“This reminds me...” Palms pressed to the desk top, she pushed herself to her feet, deliberately moving slowly so as to stay calm. “There’s something I wanted to ask Nico about today’s orders. Do you mind?”
“Not at all. I saw him and Vitale heading toward the wine cellar.”
Perfect. They could talk without being overheard.
* * *
Cool and dark, the wine cellar Nico had proudly told her about on her first day had changed little from when the Amatuccis first started making wine. The stone walls and floor were the same ones against which his great-grandfather had stacked his wine barrels. At the moment the tradition meant little as she stalked the floor-to-ceiling stacks looking for Nico.
She found him in the farthest room, clipboard in hand. Soon as he saw her, a smile broke across his face. “Now here is a pleasant coincidence. I was just imagining what it would be like to bring you down here and have my way with you.”
“You’ll have to keep imagining,” she replied, sidestepping his grasp.
Immediately his smile turned into a frown. “Is something wrong?”
“You tell me. Did you really tell your employees they had to be nice to me?”
“Where did you hear that?”
“Mario told me about your staff meeting.” Not that it mattered who’d told her. The way he was avoiding looking her in the eyes told her it was true.
The irritation she’d been tamping down, quickly roared to life, making it a herculean effort for her not to snatch the clipboard from his hands and toss it on the ground then and there to make him look at her. She settled for spinning around and slamming the door shut. “I can’t believe you did that,” she hissed once she had his attention.
“Did what?”
“Forced your employees to be my friends. Who do you think you are?”
“Their boss,” he replied, sharply, eyes flashing. “And I did not force anyone. I told them to treat you with respect, something I thought you were sorely in need of at the time. Or don’t you remember how upset you were on that first day? When you told me about the trial?”
And broke down in his arms. “I remember,” she said. All too well. Like so many times, Nico had been the rock she so desperately needed.
“That doesn’t entitle you to go around speaking on my behalf.” Hearing the complaint aloud, it sounded a lot less egregious than it had when she came marching down here. Still, she pressed on. There was some merit to her grievance. “I needed to win people over on my own, not because of your influence.”
“And you did,” Nico replied. She rolled her eyes. “Look, I simply told people to give you a chance. That if they got to know you, they would see that what the newspapers were saying was nothing but a load of garbage.”
Exactly what Mario said.
“I assure you, bella mia, any goodwill you received you earned on your own.” With a duck of his head, he offered a small smile. “You are irresistible, you know.”
In spite her annoyance, Louisa’s stomach gave a little wobble. He wasn’t getting off that easily, though. “Regardless, you should have told me what you were planning. I don’t like the idea of everyone talking behind my back.”
“They were already talking; I wanted to make sure they talked correctly. Besides, if I had mentioned my plans, you would have told me not to, making your job twice as hard.”
He had a point, even if the logic didn’t sit completely well with her.
“What else did you tell them?” she asked.
“Nothing. I swear.”
She believed him. Knowing she could verify whatever he said, he had no reason not to answer truthfully.
His index finger hooked her chin. “My only intention was to make sure people treated you fairly,” he said, thumbing her lower lip. “When you told me how badly your ‘friends’ treated you in Boston, I... I swore I wouldn’t let you suffer like that again. I just wanted to erase the hurt from your eyes.”
He gazed at her from beneath lowered lids, the black of his eyes obscured by thick dark lashes. Louisa found herself lost in them anyway. He had the power to distract her with a single touch, no matter how slight. Being with Nico was unlike anything she’d ever experienced. Not with Steven or any other man. It was as if she’d been stuck in darkness her entire life and had finally stepped into the light. Nico made her feel beautiful and smart and special and a thousand other adjectives she couldn’t name. The sensation scared her to death.
And yet she couldn’t stop herself.
“I hate seeing you sad,” he whispered. “All I want is to make sure you are happy. I’m sorry if I overstepped.”
“Your heart was in the right place.”
“It was.” He wanted to help her by encouraging her coworkers to get to know her. A far cry from trying to isolate her, the way Steven had done.
“Then I suppose I can forgive you. This time.”
Smiling, Nico leaned in to kiss her. “Grazie, bella mia.”
Oh, but she was so weak, Louisa thought to herself. One brush of Nico’s lips, and she was ready to forgive everything. Forgot everything. He could betray her a thousand times and with one touch, she’d be his again. Heart and soul. The thought would terrify her, if Nico hadn’t started kissing the patch of skin right below her jaw, obliterating all coherent thought.
From the way the clipboard just slipped from Nico’s grasp, she wasn’t the only one about to lose control. “What have you done to me, bella mia?” he whispered.
Precisely the question Louisa was asking herself. But then Nico kissed her deep, and she was swept away.
* * *
“Absolutely not,” Louisa said, shaking her index finger. “I’m not letting you talk me out of it again.”
Oh, but the spark in her eyes said he was welcome to try. They were discussing Louisa’s moving back to the palazzo. The past two nights, Nico had managed to convince her she should postpone her departure. Not that she needed too much convincing.
Tonight, however, Louisa insisted she was sleeping in her own bed.
