“Max,” she said, coolly.
“Good. We’re all here.” Jack looked at his watch.
Max slid his hands into the pockets of his pin-striped slacks. “What are you up to, Jack? Why are we here?”
“I’ve decided to save the business, not take it apart,” he explained, staring at Max. His brother nodded his understanding. “The solicitor is going to draw up the investment papers.”
“Excellent news.” Max grinned until his gaze landed on Louise. “But I don’t understand why she’s here.”
“It’s nice to see you, too,” she said.
“That’s why.” Jack glanced between the two of them. “This family is tearing itself apart and I’m not going to let it happen. You’re each here as a representative from the warring factions.”
Louise settled the strap of her small black leather purse more securely on her shoulder. “What are you? The family fairy godmother?”
Jack grinned. “In a manner of speaking.”
“When did this transformation come about?” Max demanded.
“I’m still a work in progress,” Jack admitted. “I guess you could say Emma started it and Maddie nursed it along.” He met his brother’s gaze. “I saw Dad and we got things out in the open.”
“I see.” Max’s tone said he didn’t see at all.
“I’ve missed family. I didn’t realize how much until coming back. You guys don’t appreciate it because it’s right here in front of you.” Not unlike him and Maddie. He hadn’t fully recognized the value of what he shared with her until she’d left. But he would fix that. First things first. “I’m going to bail out the restaurants, but both sides of the family have to work together to be suc cessful.” He looked at Max. “I think your first order of business should be to hire Louise.”
His two companions exchanged a stunned look.
“Why?” Max asked.
Jack slid his hands into the pockets of his slacks. “She’s a gifted PR and marketing consultant who can give you exactly the right kind of support. I saw her in action at Emma’s embassy party and it seemed she wasn’t intimidated by the rich, famous, powerful or royalty.”
“But—”
“Really, Max.” Louise glared at him. “Don’t look so shocked. I’m not without skills.”
“Let me remind you in case you’ve forgotten,” Max said. “We tried working together. It was a disaster.”
“He fired me,” Louise explained to Jack.
“Ah.” Jack studied the two of them and had the feeling that there was more to it. If he’d learned anything, it was that there were two sides to every story. They would have to work it out.
“Then you should rehire her,” Jack persisted. “This family needs to learn to work together.”
“What made you decide to put the money into Bella Lucia?” Louise asked.
Max slid her a look, then shook his head as if she were a bit slow. “It was because of Maddie.”
“The woman who came to the Christmas party with you?” When Max snorted, Louise glared at Max. “Don’t even go there again. I don’t want to hear about my outfit.”
“You mean the fuzzy white crop top, short red suede skirt with boots? Oh, and the flashing mistletoe bellybutton jewelry? It never crossed my mind,” Max said.
“That was Christmas,” Louise huffed. “You should be able to express yourself with your family.”
“My point exactly,” Jack said. He remembered his spur-of-the-moment decision to bring Maddie with him to London. Now he realized that he’d known she would be his bridge back to his family.
“Maddie had a lot to do with my decision,” he admitted. “And you, Max. The business plan is brilliant—”
“Oh, please,” Louise interrupted. “Don’t feed his already inflated ego.”
Jack studied his cousin Louise and couldn’t help comparing her to Maddie although the two looked nothing alike. His cousin’s air of confident business-woman and her sassy comebacks reminded him of Maddie. And when Max and Lou exchanged a look filled with sparks, Jack wondered about their relationship. He had a feeling it would be electric, not unlike his with Maddie. God, he missed her.
“Where is Maddie?” Max asked, as if he could read thoughts. “I expected to see her here.”
“No.” Jack felt her absence as if half of himself were missing. “She left for New York a couple days ago.”
“Did you two have a problem?” Max asked, studying him closely.
“We had a—” His brother knew him too well. There was no point in glossing over the truth. “The problem is I was a jerk.”
Sympathy brimmed in her eyes as Louise patted his arm. “Recognizing the problem is halfway to solving it, Jack. A bit of groveling wouldn’t hurt either.”
“A lot you know,” Max scoffed.
“I know more than you think,” she shot back, before meeting Jack’s gaze again. “Is your business here in London finished, then?”
Jack nodded. “As soon as we see the solicitor, I’m heading back to New York.”
“Give Maddie my regards,” Max said.
“I’ll do that.” Jack was no longer jealous of his brother. Maddie had been waiting to give herself to the man she loved and wouldn’t have come to Jack’s bed unless she’d had deep feelings for him. Hopefully he hadn’t crushed that out of her because he was counting on the fact that she still cared to win her back.
“Good luck,” Max added.
Jack would need every bit of luck and all the charm he could muster. He had to believe it wasn’t too late for him and Maddie. He’d faced the fact that he was his father’s son, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t learn from his mistakes.
Jack had found the woman he wanted, the only woman in the world who could make him happy. And she’d been right under his nose all the time.
No matter how long it took, no matter what he had to do, he would convince Maddie that they should be together.
