Italian Boss, Proud Miss Prim

by Susan Stephens

  ‘So, do you really have everything you need?’ Antonia prompted, giving Katie a meaningful look. ‘Now that my wicked brother has kept you here in Rome, you must need to go shopping. It never occurs to you, Rigo,’ she added, turning to him, ‘that other people don’t have a home in every city.’ And when he shrugged carelessly, Antonia added, ‘I bet poor Katie doesn’t even have a decent toothbrush with her—’

  ‘Well, as it happens,’ Katie interrupted wryly, getting the gist of this conversation, ‘I do need to do some shopping for…essentials.’

  ‘Lucky for you, then, that you have an expert on hand!’ Antonia exclaimed, satisfied that her ruse had worked. ‘You’ll definitely need toothpaste and a hairbrush, and all sorts of boring stuff…’

  Katie was relieved Rigo hadn’t seen Antonia’s theatrical wink.

  ‘Are you offering to take Katie shopping?’ he said, frowning.

  ‘Could you spare your sister?’ Katie suggested, thinking what fun it could be.

  ‘Anyone who can keep Antonia entertained for an hour or two…’ His voice faded when he noticed Antonia looking at him and Katie thought Antonia’s smile had faded too. ‘I’d love to go shopping with you,’ she said, taking pity on the young girl, at which point Antonia quickly brightened.

  ‘But don’t forget—dinner at eight,’ Rigo reminded them as the two girls collected up their things.

  ‘Really, I’m perfectly happy eating in my room at the hotel,’ Katie assured him, sending an apologetic smile Antonia’s way.

  ‘I wouldn’t hear of it,’ Rigo insisted with a decisive shake of his head. ‘Antonia is right. You must allow me to make up for leaving you so abruptly this afternoon—’

  ‘I must?’ The challenge flew from Katie’s blunt mouth before she could stop it, which made Antonia laugh.

  ‘It seems to me, you have met your match, Rigo,’ she told her brother in Italian.

  Rigo didn’t look nearly so pleased and Katie took note of the cold look in his eyes. Fortunately, she had the perfect excuse. ‘It’s very kind of you, but I don’t have anything to wear.’

  ‘Antonia is taking you shopping.’

  ‘Yes, for a toothbrush.’

  And now Antonia was looking at her as if she had gone completely mad.

  ‘I really don’t need anything special to wear for a night in at my hotel…’ Seeing Antonia’s disappointment, Katie knew she had to backtrack. ‘But I do need a really good toothbrush…’

  ‘And I know every toothbrush shop in Rome,’ Antonia assured her, smiling again now she had got her shopping companion back onto the right track.

  It was easy to see why Antonia was spoiled, Katie concluded. Antonia had her brother’s charm, only with Antonia that charm didn’t have an off switch. But there was another look in Antonia’s eyes—a defensive look, almost as if the young girl was used to being let down.

  ‘And if we should see some lovely dresses on the way?’ Antonia pressed, glancing anxiously at her brother.

  Katie tensed. Shopping for clothes was an absolute no. What if Antonia saw her scars? What if, in her enthusiasm, Antonia burst into the changing room and screamed? She couldn’t do that to such a vulnerable young girl. She couldn’t risk it. She had to renege on her promise, even with Antonia smiling hopefully at her.

  She would have to tread very carefully here, Katie realised with concern.

  She was barely given time to worry before Rigo offered her a way out. ‘Buy something nice for both of you,’ he said, glancing at Katie as he pressed a pile of money into Antonia’s hand.

  ‘Oh, no.’ Katie held up her hands. This was something she drew the line at. ‘I couldn’t possibly accept your money—’

  ‘But I can,’ Antonia said, quickly securing the wad in her super-sized handbag.

  ‘Please,’ Rigo insisted. ‘It’s the very least I can do after treating you so badly, Signorina Bannister—’

  ‘The very least,’ Antonia assured him with a frown.

  ‘So…dinner at eight?’ he said, turning to Katie. ‘Don’t forget—I’ll pick you up at your hotel.’

  This was a man to whom no one had ever dared to say no, Katie concluded. ‘I’ll be eating in my room tonight,’ she reminded him pleasantly.

