The Italian's Forbidden Virgin (Mills & Boon Modern) (Those Notorious Romanos, Book 2)

by Carol Marinelli

  Carol Marinelli recently filled in a form asking for her job title. Thrilled to be able to put down her answer, she put ‘writer’. Then it asked what Carol did for relaxation, and she put down the truth—‘writing’. The third question asked for her hobbies. Well, not wanting to look obsessed, she crossed her fingers and answered ‘swimming’—but, given that the chlorine in the pool does terrible things to her highlights, I’m sure you can guess the real answer!

  Also by Carol Marinelli

  Claiming His Hidden Heir

  Claimed for the Sheikh’s Shock Son

  The Sicilian’s Surprise Love-Child

  Secret Prince’s Christmas Seduction

  Ruthless Royal Sheikhs miniseries

  Captive for the Sheikh’s Pleasure

  The Ruthless Devereux Brothers miniseries

  The Innocent’s Shock Pregnancy

  The Billionaire’s Christmas Cinderella

  Those Notorious Romanos miniseries

  Italy’s Most Scandalous Virgin

  Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk.

  The Italian’s Forbidden Virgin

  Carol Marinelli

  www.millsandboon.co.uk

  ISBN: 978-0-008-91390-8

  THE ITALIAN’S FORBIDDEN VIRGIN

  © 2021 Carol Marinelli

  Published in Great Britain 2021

  by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF

  All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.

  By payment of the required fees, you are granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right and licence to download and install this e-book on your personal computer, tablet computer, smart phone or other electronic reading device only (each a “Licensed Device”) and to access, display and read the text of this e-book on-screen on your Licensed Device. Except to the extent any of these acts shall be permitted pursuant to any mandatory provision of applicable law but no further, no part of this e-book or its text or images may be reproduced, transmitted, distributed, translated, converted or adapted for use on another file format, communicated to the public, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher.

  ® and ™ are trademarks owned and used by the trademark owner and/or its licensee. Trademarks marked with ® are registered with the United Kingdom Patent Office and/or the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market and in other countries.

  www.millsandboon.co.uk

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  Contents

  Cover

  About the Author

  Booklist

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Note to Readers

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  EPILOGUE

  Extract

  About the Publisher

  CHAPTER ONE

  GIAN DE LUCA WAS the Duke of Luctano, yet he chose not to use his title. Others, though, could not quite bring themselves to let it go.

  And as he finished up the working week in his sumptuous office suite, on the ground floor of his flagship hotel La Fiordelise, in Rome, his PA informed him that his date—for want of a better word—had arrived.

  ‘I was supposed to meet her at the theatre,’ Gian said, barely looking up as he signed off on some paperwork.

  ‘Yes,’ Luna agreed, for she was more than aware of his heavy schedule and that he kept his private life and work as separate as was possible, ‘and a driver was ordered, but it would seem she wanted...’

  Luna paused for slight effect, which told Gian she was about to quote directly.

  ‘“To save the Duke the trouble.”’

  His pen paused and then Gian’s final signature of the day appeared darkly on the page as the nib of his pen pressed in firmly. ‘I see.’

  ‘She also asked not to be treated as a hotel guest and made to wait in Reception. Given that pre-theatre dining is about to commence, she suggested meeting you in the restaurant.’

  Gian held in a weary sigh. His restaurant was not a personal dining room for entertaining lovers. As soon as his dates started throwing around his title like confetti, or attempting to pull rank with his staff, or trying to get too familiar, it signalled the end for Gian. ‘Tell her I’ll be out shortly.’

  ‘Except you have Ariana Romano in Reception waiting to see you.’

  This time Gian could not hold in his sigh. His slate-grey eyes briefly shuttered as he braced himself for a mini-tornado, because it was always drama whenever she suddenly arrived.

  If Ariana felt it, she said it.

  ‘What does she want now?’

  ‘A private matter, apparently.’

  He kept his door open to her, given he was friends with her father Rafael and older brother Dante, in as much as Gian was friends with anyone. Growing up, he had been sent to Luctano each summer to stay with some distant aunt and her husband who, like his parents, hadn’t much wanted him around. Those summers had often been spent hanging out with the Romanos.

  Aside from the family ties, there were business connections too. Ariana was on the committee for the Romano Foundation Ball, which was held here at La Fiordelise each year. In small doses Gian chose to tolerate her, yet she was somewhat of an irritant. Rather like heavily scented jasmine in the flower arrangement in the foyer, or when lilies were left out just a little too long. Ariana had clung and irritated long after she had left and now, on a Friday evening, he had to deal with her in person.

  ‘Bring her through then,’ Gian said. ‘Oh, and then take Svetlana through to the Pianoforte Bar to wait for me there...’

  And there he would end their...liaison.

  At thirty-five, Gian was considered one of Italy’s most eligible bachelors.

  His wealth and dark brooding looks were certainly a factor, but Gian was no fool and was aware that his title was coveted. He was the Duke of Luctano, even though his family had left the Tuscan hillsides generations ago and he had been born and raised in Rome. Or, rather, Gian had raised himself, for his hedonistic parents had had no time or inclination for their son.
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  Gian was, in fact, Italy’s most ineligible bachelor for he had no interest in marriage or settling down and always stated up front with women that, apart from a handful of lavish dates, they would go no further than bed.

  Gian had long ago decided that the De Luca lineage would end with him.

  His sex life—Gian had never so much as contemplated the word ‘love’—was rather like the stunning brass revolving doors at the entrance to La Fiordelise—wealth and beauty came in, was spoiled and pampered for the duration, but all too soon was ejected back out into the real world. Svetlana’s behaviour was nothing unexpected: she had shown her true colours to his PA, and that was that.

  They all did in the end.

