Return of the Italian Tycoon

by Jennifer Faye

Everyone smiled except Angelo.

  Aside from the fund-raiser, there was nothing waiting for her back in New York, not even a goldfish. When she wasn’t at the office, she was at the after-school program helping kids with their homework followed by a game of dodgeball or basketball or volleyball. She wasn’t very good at any of the games, but she gave it her best effort.

  For the moment, she was giving herself permission to enjoy Italy before she set to work. And this was the perfect place to start. She’d love to see more of the vineyard, and it’d give Angelo some private time with his siblings.

  “Would you mind if I had a look around the vineyard?” Kayla’s gaze met Nico’s.

  “My apologies. I should have offered to give you a tour earlier. I’ve had other thoughts on my mind—” his gaze strayed to his sister and then back to her “—with uh...the royal wedding.”

  “That’s okay. I totally understand.” Kayla got to her feet. “I’ve never been to a vineyard before. I’ll just show myself around.”

  “Nonsense. Angelo can give you the grand tour while I make some phone calls and spread the good news. And make sure he shows you the chapel.” Nico turned a smile to Angelo. “You can handle that, can’t you, brother?”

  Angelo’s jaw tightened, but he didn’t argue. Kayla took that as progress between the brothers. Not wanting to give Angelo time to change his mind, she set off for the vines, hoping Angelo would follow.

  He did, and he proved to be quite an insightful guide. He explained to her the difference between a larger vineyard and this boutique vineyard. While Nico produced fewer barrels of wine—less than five thousand cases a year—it was carefully processed to the highest quality with the least amount of oxidation.

  As much as the history and current production of wine interested her, it was the bell tower in the distance that drew her attention. She headed for the weathered building that sat on the other side of the wall that lined the edge of the vineyard. “Is this the chapel your brother mentioned?”

  “Yes. Nico and I explored it as kids. We considered it our castle. I was the king and Nico was the daring knight fighting off dragons.” Angelo smiled at the long-forgotten memory.

  “You and your brother must have had a lot of fun.”

  “Now that I think about it, we did have some good times.”

  She smiled. “This looks like a great place for an adventure. Can we go inside the chapel?”

  “It’s nothing you’d be interested in.”

  “Sure I would.” Her steps grew quicker as she headed for the opening in the wall that led to the little chapel. Maybe this was her chance to let Angelo know that she’d be more than willing to help with the wedding pitch—in fact, this was the opportunity of a lifetime. Now, how did she broach the subject with Angelo?

  She stopped next to the four steps that led to two tall, narrow wooden doors. It looked as though time had passed it by. Okay so it needed a little TLC, but it had a charm about it that transcended time. “Your brother is so lucky to have this piece of history on his land. Imagine all of the weddings and christenings that must have taken place here.”

  “Technically it’s not on Nico’s land.” Angelo pointed over his shoulder to the wall. That divides the vineyard. The other side is Nico’s.”

  “So who owns this land, then?”

  “This is Palazzo di Comparino. Its owner, Signor Carlos Bartolini, recently passed away. From what I understand, there’s a young woman staying there now.”

  “You know this chapel gives me an idea—it’d be perfect for the royal wedding.”

  “I don’t know.” Angelo rubbed his chin. “It needs work.”

  She pulled open one of the doors and peered inside at the rows of pews. The place was filled with dust and cobwebs. “It’s nothing that can’t be done rather easily.” This was her chance to put herself out there. “You know I could help you with the pitch.”

  Angelo didn’t immediately respond. The breath hitched in her throat as she waited—hoping that he’d latch on to her offer. The experience from working on such a prestigious project had immeasurable potential, from a promotion at Amatucci & Associates to making her résumé stand out—head and shoulders above the rest.

  “I don’t think so. You’ll have enough to do with the other accounts that need looking after.” The disappointment must have filtered across her face because his stance eased and his voice softened. “I appreciate the offer, but I don’t want you getting overwhelmed.”

  It teetered on the tip of her tongue to ask him if this had anything to do with the kiss, but she hesitated. She couldn’t bring herself to tarnish that moment. The memory of how his eyes had devoured her before his lips had claimed hers still made her heart race.

  If it wasn’t the kiss, why was he turning away her offer of help? Was it just as he said, not wanting to give her too much work? Or did he feel she wasn’t up to the task of working on something so important?

  With the wind temporarily knocked out of her sails, she turned back to the villa. She wasn’t giving up. She would show Angelo that she was invaluable.

  * * *

  What was the problem?

  Two days later, Angelo paced around the hotel suite. He needed a fresh approach to the wedding. It had to be something amazing—something unique to Monte Calanetti that would appeal to a prince and his intended bride. But what?

  He was stuck. This had never happened to him before. He inwardly groaned as his mind drew a total blank. This was ridiculous. He clenched his hands into tight balls. He had absolutely nothing. And that was so not like him.

  He liked to think outside the box. He liked to push boundaries and experiment, but all he could think of was why would anyone would want to get married in Monte Calanetti? What special qualities did they see in the village for it to make the royals’ short list?