  ‘After you go shopping with me,’ Antonia insisted.

  ‘Of course,’ Katie reassured Antonia with a smile. She was beginning to feel like the bland filling in a particularly glamorous sandwich. ‘I can’t wait to go shopping…for a really good toothbrush,’ she added for Rigo’s benefit, ‘and I look forward to concluding our business tomorrow morning,’ she finished with absolute honesty. How much more of this high-octane challenge could she take? To make the point that she wasn’t the type to take advantage, as the waiter threaded nimbly past she picked up their bill from his tray.

  Which Rigo stole from her hand with a warning glance.

  The shopping trip with Antonia exceeded Katie’s wildest expectations.

  Did it come any wilder? She had no idea how to rein in Antonia’s enthusiasm—this was shopping on a heroic scale. Just as she had anticipated, Antonia ignored her insistence that Katie only needed a toothbrush and, as everything in the shops was so stylishly arranged…

  But Katie knew she’d reached her boundary when Antonia called her over to look in one particular window. Katie had never seen so many exclusive boutiques in one place and had been lagging behind. The specialist shops they were browsing now sold everything under the sun and more besides—things that should only come out at night, like garments of a frilly nature, for example…

  Katie stood awestruck, taking in the breathtaking display. Cobweb-fine lace and slinky satin vied with cotton so delicate you could see through it—and many of the items were trimmed with eye-catching diamanté and pearl. ‘Oh, no, I couldn’t,’ she said when Antonia tried to persuade her to go with her into the shop. ‘You go in if you want to,’ Katie said, hanging back.

  ‘Not without you,’ Antonia insisted, taking hold of Katie’s arm. And before Katie knew what was happening Antonia had marched her into the shop, announcing, ‘It’s time you spoiled yourself.’

  Antonia immediately summoned assistants over to help them. ‘Not with Rigo’s money,’ Katie said, determined to resist Antonia’s enthusiasm.

  ‘But you’ve got your own money, haven’t you?’

  How to say, yes, but I need it for bills? Though she could do with some pyjamas for tonight, Katie conceded, mouth agape as she stared around. Did people wear these things?

  ‘Well, that’s a start,’ Antonia approved when Katie suggested that perhaps pyjama trousers and a vest to sleep in that night might be a good idea.

  What the assistants brought them was the furthest thing from Katie’s mind, but as she handled the delicate garments her longing for them grew. They were in such glorious colours—turquoise, cerise, lemon and lavender trimmed with baby-pink. It went without saying that she would never find anything like this at home.

  Did she have to wear winceyette all the time? Katie wondered, staring at her plain face in the mirror. As no one else was going to see the satin shorts and revealing strappy top she liked, surely it wouldn’t hurt to buy a set…or two?

  Giving herself the excuse she wouldn’t risk offending Antonia, she asked the assistant to wrap them up.

  ‘And what about these?’ Antonia cut in, pointing out some racy underwear.

  ‘Oh, no…’ Shaking her head, Katie blushed furiously, knowing she would never have the opportunity to wear it. She had only seen underwear like that in magazines before.

  ‘You can’t wear white cotton all your life,’ Antonia observed, staring frankly into Katie’s eyes.

  ‘How do you…’ Katie’s words froze on her lips. Was she that obvious?

  ‘They are expensive,’ Antonia continued thoughtfully as she studied the set, ‘so you really should try them on before you buy them.’

  Alarm bells rang in Katie’s head. She had pushed all her hang-ups to the back of her mind, s
he realised as Antonia waited for her to do the obvious and ask to use the changing room. ‘No,’ she said firmly, knowing she had to get out of this somehow. She’d say she’d changed her mind. ‘There’s no need…’

  ‘Oh, well, if you’re sure,’ Antonia said, completely misunderstanding her. ‘We’ll take these too, please—’

  Katie didn’t speak up quickly enough and as she watched Antonia handing the racy garments to the assistant they were being wrapped up before she knew it.

  She could have stopped this at any time, Katie admitted to herself, but the bare truth was, she didn’t want to stop it. She wanted to take the underwear back to her hotel where she could try it on with no one seeing her scars, and pretend.

