by Meier, Susan
“Yeah, my family can be pretty silly.” She paused a second. “Now your turn.”
“Okay.” It had taken him the length of her entire story, but he’d finally remembered something he could tell her. “In second grade, I won my first spelling bee.”
“First?”
“I was champ every year after that. No matter where I lived or what school I went to, I won my division of that spelling bee.”
“So that was the beginning of your overachieving.”
He sniffed a laugh. “Yeah. I guess.”
The warmth of feeling normal flowed through him again, and from that moment on, he knew he’d call her every night.
Though he didn’t have a clue in hell where they’d end up, he was fairly certain one of them or both of them was going to get hurt.
CHAPTER TWELVE
THE DOORBELL AT CONSTANZO’S house rang for the fiftieth time the morning of Antonio’s opening and Vivi rushed to get it. Busy with preparations for the elaborate party after the gallery doors closed, the staff had better things to do than sign for deliveries.
The uniformed man handed her a box and a clipboard and pen. She juggled them, until Maria Bartulocci appeared at her side. Not one to let an enormous party given by her incredibly wealthy uncle occur without her input, Maria had arrived two days before and she’d taken over the planning.
“Here. I will help.”
Handing the box to Maria, Vivi scanned the delivery information and realized the box was for her. She signed the sheet, gave it back to the deliveryman and closed the door.
“It’s for me.”
Maria held it up as if weighing it. “Too heavy to be flowers.”
She grabbed the card and ripped it open.
We can’t have the prettiest girl there in anything but the best. Tucker.
Maria rolled her eyes. “My God, he’s a sap.”
But Vivi’s heart about exploded in her chest. Not because he’d sent her a dress, but because he wasn’t running from what was happening between them. Something real. Some wonderful. Their nighttime chats had become longer and more personal. They’d stopped talking like a boss and assistant and begun talking like friends, but she could feel there was something more behind it.
Still, she wasn’t about to tell Maria that.
“He knows I’m poor. I’d told him I’d have to squeeze out a few hours to go into town today to find something to wear.” Because she desperately wanted to be beautiful for him. To feel like the woman he saw when he looked at her. “This is his way of being a good boss, making sure I have everything I need for my job.”
Maria laughed and batted her hand as she led Vivi up the stairs. “He likes you. Not like he would like me—for fun. He likes you for you.” She shook her head. “I don’t want that. But you do.”
“I do.” Vivi couldn’t deny that. She wanted their chats to cross the line from friendship into relationship. And if she let herself, she could almost believe this dress was Tucker’s way of doing that.
“Then we’ll have fun with this.”
They took the big box down the hall to Vivi’s lilac-and-white bedroom. The second she set it on the bed, Maria pulled the ribbon to unravel the bow. Vivi lifted the lid.
Inside was a raspberry-colored chiffon dress.
A laugh escaped. Raspberry was the color of the bathing suit she’d worn their first day in Italy.
Something soft and warm surrounded her heart. He was telling her he remembered details, maybe everything that had happened between them.
Maria eyed her askance. “What?”
She wasn’t about to tell Maria this either. Especially if she was reading all the signals wrong. Plus, this wasn’t something she felt like sharing. She just wanted to hug the information to herself. Hug the dress to herself. Be a simple, silly girl falling in love.
But she couldn’t. She had absolutely no idea how Tucker felt about her.
She turned to Maria with a short smile. “Nothing. I just love the dress.” She pulled it out of the box. “Do you think it will fit?”
“I think a man like Tucker knows his way around a woman’s curves.”
Maria’s snarky comment barely registered as she fought the urge to hug the dress. She’d found a calling. Something that gave her a sense of self-worth that went beyond proving herself to a bunch of people in Starlight, Kentucky, who no longer mattered. She was on the global stage, helping one of the most talented new artists in the world start his career.
And Tucker liked her.
She knew he did. She didn’t want to deny herself the pleasure of believing it.
“So we play with your hair and makeup until we get it perfect,” Maria said, but Vivi stepped away from her.
“I thought you were helping arrange the pool area for tonight’s party.”
“They will be fine without me.”
“No,” Vivi said, laying the dress across the bed. She slipped off her T-shirt and slid out of her jeans. “Once we make sure this puppy fits, we’re both going back to work.”
“You are no fun, Vivi.”
“No. I keep my promises, Maria. And as long as I’m working with Antonio and you’re anywhere near Antonio, you’re going to keep your promises to him, too.”
Vivi slipped into the dress, which fit perfectly. Strapless, it caressed her breasts and torso to the waist where it belled out into a frothy skirt that stopped three inches above the knee.
The dress fit so perfectly Vivi shivered. When had he studied her so well, so often?
“I have a necklace that would look wonderful with that dress,” Maria said, racing out the door. In two minutes she was back, holding a thin chain with a simple round ruby.
Vivi gasped. “I couldn’t!”
“Please,” Maria scoffed. “I got this from a man I now hate. If you lost it, it would be a favor.”
Vivi shook her head. “You’re bad.”
“I am terrible,” Maria happily agreed as she secured the necklace on Vivi and turned her to face the mirror.
