smile but it didn’t reach her eyes. She lowered her handbag and briefcase to the coffee table. ‘How’s it going?’
He tried to match her casual tone. ‘Hey, yourself. How’s it going with you?’
‘Good. Luigi and I have just had a conference with the linen suppliers, and also the furniture factory who are outfitting the dining room.’ She twisted her hands together. ‘Actually, I’m glad you’re here. There’s something I’ve been meaning to talk to you about.’
He twisted more fully around on his chair. ‘What’s that?’
‘I...’ Then she glanced around and frowned. ‘Where’s Minky? Normally she starts meowing at me the moment I get in.’
‘Probably plotting some dastardly form of revenge for being cooped up in here all day.’
Bella peered under the coffee table and then behind the television unit. She pointed to the dining table. ‘Is she under there?’
He looked. ‘No.’
‘Not hiding on one of the chairs?’
He checked again. ‘Nope.’
‘Just give me a moment...’
He turned back to his file, pretending to be immersed in it, but he was aware of Bella’s every movement. She t
horoughly checked the living room and then the kitchen. He listened to her soft footfalls as she moved down the hall to the bathroom. It was the only room left. Both he and Bella kept their bedroom doors very firmly shut; it seemed the wisest course of action somehow.
She raced back into the kitchen and emerged with a box of cat treats. She shook the box. ‘Minky?’ Shake, shake. ‘Minky?’ More shaking, but no Minky appeared.
‘Aha!’ Bella pounced on the wind-up toy mouse. ‘If this won’t bring her out of hiding then nothing will.’
He gave up pretending to work. They both waited until the toy had wound down. She turned wide alarmed eyes to his. ‘Go check your bedroom,’ he ordered, jumping up to check his.
He checked the room completely. No Minky.
He met Bella back in the hallway. Her face told him she hadn’t had any luck either. At the shake of his head she pressed a hand to her stomach and turned green. ‘Don’t look like that,’ he ordered, starting to feel alarmed. ‘Damn cat has to be about here some place.’
He stalked back out to the living room, checked behind every curtain and every piece of furniture, and then under it. Twice. He even pulled the cushions off the sofa. He glanced at Bella and bit back a curse. He’d throttle the damn cat once he got hold of it for making Bella look so sick. She played with the rotten thing, fed it, petted it, did everything she could to make friends with it. Didn’t it know how lucky it was?
He checked the kitchen cupboards, all of them. Bella, who had been blindly following him, reached across to open the dishwasher. ‘Bella, the cat is hardly going to—’
‘Empty.’
‘Yeah, but—’
‘It was full this morning. I loaded it before I went to work. This is a serviced apartment.’ She turned and raced back down to the bathroom. ‘Freshly laundered towels.’ She held them up for him to see. ‘The apartment was serviced today.’
Then he saw exactly what she meant.
‘What if Minky escaped when the cleaner came in?’
He had a feeling he’d turned green, too. That pampered piece of fluff on the streets? Minky didn’t stand a chance.
He could tell the exact moment she read that thought in his face. ‘Bella, wait!’ he hollered as she dashed for the door. He tried to grab her, but his mobile rang and the temporary distraction gave her all the leverage she needed. ‘Wright,’ he spat into it, flying out of the apartment after her.
The line crackled. ‘What the blazes do you and Bella think you are doing?’ Marco yelled down the line.
Dominic had no idea what he and Bella were supposed to have done and, frankly, at the moment he didn’t care.
‘Bad timing, Marco. I’ll call you back.’ He stuffed the phone in his pocket and took the fire escape stairs two at a time.
Bella could sure move when she wanted to. He had a sudden image of how she’d react if she found a squashed Minky on the side of the road and his feet grew wings. He burst out of the building, narrowly avoiding knocking over an entire family, and tracked Bella to the side alley where, practically on hands and knees, she was calling the cat’s name.
A homeless guy sat beside a bin. Dominic approached in time to hear him say, ‘You lookin’ for a cat, miss?’
She swung to him. Dominic winced at her eagerness.
‘Yes!’ She raced over. ‘Have you seen one? Where? Where did you see her?’
He shuffled upright. ‘What’s it worth to you?’
A sound midway between a choke and a shriek escaped Bella’s throat. She seized the guy by the lapels of his shabby jacket. ‘Tell me about the cat.’ She shook him. ‘Or so help me God—’
Whoa! Dominic pulled her back before the homeless guy’s eyes bulged clean out of their sockets. He kept one arm firmly around her. ‘Have you seen the cat?’ he asked, fishing a twenty-dollar bill from his pocket.
The man glanced hungrily at the money, then at Dominic and finally at Bella. His shoulders slumped. ‘Don’t know nothing about no cat.’
Bella stiffened. ‘Then why—?’
‘Wasn’t hard to figure out,’ he muttered, unable to meet either Bella or Dominic’s eyes. ‘You were either looking for a dog or a cat. I figured nobody in their right mind would call a dog Minky.’
Bella’s shoulders slumped. Dominic wrestled with anger that the guy had upset her, and pity at his miserable condition. Pity won out. With a sigh he stuffed the twenty dollars into the guy’s top pocket.
‘Oh, God, Dominic.’
Bella’s eyes filled and Dominic’s gut clenched. He had to make this right for her somehow.