“Fine,” he told her.
“Really?” Nico chuckled at how high her brows rose. She’d been expecting an argument. After all, as they’d both discovered, the persuasion was half the fun.
“Sure. You may sleep wherever you like. Of course,” he said, trailing a finger down the back of her neck, “you won’t be sleeping alone.”
She made a soft strangled sound in her throat that made him want to kiss her all over. He loved how easily she responded to his suggestion and how she stubbornly fought to keep him from knowing. Her eyes would flutter shut and she would bite her lower lip. Inevitably her reaction would leak out anyway, and then he would be the one fighting to hide how she affected him. Surely, she knew how crazy she made him. He would give her the world on a silver platter if she asked.
So if she wanted to go back to the palazzo, to the palazzo they would go. The only reason he kept persuading her to stay was because he didn’t want to spend a night without her.
Frightening how much he needed her. Frightening and exhilarating. Was this how his brother and sister felt when they fell in love? Or his parents? If so, perhaps he finally understood them a little bit better.
Although he would never throw a plate at Louisa. Of that he was certain.
“You never told me what you thought of dinner,” he said, slipping an arm around her shoulder. The two of them had played guinea pig for Rafe’s fall menu.
“It was delicious,” she replied. “I’ve never had rabbit before. And don’t try to change the subject.”
“Bistecca alla fiorentina is a Tuscan specialty. And I’m not changing the subject. I already agreed to let you win.”
“Let me, huh?” She reached up and entwined her fingers with the ones on her shoulder, a move that brought her face into perfect kissing proximity. Nico had no choice but to brush his lips across hers.
“Always,’ he murmured.
“Except when you don’t. Like the past two n
ights.”
Recalling how they’d spent those two nights, Nico felt a satisfied groan rise in his throat. “I like to think we both won those arguments,” he replied.
It was early still; the stars had yet to appear in the sky. Nevertheless, the fountain spotlights were already on. The brightness bounced off the coins scattered in the basin.
Reaching into the water, he picked up the first coin he saw and held it up. “A halfpenny for your thoughts,” he said.
She laughed. “I was thinking about how much things have changed since I arrived in Monte Calanetti.”
“Good changes, I hope.”
“Some very good ones,” she replied.
She looked so lovely, with the light framing her face. An angel to rival the nymph of the fountain. All those people tossing money and making wishes. He already had his wish standing before him. A fierce ache spread from the center of Nico’s chest, giving birth to emotions that begged to be released. “I love you,” he told her, the words bursting out of him in a rush.
* * *
Louisa’s heart jumped to her throat. Of all the things he could have said, why did he have to say those three words?
“Nico—”
“I know,” he rushed on, “it’s too soon. It’s too fast. Too... Too many things, but then again, it’s not.” His hand trembled as he stroked her cheek. “I think I have loved you for a very long time. Since long before the wedding.”
Louisa wasn’t sure if she wanted to run or cry. He was right; it was too soon. If she said the words back, it would mean accepting the fact she had once again fallen in love without thinking things through.
Even if it was already true.
That he seemed to know what she was thinking made the panic worse. “It’s all right,” he said, pressing his fingers to her lips. “I understand if you’re not ready to say the words back. I just needed to tell you.”
She was about to tell him she needed time—a lot more time—when a voice interrupted from behind them. “Nico! I thought that was you.”
A wiry man with slick black hair approached them with a smile. “And Signorina Harrison. How lucky that I should run into you. Saves me the trouble of tracking you down by phone.”
“Me?” She looked at Nico for help.
“I’m sorry, I should have introduced myself. I’m Dominic Merloni.”
“From the bank?” Apparently he’d decided she was worth talking to after all.
If the banker noticed the chill in her voice, he was unfazed. “Yes, I wanted to apologize for canceling our meeting so abruptly the other day. There was a family emergency that took me out of town.”
“How terrible,” she said, not sure she believed him. “I hope everything’s okay now.”
“Better than ever, thank you. Anyway, since I didn’t know when I would be returning, I told my secretary not to reschedule anything. Now that I’m back, I’m looking forward to sitting down and hearing more about your project. You are still thinking of turning the palazzo into a boutique hotel, are you not?”
“Yes! Definitely.”
“Wonderful. Call my office tomorrow and we’ll pick a time.”
This was unbelievable. Here she’d convinced herself that her plans would need to wait another couple of years.
“Um...” She still didn’t want to get her hopes up yet. Signor Merloni might be willing to listen, but that didn’t erase her weak credit history. “I think before we meet, you should probably know that I’m recently divorced. My personal credit history is relatively new.”
“Oh, I don’t think that will be a problem,” the banker said. “I’m sure you’ll be a solid risk.” His gaze darted to Nico as he spoke.
She should have known it was too good to be true.
“Well, it looks like we have occasion to celebrate,” the winemaker said as they watched him walk away.
“Really?” she asked, narrowing her eyes. Whatever elation she was feeling had vanished, wiped out when the banker had tipped Nico’s hand. “And what exactly do you want to celebrate? The fact that you talked Dominic into meeting with me or the fact you’re a controlling jerk?”