Chapter Eleven
CHAPTER ELEVEN
A PLEASANT late-afternoon breeze drifted over Maddie as she sat on a lounge chair in the garden at the Hotel Villa Medici, sipping a full-bodied Cabernet. They said red wine was good for a person’s heart and she was putting the theory to the test. Granted, she’d only taken a couple of sips, but she didn’t feel better. She missed Jack and her heart ached with it.
That wasn’t all. She missed her job at Valentine Ventures and hated that hindsight was twenty/twenty. She should never have gone to London. That trip, plus a jaunt to Ireland with some hot kisses in Jack’s bed all added up to her worst nightmare. She’d had to quit the job she loved because she dreaded seeing the boss she loved.
On the upside, the generous salary from that job had allowed her to fulfill her dream of coming to Florence. It had been her mother’s suggestion after Maddie had unburdened herself. She’d thought it a good idea and quickly made reservations. She’d just barely checked into her lovely room when she realized she could fly around the world, but she couldn’t run away from her problems.
“Hello, Maddie.”
At the deep, familiar voice, the hairs on the back of her neck prickled and every nerve ending in her body tingled with awareness. She looked up and put a hand up to shield her eyes from the glare of the setting sun. Speaking of problems… Jack stood in front of her and she wasn’t completely certain he wasn’t a figment of her imagination.
“Jack?”
“Maddie, I need to talk to you.”
He’d followed her to Italy? “How did you know where to find me?”
“I talked to your mother when you didn’t return my calls.” He indicated the padded wrought-iron lounge beside her. “Do you mind if I sit down?”
“And if I do?” He’d followed her to Italy? She couldn’t seem to get past that.
“It’s important.”
“I’m pretty busy,” she said coolly, although her heart was skipping like a stone over water.
“I can see,” he said wryly. “Please.”
Had re
ckless Jack Valentine ever said please? She couldn’t remember. More important, she couldn’t turn him down. He’d come all the way to Italy. She took a deep, cleansing breath and braced herself to get this over with. She told herself it was like jumping into frigid water—the first sensation was bitter cold and shocking, then you got used to it. Then you could deal with it.
She couldn’t backspace her life and delete her mistake, but she would do her darnedest to forget that anything personal had happened between them.
“Okay.”
He sat on the lounge, but didn’t stretch out. There wasn’t a lot of space for his long legs between the chaises and his knees were only inches from her thigh. Was it her imagination, or could she actually feel the warmth of his body?
Was it true what they said about absence making the heart grow fonder? Because he looked better than any man had a right to look. His dark hair was artfully mussed and sexy as sin. His expensively worn jeans molded to muscular thighs and the long sleeves of his shirt were rolled up to just below his elbows. The light blue color brought out the scoundrel in his eyes.
It would be so much easier to resist him if he’d had the decency to wear a suit and tie, except that wasn’t Jack. And this was Italy.
“What do you want, Jack?”
He reached out, as if to touch her, then rested his forearms on his thighs. “It’s good to see you, Maddie.”
“It’s only been a week.” It felt so much longer.
“Ten days,” he corrected.
It felt like a lifetime. “Okay.”
“I understand you visited my father.”
Her gaze snapped to his. “How did you know?”
“He came to see me.”
Something darkened in his eyes and she got a bad feeling. Her decision to see Robert Valentine had been impulsive; she hadn’t really thought about the ramifications. Someone had needed to mediate. She’d just gone with her gut; it was what Jack would have done. But what if she’d made things worse? And she couldn’t tell whether or not Jack was angry. Not that it mattered. What was he going to do? Fire her? She didn’t work for him any more.
“How did it go?” she asked, studying him, waiting for the intensity that mention of his father always generated.
He linked his fingers together. “It was…interesting.”
That wasn’t very helpful. She didn’t want to be curious, but she couldn’t seem to help it where Jack was concerned. “Would you care to elaborate?”
“He explained things from his perspective. I told him why I did what I did. He apologized and said it was time he stopped acting like an idiot and started being a father.”
Maddie stared at him. “He said that?”
“He did.” The corners of Jack’s wonderful mouth turned up and she knew he knew she’d said it. “Dad and I are going to work on our communication.”
“I’m glad, Jack. What about your mother?”
“I called to apologize for my abrupt exit. We talked and things there are on the mend, too.”
Inside, Maddie was doing the dance of joy. It was good that he’d patched up things with his family. At least that part of the trip had been successful.
“That’s good. What about Bella Lucia?” Beautiful Lucy, the business begun because of a man’s love for a woman. The thought made her heart ache because it wasn’t likely a man would ever love her that much. The only man she wanted was Jack and he’d made it clear how he felt.
“Before leaving London I made arrangements to infuse the restaurants with the capital necessary to keep them running and get the family business healthy again. Max is going to take over.”
“I’m so glad, Jack.”
He nodded. “I thought you’d approve.”
“I do. You did a good thing. I’m sure your family is very grateful. They must be—” She forgot herself and leaned forward to touch him, then froze.
“What?”
“Nothing.” She dropped her hand. This was why she’d quit. She couldn’t keep her feelings from showing. “Why did you come all the way to Florence?”
“I want to talk about us.”