  To make matters worse, the assistant, having secured Katie’s purchases in fuchsia-pink tissue paper, was lowering them reverently into a pale pink carrier bag decorated with the logo of a naked woman seated in a champagne glass. ‘Very subtle,’ Katie commented wryly as the two girls left the shop. She loved the bag, but part of her wished the logo didn’t have to be on both sides.

  Linking arms with her, Antonia gave Katie a squeeze. ‘We’re going to buy a few more things for you, and then I’m under strict instructions from Rigo to put you in a taxi back to your hotel—Oh, look,’ she broke off excitedly, ‘there he is now…’

  Katie gasped to see Rigo coming out of a menswear shop across the street. He was just pushing his sunglasses back on his nose and spotted them right away. He came over. How could she hide the carrier bag?

  He stood in front of them, making every part of her sing with awareness. But worst of all he was staring at the brazen proof that her latest purchase had not been a toothbrush.

  ‘I trust you girls found everything you needed in the shops?’ he said, straight-faced.

  She could read the subtext and blushed violently. ‘Yes, thank you,’ she said, raising her head to meet his gaze. ‘And, as you can see, I’m carrying some of Antonia’s bags for her.’

  Rigo’s amused stare called her a liar.

  CHAPTER SIX

  WHEN Rigo left them Katie and Antonia continued their shopping, but there was a frisson of understanding between them now. Neither girl commented on the change Rigo had made to their day, but they were aware of how profoundly he affected them, each in their own way. It brought them closer, though it took a little time when he’d gone to recapture the rhythm of easy friendship they had established. When they did Katie almost forgot to buy her toothbrush.

  The fun of being with someone as non-judgemental and as warm as Antonia was so unexpected Katie threw herself into the expedition with enthusiasm, and by the time she returned to her small hotel room there were lots more packages. Antonia had shown Katie the best shopping in Rome—small boutiques hidden in side-streets around the Piazza Novona and Campo di Fiori, and other places that were well off the regular tourist beat, and when they both finally admitted defeat, they had more coffee and ice cream at a café on Via Acaia, where Katie thought the lemon cream or crema al limone and the scrunchy chocolate stracciatella were to die for. She insisted before they parted on buying Antonia a special little gift to say thank you to Rigo’s sister for being so kind to her.

  It was obvious Antonia adored her brother. To hear Antonia talk you would think Rigo was a saint—but, as Antonia appeared to be the chief recipient of Rigo’s generosity, Antonia could hardly be called impartial.

  Katie smiled, remembering Antonia’s pleasure when Katie bought her a small aqua leather-backed journal. To prove the point, Antonia had started scribbling in it right away, and when she secured the small gilt lock she had exclaimed, ‘Thank you so much for today, Katie…’

  And when it was she who had everything to thank Antonia for…

  Katie’s heart went out to the teenager, who on the face of it appeared to have everything a girl of Antonia’s age could possibly want, but she suspected all Antonia really wanted was a little of her brother’s time.

  Time. That was what so many rich and successful people lacked, Katie mused, moving the faded curtain back to stare out of the window. They had none to spare when it came to those closest to them.

  ‘We are friends, aren’t we?’ Antonia had demanded fiercely when they parted. Whatever she thought of Antonia’s brother Katie had put to one side, promising Antonia they would be friends for ever.

  After a rocky start it had been a good day, Katie reflected, turning back to look at her purchases spread out on the bed. Now her smile was one of disbelief. What on earth had possessed her? Antonia was the simple answer. Thanks to Rigo’s sister, it was goodbye brown, hello colour! And in the open-air market Katie had spotted a silk dress swinging on its hanger in the breeze. In a bright gypsy-rose print, it had long sleeves and a short, flirty skirt, and there was a sexy cut-out panel at the midriff—one of the few places where she could afford to show some skin. With the option of trying it on taken away from her, she hadn’t been able to resist. She had added a couple of tops and a shawl to her haul, as well as a pair of jeans—something she had never owned before.

  ‘And trainers,’ Antonia had insisted, determined that Katie should update her image. ‘For someone who is only twenty-five, you dress too old,’ she had commented with all the blunt assurance of a teenager.