Vivi touched it reverently. “It does look wonderful.”
“Sì. You will wear this tonight.” She unclasped the necklace and set it on the dresser for Vivi to find that evening. Then she casually ran her finger along the clean wooden vanity top, as if unconcerned. “Why do you have this interest in Antonio? If you like Tucker, why do you follow Antonio around like a little dog?”
“Because Constanzo wants me to.” She wouldn’t tell her that Tucker had already talked to Constanzo about making this a full-time job. Sweet and generous as she could be sometimes, Maria had a hard side, a scary side. “And my boss wants to do whatever pleases your uncle. No matter how much fun this seems to be, the bottom line is I still work for Inferno and I do whatever Tucker tells me.”
Maria said, “Uh-huh,” but Vivi got a bad feeling. No longer interested in Vivi or her dress, Maria flitted out of the room. Vivi removed the dress and reverently laid it across the bed. Tonight she would look perfect for him.
* * *
Tucker didn’t time his arrival to be so close to the actual show opening, but delays had caused him to leave late enough that he’d changed into his tux on his plane and didn’t bother going to Constanzo’s. He took the limo directly to Patrice’s villa gallery.
White lights had been strung across the second-floor balcony and the leafy trees that lined the cobblestone walk that led to the front door. With fifteen minutes to spare before the actual opening, he strode up the walk and slipped in the front door.
His favorite Antonio painting—blue wildflowers in the sea of green grass beneath a pale blue sky—sat on an easel in the center of the foyer, teasing attendees with a sample of his talent. A glance into the rooms on the right and the left showed the elaborate displays of more of Antonio’s work.
He h
eard the clack, clack, click of shoes on marble and he spun toward the sound, but all he saw was a swatch of pink.
That was the dress.
After two weeks of talking on the phone, growing closer and closer, he was finally going to see her.
His heart racing, he headed in the direction that he’d seen the blur of pink, but by the time he reached the room, she was gone. He stood in the area filled with Antonio’s paintings as catering staff brought trays of appetizers to the long thin tables lining the walls.
Shoving his hands into his pockets, he glanced around. What was he doing? He never, ever chased a woman—
But he caught a glimpse of the pink dress again and that crazy combination of warmth and excitement tightened his chest, warmed his blood. He couldn’t resist this any more than he could hold back a rising tide.
“Olivia! Vivi!”
She stopped.
As she turned to face him, her lips lifted slowly. Her eyes warmed. His heart stumbled and he realized he’d been waiting two long weeks to see that smile.
“I’m so glad you’re here.”
So was he. The happiness that rose inside him was so intense it couldn’t even be described.
“Everything’s falling apart.”
His joy deflated like a popped balloon. “You want me here because everything’s falling apart?”
She winced. “Yes.”
It wasn’t exactly what a man wanted to hear when he hadn’t seen the woman he desired in two weeks. But he told himself not to panic. First, she was under a lot of pressure. Second, it was good to hear she needed him. Really good. She could be so self-sufficient, especially with Antonio, that it was reassuring that she turned to him.
He put his hands on her bare shoulders to steady her. The velvet smoothness of her skin shuddered through him but he held her a few inches away so he could take in the vision she made in the frothy dress. Tall and lean, with graceful arms and shapely legs, she wore the little pink creation as if it were made for her. Her thick strawberry blonde hair had been caught up in a curly creation that allowed tendrils of hair to tickle her neck and tease his imagination. Makeup enhanced her blue eyes. The sprinkle of gloss on her lips tempted him to kiss her.
He couldn’t kiss her, not publicly, not when he wasn’t entirely sure what was happening between them. But even if the world was crumbling around them, he needed to acknowledge that she was the prettiest thing he’d ever seen.
“You’re beautiful.”
Her eyes lit. The corners of her lips kicked upward. And his Vivi was back. “What? This old thing?”
“Hey, that old thing cost a bundle.”
“And I appreciate that you thought of me. I was just about to steal a minute away from the chaos and go into town to find something to wear when this arrived.” She stood on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. “You’re the best boss ever.”
Frustration knotted in his chest. He wanted a kiss, a real kiss, for his thoughtfulness, and she had bussed his cheek. Still, he was the one who needed to keep their relationship simple until he figured out what he really wanted.
“And I’ll pay you back.”
“You can’t pay me back.” The words were out before he could stop them. He’d already decided to tell her the dress cost five hundred dollars, rather than the five thousand he’d spent. But his damned male pride swooped in and stole those words. He longed to be allowed to spoil her. But she wouldn’t let him. And his own fears stopped him, too.
Once, just once, he wanted to relax and let go. Do what he wanted, just because he wanted to.
He softened his voice. “I won’t take your money if you try to pay me back.”
She smoothed her hand across the soft chiffon. “It’s too much.”
“For whom? Do you realize what’s exorbitant to you is like pocket change to me?”
Her gaze snapped up. “So this is pocket change?”
“Essentially. But it was also my way of celebrating your success. Other people send champagne. I sent a dress.”