Tears spilled over to her cheeks. ‘This is my friend’s pet, Dominic. She loves it.’ She clutched his arms. ‘We have to find her. I know you think Minky is only a cat but Mel loves her. Really, truly, loves her. You can understand that, can’t you? I know you don’t want to get married or anything, but you understand love, right?’
Sure he did. He nodded. And loving a cat, even Minky, made perfect sense when Bella hiccupped through a sob and stared at him like that. ‘We’ll find her,’ he promised, though he had no idea how he’d make good on it.
Fresh tears spilled down Bella’s cheeks. A wave of protectiveness all but barrelled him over. With a muttered oath, he pulled her against his chest. He moved his hands up and down her back, trying to comfort her, hoping it would ease her distress. ‘Don’t cry,’ he pleaded. ‘We’ll find Minky.’ He eased back, his hands firm but gentle on her shoulders. ‘You won’t be able to see properly if you cry.’
‘O-okay,’ she hiccupped.
She took the handkerchief he held out, dried her eyes and then sent him a watery smile that ripped his heart clean out of his chest and threw it on the pavement at his feet. He sucked in a breath and tried to keep his footing. His insides shrivelled at the trust in her big brown eyes.
He had to swallow before he could speak. ‘How about we search the rest of the alley first?’
She nodded. ‘Okay.’
‘You start on those boxes down there while I check the bins.’
She moved towards the other end of the alley. Dominic rested his hands on his knees for a moment. If Minky had been hit by a car the most likely place to dump the body would be the bin. He didn’t want Bella finding the body.
His mobile rang. Damn, it’d be Marco again. Half-resigned, and with one eye firmly on Bella, he lifted the phone to his ear. ‘Marco?’ With a grimace, he held the phone away as Marco ranted at him in Italian. If he weren’t so worried he’d have grinned at the similarities he could draw between father and daughter. He snapped to attention when he caught the word ‘cat’.
‘What did you say?’ he demanded, breaking over Marco’s ranting.
‘I said you’re not allowed pets in the apartments,’ Marco hollered. ‘Why didn’t you check? The apartment manager rang and raked me—me—over the coals!’
‘The cat’s safe, then?’
‘Yes, yes.’
Dominic started to laugh. Relief flooded him.
‘This is no laughing—’
‘Bella, we’ve found her!’
Bella raced to his side and gripped his arm, her eyes eager and hopeful. The air punched out of his body. She shook his arm. ‘Dominic?’
He held the phone out to her. ‘Your father.’
She frowned, took the phone. ‘Papa?’
She promptly held the phone away from her ear. He could hear Marco’s ranting from where he stood. He watched her listen carefully all the same. She grimaced apologetically to him. He couldn’t help but grin at her.
Suddenly she grinned back. She covered the mouthpiece. ‘Today,’ she confided, ‘he can yell at me all he wants.’ Eventually she managed to end the call. She beamed up at him. ‘Minky is in the apartment manager’s office.’
Right. He took her arm to guide her out of the alley.
‘Oh.’ She stopped. ‘One moment.’
She raced back to the homeless man. Dominic didn’t hear what she said, but he saw her hand the man a card. ‘W
hat was that all about?’ he asked.
‘Oh, I’ll tell you later.’ She took his arm and herded him out of the alley. ‘Hurry, we need to get our skates on. Papa is on his way and I need to get a cake on asap if we’re not to have him grousing at us the entire night.’
* * *
Dominic laughed out loud at the expression that spread across Marco’s face when he steamrolled into the apartment less than an hour later. And at the way he came to a dead halt and circled on the spot just like Bella had done the first time she’d stepped into the apartment. ‘Pah!’ His nose wrinkled. ‘What is this place?’
‘You tell us,’ Bella said, kissing her father on the cheek. ‘You organised it.’
Marco’s face darkened as he swung to Dominic. ‘Have you done anything to upset Katie, my PA?’
Dominic stiffened. ‘No.’
Marco’s eyes narrowed. ‘Then what about her assistant, Gabby?’
He drew himself up. ‘Certainly not.’
‘There seems to have been some mix-up,’ Bella cut in. ‘Only one apartment was available. I doubt either Katie or Gabby were at fault.’
Marco turned to Bella. ‘You have been baking, my girl?’
‘I made you a sultana cake. And the coffee is brewing.’
He waggled a finger at her. ‘You will not get around me so easily. Is this the offending cat?’ He bent to glare into Minky’s cage. Minky hissed. ‘Pah!’ Marco straightened. ‘You must—’
He broke off to turn on the spot, his face a mixture of incredulity and disgust. ‘How can you work here? There are no desks for you to spread out your files, your papers.’
‘That has proved challenging,’ Dominic allowed, accepting a coffee from the tray Bella brought out from the kitchen, along with a piece of still-warm cake. His mouth watered as a faint scent of lemon drifted up to him.
‘You.’ Marco rounded on Bella. ‘Why did you not complain to me?’
Her tray shook. ‘This is a business arrangement. Dominic and I have been making do. Now, drink your coffee, Papa, and have a piece of cake. I promise it is very good.’
It hit Dominic then how ill at ease Bella was with her father. Why? She all but glowed with love whenever she spoke of him.
Bella's Impossible Boss Page 11
