Italian Boss, Proud Miss Prim

by Susan Stephens

  And to prove it he moved down the bed.

  As she cried out with pleasure he took her again, and this time when they were one her heart sang.

  They had a leisurely breakfast in bed, planning the future. They had already discussed the possibility of Katie seeing a plastic surgeon, should she want to, but for some reason the one thing that had obsessed her since the fire seemed unimportant to her now. Rigo had made it so. He had taken her internal compass and pointed it towards the future—a future they would enjoy together. ‘But we will have to leave the room sometime,’ she pointed out when Rigo’s eyes darkened in a way she recognised.

  ‘But not yet,’ he insisted, drawing her down beside him.

  ‘No, not yet,’ she agreed.

  And when he finally released her, she admitted, ‘I fell in love with you the first hair-raising moment we met.’

  ‘I was a brute.’

  ‘You were challenging.’

  ‘And you were very patient with me.’

  ‘And just look at my reward…’

  ‘Ah, there is that.’

  Modest to the last, Katie thought, recognising the wicked smile.

  ‘And, Katie—’

  ‘Yes?’ she whispered as Rigo drew her beneath him.

  ‘Have you never considered singing again?’

  ‘Now?’

  ‘Later, perhaps,’ he suggested, easing into her. ‘But just think how the public would love your sexy, breathy voice. If I can fall in love with that voice over the phone—’

  ‘But that’s you…’

  ‘Are you daring to suggest there’s something wrong with my judgement?’

  He was making it very hard to think at all. ‘If I did that I would have to question your love for me,’ she managed on a shaky breath.

  ‘And you won’t, so have some confidence, Katie. There is more than one popular style of music. You can still sing in tune, can’t you?’

  She was supposed to answer while he was making every part of her sing? ‘Well, yes, but I can’t sing as I used to—’ She gasped as he moved up a gear.

  ‘Your new public wouldn’t want you to—’

  ‘My? Oh…’ She conceded defeat. No thought possible.

  ‘Have you forgotten that one of my passions is making dreams come true? And I have a keen nose for business.’

  She could only groan her agreement.

  ‘You’re going to record a track—an album—’ he picked up pace ‘—and who knows? I might even make some money out of you.’

  ‘Rigo, you’re impossible,’ she shrieked, recognising his game now. Rigo distracted himself while he concentrated on her pleasure.

  ‘I try my very best,’ he admitted, still moving as she quietened.

  She had no doubt that he would.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  SUMMER came and went in a flurry of love and activity. It was almost Christmas before Katie knew it. The renovations to the palazzo were well under way, and she was fully involved in Carlo’s Kids’ Club. She had started this sunny December day in the kitchen at the Palazzo Farnese, where she was helping to prepare a special lunch for Antonia, who was travelling to see them on one of her regular visits from Rome. Katie was closer than ever to Antonia, having persuaded Rigo that, if she wanted to, his sister must play a full part in his scheme. She had pointed out that Antonia wasn’t too young to face up to life and that, if Rigo insisted on shielding his little sister and sent her shopping all the time, Antonia would never grow up. Antonia had embraced this idea with the enthusiasm only Antonia could, and even Rigo had admitted then his sister had been brushed aside for far too long, both by his father and her mother, and then by him. Antonia had seized the opportunity to prove herself and had more than repaid Katie’s faith in her, and now they were not just friends but soon to be sisters—

  ‘Hey, tesoro.’

  Katie’s heart bounced with happiness as Rigo walked into the room. She would never lose the sense of excitement she felt each time she saw him.

  Walking up to her, he swung her round to face the staff and, leaning his disreputable stubble-shaded chin on the top of the shiny tumble of hair she always wore down now, he announced, ‘I have a surprise for you, tesoro—’

  ‘Another surprise?’ Katie exclaimed.