  And that was me told, Katie reflected, smiling as she left the bedroom to enter her small ensuite bathroom. She had treated herself to some foam bath too. It was a cheap way to turn even the most basic of bathrooms into a better place. And now there was nothing more for her to do but soak and dream until she felt like ringing downstairs for Room Service.

  Bliss.

  Now he remembered why it was so long since he had treated Antonia to dinner. Nothing was quite right for his teenage sister. Their table could have been better—it was too near the door. Their fellow diners were too stuffy—meaning most of them were over twenty-five and had brushed their hair before coming out. She sniffed everything that arrived at their table with suspicion as if three Michelin stars was no guarantee at all, and to top it off she ordered chips with ketchup on the side, leaving everything else on her plate.

  But his worst crime, apparently, was abandoning Katie in Rome on her first night in the eternal city.

  ‘Katie?’

  ‘Signorina Bannister insisted I call her Katie,’ his sister informed him smugly as he raised a brow.

  ‘May I remind you that Signorina Bannister is on a business trip and will shortly be returning home? She was invited to join us tonight, but she refused. And that’s an end of it, Antonia.’

  And might well have been, had he not felt his conscience prick.

  His sister lost no time in turning that scratch into an open wound. ‘Do you know where she’s staying?’ Antonia demanded with her customary dramatic emphasis. ‘How can you leave Katie in a place like that? Can you imagine what the restaurant is like?’

  Yes, he could, unfortunately.

  And so the rant went on until he couldn’t face another mouthful. Laying down his cutlery, he demanded, ‘What do you suggest I do, Antonia?’

  Antonia appeared to be studying the menu, and he imagined she was choosing a pudding until she exclaimed, ‘A picnic!’

  Before he could stop her she called a waiter over.

  ‘Take it to Katie—deliver it,’ she begged him, clutching his wrist in her excitement as the waiter hurried away with the order.

  ‘Don’t be so ridiculous—’

  ‘You don’t even have to see her—’

  ‘I have no time for this nonsense, Antonia,’ he snapped impatiently, shaking her off.

  ‘You never have time,’ she flared. ‘Katie gave me a whole afternoon of her time, which is more than you ever do.’ Her voice was rising and people were staring at the small drama as it unfolded. ‘Why can’t you do something different, for once?’

  ‘I do something different every day, Antonia. It’s called business. It’s what keeps you in the style to which you’re accustomed.’

  Thrustin
g back her chair, his sister took her performance to its ultimate conclusion: The Dramatic Exit. ‘Well, if you won’t take the picnic to Katie, I will,’ she declared, storming off.

  They had the attention of the whole restaurant now. As Antonia stalked away he stood up, politely murmuring an apology to those people closest to him. They should be glad of the free entertainment, he concluded as strangers exchanged knowing looks.

  He caught up with Antonia at the door. ‘Stop this, Antonia. You’re drawing attention to yourself—’

  ‘Oh, no!’ she gasped theatrically, clutching her chest.

  ‘I will not allow you to walk the streets of Rome alone at night—’

  ‘That’s why you must take the picnic to Katie.’

  The waiter chose this moment to bring out the hamper—to a touching soundtrack of Antonia’s inconsolable sobs. ‘Have you no shame?’ Rigo murmured, realising this was a ploy Antonia had contrived to get her own way.

  ‘None,’ his sister whispered back triumphantly.

  Pressing money into the man’s hand, he thanked him for his trouble. Then he escorted Antonia outside. Bringing out a handkerchief, he mopped her eyes. ‘Stop crying immediately,’ he insisted. ‘Acting or not, you know I cannot bear to see you cry. If you’re so concerned about Signorina Bannister’s diet, I will deliver this hamper. But not before I see you safely home.’

  He thought his voice had been quite stern, but he could have sworn there was a smile on Antonia’s face as he helped her into the car.

  Katie had put on her new dress, and after examining it from every angle in the full-length mirror had reassured herself that everything she might want to hide was hidden. It was the perfect dress for the perfect night out in Rome. Not that she was going anywhere, but there was no limit to her dream. In fact the dream was so real she had put her shawl and bag on the bed, as if all she had to do was snatch them up last minute before leaving the room.