  He poured himself a cup of the now-lukewarm coffee. The silence of the suite was getting to him. Kayla had cleared out early that morning, claiming she wanted some fresh air while she worked on the mock-ups for the Van Holsen account and answered emails. She’d been great about taking on additional responsibilities, allowing him time to brainstorm. Not that it was helping him much.

  In fact, she’d done such an exceptional job that maybe he should see what she could do with this wedding stuff. After all, she was a girl, and didn’t they all dream about their weddings?

  Suddenly the image of Kayla in a white dress formed in his mind. His body tensed. As quickly as the image came to him, he vanquished it. She’d be a beautiful bride, but for someone else. He wasn’t getting married—ever.

  Determined to stay on point and to get her input on the wedding, he headed downstairs to the pool area. He opened the door and stepped outside, momentarily blinded by the bright sunlight. Once his vision adjusted, he glanced around, quickly locating his assistant. She was at a shaded poolside table. She lifted her head and smiled, but it wasn’t aimed at him.

  She wasn’t alone. A young man stood next to her table. Angelo’s gut knotted. He told himself that it was because she was supposed to be working, not flirting. His only interest was in her getting her work done in a timely fashion. But as the chime of her laughter carried through the gentle breeze, Angelo’s mouth pulled into a frown.

  He strode toward the table. Kayla didn’t even notice him approach as she was captivated by the young man.

  Angelo cleared his throat. “Hello, Kayla.”

  Both heads turned his way. Kayla’s eyes opened wide with surprise. The young man drew himself up to his full height as though he was about to defend his right to be flirting with Kayla. The guy had no idea that Angelo had no intention of challenging his right to gain Kayla’s attention. After all, it would be for the best if she was interested in someone—as long as it wasn’t him. But that would all have to wait, because right now she was on the clock. And
he needed her help.

  Angelo used his practiced professional voice, the one that let people know that he meant business. “How’s the Van Holsen account coming?”

  “Uh, good. Dino was just asking about the royal wedding.”

  “He was?” Angelo stepped between Kayla and the young man. “What do you want to know?”

  The young man glanced down, not meeting Angelo’s direct gaze. “I...I was just curious if the rumor was true that they might pick Monte Calanetti for the wedding.”

  “It is. Is there anything else?”

  Dino shrugged his shoulders. “I guess not.”

  “Good. Kayla has work to do now. If you’ll excuse us.”

  “Uh, sure.” Dino leaned to the side to look at Kayla. “I’ll see you around.”

  “Bye.”

  Angelo took a seat next to Kayla. “It seems you’ve found yourself an admirer.”

  “Who? Dino?” She shook her head. “He was just interested in what I knew about the royal wedding, which wasn’t anything more than he’s heard through the grapevine. How’s the pitch for the wedding coming?”

  “Good.” Liar.

  He wasn’t about to admit that he, Angelo Amatucci, couldn’t come up with a dynamic pitch that would turn the prince’s and his bride’s heads. No way. What would Kayla think of him? No. Scratch that. He didn’t want to know what she’d think. She’d probably laugh at him.

  “I’m glad to hear it’s going well. I know that I’m not the only one who’s anxious for the pitch. Imagine a royal wedding. The whole world will be watching it and you’ll have played a big part in it.”

  “Not a big part.”

  “You’re too modest. You’re like the village hero now.”

  Just what he needed was more pressure. He swallowed down his uneasiness. “You’re assuming that the prince will choose this village, and that’s a big leap.”

  “But why wouldn’t they pick Monte Calanetti? From the little I’ve seen, I think it’s a lovely village.”

  “That’s just because you didn’t grow up here.”

  Her green eyes widened. “You really didn’t like living here?”

  He shook his head, but he wasn’t going to get into the details of his childhood or his strained relationship with his parents. Kayla had already been privy to more about his private life than anyone else ever. But something told him that his family secrets were safe with her.

  Not in the mood to talk anymore about this village or dwell on the fact that he’d wasted two days without coming up with anything striking or fascinating, he decided to turn the conversation around. “How is the work going?”

  CHAPTER NINE

  COULD SHE PRETEND she hadn’t heard Angelo?

  Kayla had spent a large chunk of time at this poolside table. With most of the guests either off sightseeing or attending other engagements, it was a peaceful place for her to jot out more ideas for the Van Holsen account. But after going back and forth between the art department and the very demanding client, they were still missing the mark.

  It didn’t help that her ideas for the Van Holsen account had stalled. For the past half hour or so, she’d been jotting out ideas for the fund-raiser back in New York. The event was their last hope to keep the after-school program going for so many at-risk kids and it was weighing heavy on her mind. There were still so many details to iron out.

  And as exciting as it was to be working with Angelo Amatucci on what could be the project to catapult her career, she couldn’t forget the children. They were relying on her to make their lives a little better by raising money to keep their facility open.

  “Kayla, did you hear me?”

  The sound of Angelo’s voice startled her back to the here and now. “Sorry. I just had a thought.”

  “About the account?”

  She nodded. “It’s coming along.”