  There had been nothing but surprises from Rigo since the day she moved in—not just to the palazzo, or the penthouse, but into Rigo’s life. The wardrobe of clothes she had initially refused had miraculously appeared in her dressing room. And when she had asked him where they came from, he said, ‘They must have been brought by fairies.’ And when she finally stopped laughing, he admitted that he had given most of her measurements to the designers, and that her short audience with them when she first arrived had been a ruse.

  ‘How did you do that?’ she demanded.

  ‘I have a good eye,’ he admitted.

  ‘Two good eyes,’ she remembered telling him with a scolding look. Goodness knew where Rigo gained that sort of experience—and, frankly, she didn’t want to know. ‘You mentioned a surprise?’ she reminded him now.

  ‘Just a little something,’ he said, delving into the pocket of his jeans. ‘It’s something for the wedding. See what you think. I got the colour scheme right, didn’t I? White and ivory with a garnish of red roses…?’

  Their wedding…She could hardly believe it. Two more days and they would be married at the cathedral in Farnese. ‘You know you did,’ she rebuked him playfully, wondering what could be in the beautifully wrapped box, with its iridescent ivory wrapping paper and rose-red ribbon.

  ‘Well, open it,’ Rigo prompted.

  It must be a lacy garter, Katie thought, ripping the paper in her excitement. As the ribbon fluttered to the ground, Rigo caught it and handed it to her. ‘Open the box,’ he said.

  She did so and gasped.

  Everyone gasped. Rigo affected a frown. ‘Is blue-white straying too far from your original scheme?’

  A huge blue-white diamond solitaire winked at her from its velvet nest.

  Katie collected herself. ‘Blue-white,’ she said, lips pressing down as she pretended to think about it. ‘I think it will tone quite nicely.’ She turned to him, a smile blooming on her face.

  ‘Is it big enough?’ Rigo demanded.

  Did Rigo ever do small? ‘It’s absolutely perfect,’ she breathed, ‘but you really didn’t have to—’

  ‘But I wanted to.’

  ‘Then that’s different.’

  ‘Let me put it on your finger.’

  He stared deep into her eyes as he did so, and all the staff gave them a round of applause.

  ‘So you finally did it!’

  Everyone turned as Antonia bounded into the room. A haze of vanilla and raspberry perfume accompanied her. Antonia’s first hug was for Katie. ‘My new sister!’ she exclaimed. ‘At least, you will be in two days’ time.’ She turned to Rigo. ‘You took long enough,’ she accused him. ‘I thought you would never get round to asking Katie to marry you.’

  ‘A week is too long?’ He exchanged a glance with Katie.

  ‘In my world it’s forever!’ Antonia exclaimed with a sigh. ‘And now it’s almost four months later, so you have no excuse—there’s only me to sort out now—’

  ‘Some day your prince will come,’ Rigo interrupted, handing Antonia another box.

  ‘I thought you didn’t like shopping?’ she accused him, staring at the gorgeous box with wide, excited eyes.

  ‘For my wife-to-be and for my sister, I made an exception to that rule. I bought your gift with Katie along to guide me to thank you for being our chief bridesmaid.’

  ‘There would have been trouble if I hadn’t been your chief bridesmaid,’ Antonia assured him.

  Another amused glance was exchanged between Katie and Rigo. They didn’t doubt it.

  Antonia’s fingers trembled as she held up the slim white-gold chain. ‘Rigo, it’s favoloso!’ she exclaimed.

  There were two charms hanging from Antonia’s cha
in. The first was a diamond set into a sundial to remind them all to make time for each other, while the second charm was a tiny Cinderella slipper to remind Antonia that her prince would come one day—if she could only be a little patient.

  ‘I love you, Katie! Antonia exclaimed, throwing her arms around Katie’s neck. ‘And I have something for you.’

  ‘For me?’

  ‘I have bought you your own journal,’ Antonia explained. ‘Would you like to see what I wrote in mine that first day we met?’

  ‘Only if you want to show it to me,’ Katie said as Antonia delved into her industrial-sized bag.