Just like that his intensity was back. All that focus directed at her was unexpectedly sexy and stole the air from her lungs.
She sat up straighter. “There is no ‘us’. I’m sorry you came all this way to talk about nothing.”
“I have plenty to say.”
“I can’t imagine what.”
“First, I want you to come back to work for me.”
She swung her legs to the side and sat up straight, facing him. After setting her wine on the glass-topped table beside her, she said, “I told you why I can’t do that.”
“Because of what I said—that there can’t be anything more than business between us.”
How like Jack to surprise her. He was taking responsibility. “Give the man a gold star.”
“I was wrong about that. I love you, Maddie.”
“I don’t believe you.” She stood up and backed away.
“Don’t look so shocked.”
She didn’t know how else to look. “You can’t be serious.”
“Dead serious,” he answered.
“I guess on a professional, career level I should be flattered. Apparently you’ll go to any lengths to keep me from quitting.”
“I love you,” he said, an edge to his voice.
“Oh, please. I bet you say that to all the girls to get what you want. The problem is that you’ve made it clear to me what you don’t want—in a word, marriage and family.”
“That’s two words,” he pointed out far too rationally.
“Whatever. It’s a deal breaker for me.” She’d had enough of him taunting her with the only words that could rip her heart out. Her eyes burned and it took every ounce of her control to keep back the tears. She stood. “You’ll never change, Jack.”
He loved her? What had made him say that? She’d told him once that she was waiting for love. Correction: someone to love her. He was using her words against her. Why?
“You’re wrong, Maddie.” Before she could walk away, he stood and took her arm.
He was far stronger than she and the grip was impossible to break without struggling, if then. “You hurt me, Jack. You threw my feelings back in my face and, unlike your other disposable women, I didn’t even get flowers. Why in the world would I set myself up for that again? And why would you bother? The world is full of women who would be happy to play your game.” She looked at his fingers on her arm, then glared.
Jack dropped his hand. “I’m not playing anything.”
“Neither am I,” she said and walked away.
His voice drifted to her. “We’re not through, Maddie. I’ll be back.”
“To Bella Lucia,” Jack said and touched his glass to Max’s.
“Cheers.” Max grinned, then sipped his wine. “It’s just like old times. Except for the fact that you just saved the Valentine family’s skin.”
The two of them were sitting at a table in a pub around the corner from the solicitor’s office where Jack had just signed the paperwork giving him a controlling interest in the family company. It was like old times and Jack experienced a contentment he hadn’t known in a long while—if ever.
“How does it feel?” Max asked.
“Pretty damn good.” And Maddie was responsible. She made him want to be a better man and part of that was doing the right thing by his family. The legal business with his family couldn’t wait, which was why he’d taken this quick trip to London. That and Maddie needed some time to think about what he’d said. He was the doer and she was the thinker, which was why they were so good together.
Jack raised his glass again. “To the new head of the Bella Lucia restaurants.”
“Who would that be?” Max asked.
Jack grinned. “You.”
“Me?” His brother looked surprised. “You’re sure about that?”
“I am, yes. Unless you think you can’t handle it?” Jack teased.<
br />
“Try and stop me,” Max scoffed. “My only reservations are Dad and Uncle John. Neither will gracefully take a back seat after wrestling so bitterly for control of the company.”
“It’s time the two of them retired,” Jack said. “And they will retire. You’ll be in charge. I promise.”
“Excellent news.” Max grinned. “I’ve been impatient to move the company into the twenty-first century for some time now.”
“What do you have in mind?”
“Expansion,” Max said. “I’ve been meeting quietly with a friend of mine from Eton—Sheikh Surim.”
“How very James Bond of you.”
“Yes, well. He has quite a lucrative tourist resort in the desert kingdom of Qu’Arim. And he’s receptive to the idea of opening a branch of Bella Lucia there.”
“I see.”
Max leaned forward eagerly. “Jack, have you any idea how big this is?”
“How big?”
“It could be the first step in making the Bella Lucia empire global.”
“That’s big.” Jack grinned.
Max looked annoyed. “Oh, buzz off.”
“No, seriously.”
“Seriously,” his brother said. “You and I are in this together and it does feel good.”
Jack could feel his brother’s excitement and shared it—to a point. “I’m in this, Max, but not quite together. It’s your baby now, not mine.”
“What are you saying?”
That he wouldn’t make his father’s mistakes. “I don’t want an active role. I intend to have a life.”
Max studied him intently. “Would a certain beautiful blonde named Maddie have anything to do with that decision?”
“Am I that easy to read?”
“Yes.”
Jack needed Maddie to believe he was telling the truth about loving her. He hadn’t been this nervous since—well, never. Not even when he’d wagered everything he had into a computer software deal. He had more than money at stake now. “I’ve mended fences with family and I need to do the same with her. It won’t be easy. I just left her in Florence and she was pretty adamant about not giving me a chance.”
“Persistence, old chap. It works in business and romance.”
“I hope you’re right.” She’d looked angry and hurt. That was a formidable combination even for persistence. Although Jack didn’t have any plans to give up. Ever.
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