  “Why don’t you tell me what you have so far and we can work on it together?”

  She glanced down at her closed notebook. “That’s okay. I know you have more important things to concentrate on. I’ve got this.”

  Angelo’s dark brows drew together. “Listen, I know that things haven’t exactly been right between us since, well, you know...the kiss. If that’s still bothering you—?”

  “It’s not.” Yes, it was. But not the way he was thinking. The kiss had been better than she’d ever imagined. And she knew that it could never happen again. She had too much on the line to risk it all by fooling around with her boss.

  The truth of the matter was the pad of paper also contained her thoughts for the benefit concert. Angelo had a strict policy about not taking on charity accounts—he believed there were too many good causes and not enough time to help them all. Kayla couldn’t understand his stance, but then again she’d never been in charge of a large company. Maybe there was more to it than what she knew.

  The one thing she did know was that she couldn’t let Angelo find out that she was organizing a fund-raiser while on this trip. She didn’t want him to have a reason not to consider her for a promotion or worse yet to have her replaced as his assistant. She wasn’t sure how he would handle the situation. In all of her time at Amatucci & Associates, she’d never witnessed anyone going against company policy. Angelo was a man no one wanted to cross.

  “I’m just jotting out some ideas. Nothing specific yet.” She caught herself worrying her bottom lip, hoping he wouldn’t take exception to her not coming up with something more concrete. After all, they were on a timetable and the clock was ticking. “I spent the morning on the phone with the art department and Mrs. Van Holsen—”

  His brows drew together into a formidable line. “Why didn’t you get me?”

  “I...I didn’t want to disturb you. I’m supposed to be here to lighten your load.”

  He shook his head. “I can’t spend all of my time on one campaign. That isn’t fair to the other clients. I have to stay on top of everything. Next time you speak with a client, I expect to be in on the call. Understood?”

  “Yes.”

  He let the subject go as he continued on with some other business items. “By the way, while I was on the phone with the office I mentioned that we’d been unavoidably detained in Italy, but I didn’t go into specifics. I don’t want any rumors starting up that we put off longtime clients in favor of this royal wedding pitch. I won’t risk my company’s reputation for something that is never going to happen.”

  Kayla’s mouth gaped before she caught it and forced her lips together. “Is that really what you think?”

  He nodded. “Pretty much.”

  “But why?”

  “Well, I can’t see what a royal couple would find so endearing about Monte Calanetti. I think everyone, including my brother and sister, are getting worked up over something that will never happen.”

  “I don’t understand. If that’s truly what you think then why go to all of the bother to delay your return to New York and work on a campaign that you’re certain will fail?”

  He shrugged. “It’s an obligation that I owe them.” He raked his fingers through his hair. “I owe it to Nico and Marianna—you know, for skipping out on them. For letting them fend for themselves with parents who were more wrapped up in their marital drama than worrying about their children.”

  “I’m sorry—”

  “Don’t be. I didn’t tell you any of that so you’d feel sorry for me. In fact, I don’t know why I mentioned it at all.”

  “I’m glad you did. I’d like to think that we’ve become more than coworkers.” When she met his drawn brows, she realized that she’d said more than she should have. “I...I don’t mean about the kiss. I just thought we might be friends, too.”

  A wave of relief washed over his face easing the stress lines. “I would like that.”

>   “You would?”

  Slowly he nodded, and then a smile tugged at his lips. “Yes, I would.”

  She couldn’t help but smile back. She noticed how the worry lines bracketing his eyes and mouth smoothed. She’d never seen him look so worried before. Why would that be? He was amazing at creating winning pitches. He was amazing in a lot of ways.

  Realizing that she was staring, she turned away, but by then, her heart was beating faster than normal. Images of the kiss they’d shared clouded her mind. She’d tried to put it out of her head, but the memory kept her awake late into the night. What had it meant? Had it meant anything? Because there was no way that a wealthy, successful businessman who could have his choice of women would fall for his assistant.

  Kayla reached for a tall, cool glass of iced tea. “Would you like something to drink? I could go and get you something.”

  “Thanks. But I’m all right.” He looked at her as though studying her. “Can I ask what direction you think the wedding pitch should take?”

  “Really?” She sat up straighter. “You want my input?”

  He nodded. “I thought you might have some ideas that I hadn’t thought of.”

  “I do...have ideas, that is.” She struggled to gather her thoughts.

  “I’m listening.”

  She’d done a lot of thinking about this—probably too much, considering she hadn’t even been invited to help with the royal pitch until now. “I’m thinking that regardless of whether they go big or small, they’re going to want elements that play into an elegant yet traditional event.”

  “That’s true. If they wanted a contemporary feel, they certainly wouldn’t come to Monte Calanetti.” He rubbed the back of his neck.

  “What’s bothering you?”

  “I’m just trying to figure out why this village made the short list for the royal wedding. I mean, there’s nothing special here. I’ve gone round and round with this, but I still have no answer. It’s not like it has amazing history like Rome or the heartbeat of the nation like Milan or the stunning architecture of Venice. This is a little, old village.”