  Antonia extracted the small aqua leather-bound book with a flourish and opened it at the appropriate page. ‘“ want Katie to marry my brother,”’ she announced. ‘Well? Am I good at predictions or not?’ she demanded, staring at Rigo.

  ‘You’re the best,’ he admitted, ‘and for once we were in absolute harmony, though I fell in love with Katie when I heard her voice on the phone before she even came to Italy. I heard the inner beauty when she spoke, and when I met her I fell in love with her all over again.’

  Everyone sighed and it took a moment for life to take on its regular beat. When it did, Rigo turned to Katie. ‘I have another surprise for you, cara, which will be revealed over lunch.’

  Music was playing as they walked into the sun-drenched orangerie and it took Katie a good few moments to recognise her own husky voice. It sounded quite different when she was singing sultry love songs rather than opera.

  ‘Your first album,’ Rigo said, embracing her. ‘I hope you like it…’

  ‘As long as you love me, I don’t need anything more.’

  ‘Can I have your ring?’ Antonia piped up.

  ‘Find your own prince,’ Rigo told her as they all laughed.

  ‘I love you,’ Katie whispered, staring into the eyes of the man without whom her life might have remained unrelieved brown.

  ‘And I love you,’ Rigo murmured, with a darkening look they both recognised, ‘for…’

  ‘For?’ Katie prompted softly, her gaze slipping to his mouth.

  ‘For allowing me to make a bonfire of that suit—’

  ‘Yay!’ Antonia exclaimed, discreetly leaving them to it. ‘I love a happy ending…’

  EPILOGUE

  THE cathedral in Farnese was lit entirely by candlelight. The soft glow brought out the colours of the stained-glass windows and created jewel-coloured garlands on the white marble floor. The scent of the red roses Rigo had insisted on was everywhere, and the angelic voices of a children’s choir provided the only fitting soundtrack for a bride and groom who had dedicated their lives not only to each other, but also to their children’s foundation. Each ancient wooden pew was decorated with roses secured by a cascade of cream lace, which echoed the glorious floral arrangements throughout the cathedral supervised by the housekeeper and staff of the newly opened children’s centre at the Palazzo Farnese. Guests had come from all over the world to celebrate this wedding, but the place of honour was given to Katie’s friends from the office and to Gino and his wife from the pizzeria in Rome, while the young maid who had first lent Katie a swimming costume was now a bridesmaid.

  Everyone applauded as the Principe and Principessa Farnese walked down the aisle. Rigo had never looked sexier in the dark, full dress uniform of a prince of the line, with a wide crimson sash across his powerful chest, while his bride wore a cream velvet cloak lined with ivory silk satin and, beneath that, a fitted guipure lace dress, frosted with diamonds. There were more diamonds in Katie’s hair and on the diaphanous veil that billowed behind her. In fact, there was only one anomaly in Katie’s modest outfit—her crimson shoes. ‘It doesn’t do to be too predictable,’ she warned Rigo, smiling when he spotted them.

  ‘I love your shoes,’ he murmured, bringing Katie into the sunlight so the crowd could see their new princess. ‘Life could be so bland and boring without any surprises—though something tells me life will never be that with you around, Signorina Prim.’

  As he spoke the cathedral organ swelled with uplifting chords and mellow tonal resolutions in celebration of a true love story between Prince Arrigo Ruggiero Farnese and Katie Bannister, and as the crowd cheered them to their horse-drawn carriage Rigo squeezed Katie’s hand and asked her, ‘Happy?’

  ‘How could I not be happy?’

  His face creased in his attractive curving smile as he helped her into the golden carriage. ‘I guess you must like the fact that we Italians laugh, cry and make love on a grand scale.’

  Amen to that, Katie thought as she embraced her new world.

  ISBN: 978-1-4268-4090-6

  ITALIAN BOSS, PROUD MISS PRIM

  First North American Publication 2009.

  Copyright © 2009 by Susan Stephens.

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  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

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