Their eyes met and temptation tugged at him again. He wanted a kiss so bad his chest hurt from it. But life wasn’t always fair or easy. He wished he could look into those big blue eyes and know everything would be okay if they crossed the line from friends to lovers. But he couldn’t and neither could she.
As if disappointed, she stepped back, wringing her hands. “Don’t celebrate too soon. Maria knows something is up.”
“And?”
“And you do know Maria, right? She’s a busybody.”
“We can handle her.”
“You think? She expected to inherit Uncle Constanzo’s wealth...or at least to live off the gravy train for the rest of her life. With a son, an heir, in the way...do you really think she’s going to take this calmly?”
She stopped suddenly. Her lips lifted into a smile of pure pleasure. As if only now really seeing him, she said, “Wow. Look at you.”
He smiled.
“You look fantastic.”
“I do, don’t I?” A man didn’t get to thirty-four, and have the brain to acquire wealth that exceeded the gross national product of most small countries, without knowing his assets.
Her gaze dipped. “A little vain tonight?”
“It’s hardly vain when it’s the truth.” He stepped closer, slid his arm around her waist, forced her gaze to his. Her eyes met his with a longing that mirrored the feeling churning in his gut. He knew this was risky or maybe too soon. But the need to touch her simply overwhelmed him.
“Besides, we look good together. Very good.”
“Tucker!” Maria’s voice echoed along the high ceilings of the villa entrance.
He released Vivi and spun around. Maria raced toward him. She caught his upper arms and planted a kiss on each cheek. “So are you going to tell me what’s really going on here?”
He peeled her hands off his upper arms and turned her around. “Go fix your lipstick. Olivia and I have work to do.”
When she was gone, Tucker sighed heavily. “We’ve got to get Constanzo to tell Antonio tonight. This can’t wait till morning.”
She bit her lower lip. “It has to be after the show. Antonio can’t take that kind of surprise before his big moment.”
“Okay. How about after the show but before the party at his house? We’ll get them in the same limo and not let anyone else in.”
“Okay.”
“Which means we have to warn Constanzo that he’d better prepare his speech for Antonio, and to watch out for Maria.”
She nodded.
He caught her hand. “Let’s go find him now.”
They searched the first floor of the gallery and found him with Antonio who looked ready to throw up.
“Doors open in ten minutes,” Vivi reminded Antonio. He looked amazing in his black tuxedo but not as good as Tucker. Tucker wore formal attire as if he’d been born to it, but she knew he hadn’t been. There was so much about him that was special, intriguing, and she suspected she was one of only a few people he trusted with his secrets. “But you don’t have to show up right away unless you want to. If I were you, I’d give people a chance to look around, then you could kind of slide into the crowd and introduce yourself.”
“You will be with me?”
She glanced at Tucker. She wanted to be with him. She wanted to walk the gallery with him and tell him every silly nitpicky story of how each displayed painting had been chosen. How Antonio and Patrice had argued over placement. How she’d intervened and stopped fight after fight.
Instead, she said, “I’ll stay by your side all night if that’s what you want.”
He caught her hands, kissed the knuckles. “It’s what I want.”
Tucker said, “Super,” as Constanzo nervously said “Great.”
Vivi let go of Antonio’s hands. “But for right now, why don’t you go up to Patrice’s apartment and just chill. Find a soccer game or something on TV. I’ll come and get you a half hour after the doors have been opened.”
Constanzo volunteered to walk upstairs with him, but Tucker caught his arm. “Vivi and I need to talk to you for a second.”
He motioned Antonio to go on without him. “I’ll be right behind you.” When Antonio was gone, he faced Tucker. “You don’t think it’s a good idea for me to stay with my son when he so clearly needs me?”
“I think it’s a great idea,” Vivi said. “Especially since I think Maria is catching on.”
“Catching on to what?”
“Catching on to the fact that there must be a reason you’re going to all this trouble for Antonio,” Tucker said.
Constanzo fell to an available chair.
Vivi stooped beside him. “She knows you too well. All along she’s thought you were going overboard for this project. But today she came right out and asked what was going on.”
“We think you need to tell Antonio before the party.”
Constanzo’s gaze shot to Tucker. “Here? At the showing?”
“How about in the limo on the way home?”
He nodded. “Sì. The party can be ruined. But the showing must be perfect.”
The two floors of Patrice’s villa quickly filled with art enthusiasts and Constanzo’s friends. Guests spilled out in the gardens. Waiters wove through the crowd with champagne.
A half hour into the event, Vivi left Tucker and went to Patrice’s apartment and retrieved Antonio. She guided him to Constanzo who took him from one circle of friends to the next. Seeing how confident Constanzo was with his guests, she could have stolen away at any time, but she’d made a promise to Antonio and she kept it. Still, she didn’t stay on the sidelines. She was as much a part of this event, of Antonio’s success at this event, as anyone. So she talked with Constanzo’s guests, sipped champagne and in general made Antonio as comfortable as she could.
Tucker watched, growing more and more agitated. He wanted to be with her tonight. He’d missed her. Even though they’d talked every night, it wasn’t enough. In fact, sometimes talking to her without seeing her had been torture.