As she hurled the words at him, Nico stiffened. “Louisa...”
“Don’t try to deny it,” she said. “I saw Dominic looking at you. He was about as subtle as an elephant. The guy might as well have come out and said you were backing the loan.”
“I’m not backing anything.”
He also wasn’t denying his involvement. “You did talk with him, though.”
“I told him I thought the project had potential.”
The Amatucci seal of approval. Which, as everyone in Monte Calanetti knew, was as good as a guarantee. Louisa could tear her hair out. No, correction. She could tear Nico’s hair out. Every curly strand.
“I can’t believe you,” she said, shaking her head.
“I don’t understand. What did I do that’s so terrible?”
What did he do? “You went behind my back, that’s what.”
“I was trying to help you.”
“Funny, I don’t recall asking for it. In fact, I specifically asked you not to help.” Turning on her heel, she marched to the bench but was too aggravated to sit down.
Nico marched up behind her.
“What was I supposed to do?” he asked. “You were putting your plans on hold because of the man. Was I supposed to stand back and let your dreams fall apart even though I have the ability to stop it?”
“Yes!” she hissed as she spun around to face him. “That’s exactly what you should have done.”
“You’re kidding.”
“No, I’m not. It wasn’t your dream to save. It was mine.”
“But you weren’t doing anything. To save it.”
“And that’s my decision to make, too. I don’t need you coming in and taking over.”
“Taking over?” He looked stunned, as though someone had told him pigs could fly. “What are you talking about?”
He was kidding, right? They were arguing about his influencing a banker on her behalf and he was asking her to explain herself?
Then again, maybe he didn’t understand. Taking over was so ingrained in men like him, they didn’t know how not to be in control.
Louisa shook her head. When she’d found out about that damn staff meeting, she should have realized then, but she’d let him sweep her concerns away. Same as she did whenever she talked about going back to the palazzo. He need only touch her and poof! Her arguments disappeared.
Because nothing felt as safe and perfect as being in his arms.
“All I wanted was to help,” Nico continued. “I thought it would make you happy.”
“Well, it didn’t,” she said, sitting down. Kind of ironic they would be arguing about this in the same spot where they’d kissed a few days earlier. The harvest festival had been one of the most magical days of her life.
How much of those memories were real? “What else have you influenced without my knowing?” she asked. “Oh my God, the baptism. Did you ask your sister to make me Rosabella’s godmother?”
“No. Of course not. No one tells Marianna what to do. You know that.”
“Maybe. I don’t know what to believe anymore.” Other than knowing she’d created some of the problem herself, that is. Leaning on Nico came too easily. His strength made her feel too safe. What was it she’d said the day of the festival? You’d rescue me. From the moment the news about Luscious Louisa broke, she’d come to rely on him to catch her when she fell.
“I’ll tell you what you can believe,” Nico said. He was kneeling in front of her, holding her hands, his eyes imploring her to let him catch her one more time. “You can believe that I would never try to hurt you. I love you.”
“I know.” If only he realized, his saying he loved her only made things worse.
Suddenly, she understood why she’d been so frightened when he’d said those words earlier. Deep inside she knew that if she accepted his love, then she would have to ack
nowledge the feelings in her own heart. Nico was already her greatest weakness. Once she admitted her feelings, she’d lose what little power she had left. Before she knew it, she would be swallowed alive again. “I promised myself that would never happen again.”
“What would never happen again?” he asked.
She hadn’t realized she’d spoken aloud. Since she had, however, she might as well see her thoughts through. “I swore I would never let anyone control my life again,” she told him.
“Control? What the...?” Nico sat back on his heels. “I’m not trying to control you.”
“Maybe not on purpose,” she replied. No, definitely not on purpose. “You just can’t help yourself.”
Same way she wouldn’t be able to help herself from letting him.
“Goodbye, Nico.” She pulled her hands free. “I’ll pick up my things later on.”
“I’m not Steven.”
She was ten feet away when he spoke. The comment was soft, barely loud enough for her to hear. Turning, she saw Nico on his feet, hands balled into fists by his side. “I’m not Steven,” he repeated, this time a little louder.
“I never said you were.”
“Then stop running from me like I am!”
Didn’t he get it? She wasn’t running from just him. She was running from herself, too.
CHAPTER TWELVE
NICO STARED AT the vine-covered wall. Once upon a time, climbing to the other side meant escaping the turmoil that engulfed his house and finding tranquility. Too bad that wasn’t possible anymore. Only thing crossing the wall would do today was make the pain in his chest more acute. Either because he didn’t see Louisa or because he did, and she pushed him away again.
He was still trying to comprehend what had happened the other night. One moment he was declaring his love, the next... How had everything gone so horribly wrong?
“Signor?”
He forgot that Mario was waiting for an answer. They were scheduled to harvest the fields at the palazzo today. The final field of the season, Nico always saved it for last because the grapes took the longest to ripen. Mario wanted to know if he planned to check on the workers’ progress. Thus the quandary over crossing the wall.
Harlequin Romance February 2016 Box Set Page 15
