“Hungry?”
“Sure, I’ll take a slice.” He got up from the sofa and took the bottle out of her hands, uncorking it while she reached for two glasses. Feeling nervous in his presence, Amber slid into the chair at the table and busied herself by opening the pizza box and serving the slices. She felt his eyes on her and wondered if he could hear the rapid beat of her heart.
Taking a large gulp from her wine glass, she finally looked at him. His pizza was also untouched. The air was thick with anticipation and unable to bear the silence anymore, she sat back in her chair.
“Nico,” she started. “I’m sorry I ran out on you the next morning after the, er, night at the hotel.” She could feel her face colouring as she stumbled upon her words. “I just didn’t feel it was right.” She risked a glance at his piercing green eyes.
“Well, Amber. I’m sorry it wasn’t right for you. I can assure you, carino mio, I’ve never had any complaints.” His eyes blazed and glowered at her, any trace of amusement suddenly leaving.
Her jaw dropped in indignation. How dare he treat her just like one of the many notches on his bedpost! She bristled in her chair, tossing her hair over her shoulder and defiantly tilting her chin.
“What? I was referring to our client relationship!”
“Ah, then we are talking at cross purposes?” He enquired, a faint light twinkling in the depths of his eyes, whilst he took a bite of his pizza.
“Certainly not. I have no intention of making that mistake again, Nico. It should never have happened in the first place. I’m sorry to have dropped your renovation project for your penthouse, but under the circumstances, I think it was the correct thing to do.” Inhaling deeply, she took a bite of pizza.
His brow furrowed, and he stood up, only to move and wedge himself next to her, his leg touching her bare thighs. His nearness was overwhelming, settling around her like a cloak. Consuming the air she needed to breathe. The sweetly intoxicating musk of his scent brought back so many memories and her heart thumped uncomfortably. His large hand took her face and held it gently.
“Nico…what are you doing?” she whispered, unable to tear her eyes from his, her breathing erratic. Slowly, he leaned forward and gently brushed her chin with his thumb, making her skin tingle.
“You had some pizza sauce…right there,” he growled, licking his thumb. His eyes held hers for a beat before he moved back to his chair.
“Oh.” Her voiced sounded breathy and she mentally told herself to get a grip. Picking up her wine glass, she gulped a few sips. They finished their pizza and managed to keep the conversation carefully steered around lighter and neutral topics. After supper, they cleared away their plates and took their wine over to the sofa. As soon as they sat down, he turned to Amber.
“Come with me to Italy next week.”
“What? Why?” She almost sputtered out the mouthful of wine.
“It’s complicated. It’s also my mother’s sixtieth birthday.”
“Nico, are you serious? Why on earth would you want me to come to your Mother’s birthday?” She threw her hands open in surprise.
“Like I said, it’s complicated.” He ran his hands through his hair, which instantly flooded her with memories of his response when she did the same to him. She was suddenly jealous of his hands.
“So, explain.”
He sighed and thought for a moment. “I have two sisters – the older one, Gabriella, is married and my younger sister, Camilla, is still forging out her career. My mother wants me to settle down and I need her to stop worrying about me.”
“Wait. So, you want me to come and pretend we’re together?” She used air quotes around the word ‘pretend’. “Why me, for heaven’s sake? I’m sure, like you’ve alluded to, you have plenty of women at your disposal.” She frowned and looked away, ignoring the stab of jealousy she felt at her nonchalant statement.
“No one I’d care to take home,” he murmured. “I don’t do relationships, Amber. I’m not looking to start one either. I make no promises to the women I date and most of the time, that’s how it works out. Unless of course, they start expecting more. That’s it, this is who I am.” He shrugged his shoulders and took a sip of his wine. “Besides, I think you owe me after dropping out on my project and leaving me in the lurch. Si?”
Taken back by his brutal honesty, Amber tried to keep her face impassive. Infuriated at his arrogance, she bit back her first response and took a breath to calm herself.
“I didn’t just leave you, Nico. You were placed with one of the top designers in our agency.” Not to mention the huge chunk of commission she had missed out on when we walked away from the project. She shook her head at him. Clearly this man was used to getting whatever he wanted.
“Fine. But I would still like you to accompany me to Milan. No buts, Amber. I’ll do whatever it takes.”
To be continued….
Wanted: Love in London Series 1 Page 11