  Gian was jaded rather than bitter, and more than ready to get through this meeting with Ariana and then deal swiftly with Svetlana. So much so that he didn’t bother to step into the luxury suite behind his office to freshen up for a night at Teatro dell’Opera; the gorgeous box with its pink-lined walls would remain empty tonight.

  As would the luxurious suite behind his office.

  His lovers never got so much as a toe in the door of his private apartment at La Fiordelise, for Gian was intensely private.

  He sat drumming his fingers silently on his large black walnut desk, waiting for Ariana to arrive. But then, on a wintry and gloomy January evening, it was as if a vertical sunrise stepped into his office. Ariana’s long black hair was slicked back into a low bun and she wore a suit and high heels. Except it was no ordinary suit. It was orange. The skirt sat just above the knee and the no doubt bespoke stockings were in exactly the same shade, as were the velvet stilettoes and large bag she carried over her shoulder. On most people the outfit would look ridiculous, but on pencil-thin Ariana it looked tasteful and bright...like a streak of burnt gold on the horizon heralding a new day.

  Gian refused to be dazzled and reminded himself of the absolute diva she was. Ariana was the one who should be performing at Teatro dell’Opera tonight!

  ‘Gian,’ she purred, and gave him her signature red-lipped smile. It was the same smile that set the cameras flashing on the red carpets in Rome, but Gian remained steadfastly unimpressed—not that he showed it, for he was more than used to dealing with the most pampered guests.

  ‘Ariana.’ He pushed back his chair to stand and greet her. ‘You look amazing as always.’ He said all the right things, though could not help but add, ‘Very orange.’

  ‘Cinnamon, Gian,’ she wryly corrected as her heart did the oddest thing.

  It stopped.

  Gian should be familiar. After all, she had known him all her life, yet she was suddenly reminded of his height and the deep tone of his voice. He wore a subtly checked suit in grey with a waistcoat, though his height meant that he wore the check rather than the check wearing him.

  Of course her heart had started again—had it not she would have dropped to the floor—but it was jumping around in some ungainly trot as he walked towards her.

  Pure nerves, Ariana decided. After all, she did have a huge favour to ask!

  ‘I apologise for not coming out to greet you,’ Gian said as he came around the desk and kissed her on both cheeks. ‘I was just finishing up some work.’

  ‘That’s fine. Luna took good care of me.’

  Except she felt far from fine. Ariana rather wished that the nerves in her chest would abate, yet they fluttered like butterflies—or perhaps fireflies would be a more apt description because there was a flash of heat creeping up her neck and searing her cheeks, but then Gian was, to say the least, rather commanding.

  Cold, people called him.

  Especially back home in Luctano, where gossip and rumour abounded. The history of the De Lucas was often whispered about and discussed in her home town—at times even by her family. Though a child at the time, Ariana could well remember the shock and horror in the village as news of the fire aboard their luxury yacht had hit in the early hours of a Sunday morning. And, of course, she still remembered the funeral held in Luctano for the Duke, the Duchess and the heir apparent...

  People whispered about the fact that Luca hadn’t attended the renewal of his parents’ vows, and his lack of visible emotion at the funeral.

  Yet, as Ariana sometimes pointed out, the fact that he hadn’t attended had saved his life.

  And, the villagers would add, happy to twist the truth, his brother’s death made him a duke. As if Gian had swum out into the ocean and torched the boat himself!

  ‘Basta!’ Ariana would tell them.

  Enough!

  Ariana actually liked his steely reserve.

  Her own self was so volatile that when life spun too fast, it was to Gian she turned for his distant, measured ways.

  While rumour had it he melted women in the bedroom and endeared both staff and guests with his calm assertiveness, it was the general consensus that behind his polished façade there was no heart or emotion, just a wall of solid black ice. Ariana needed that wall of black ice on side so she kept her smile bright. ‘Thank you for agreeing to see me.’

  ‘Of course.’ Gian gestured for her to take a seat as he did the same. ‘Can I offer you some refreshments?’

  ‘No, thank you.’ Gosh, small talk was difficult when you had a huge favour to ask! ‘How was your Christmas?’

  ‘Busy,’ Gian responded, then politely enquired, ‘Yours?’

  Ariana lifted her hand and made a wavering gesture, to show it had not been the best, though she did not bore Gian with the details, like how, in the manner of a tennis ball in an extended rally, she’d bounced between Florence and Rome. Gian already knew all about her parents’ divorce and her father’s subsequent marriage to the much younger Mia. After all the marriage had taken place here!

  And he knew too that her father wasn’t at home in Luctano but in a private hospital in Florence and so she gave him a brief update. ‘Dante is hoping to have Papà moved here to Rome,’ Ariana said, but left out the hospice word. ‘That should make things a bit easier.’

  ‘Easier for whom?’ Gian enquired.

  ‘For his family,’ Ariana responded tartly, but then squirmed inwardly, for it was the very question she had been asking herself since her brothers had suggested the move. ‘His children are all here, his Rome office...’ Her voice trailed off. Though the impressive Romano Holdings offices were in the EUR business district of Rome, Dante had taken over the running of the company when their father had remarried.

  Gian’s question was a pertinent one—and confirmed for Ariana that she needed to speak with her father and find out exactly what it was he wanted for the final months of his life. ‘It is not all decided,’ she admitted to Gian. ‘We are just testing ideas.’

  ‘Good,’ Gian said, and she blinked at the gentler edge to his tone. ‘I visited him yesterday.’

  ‘You visited him in Florence?’

  ‘Of course. You know I have a sister hotel opening there in May?’ Gian checked, and Ariana nodded. ‘I always try and drop in on Rafael when I am there.’

  For some reason that brought the threat of tears to her eyes, but she hastily blinked them back. Ariana was not one for tears—well, not real ones; crocodile tears she excelled at—but at times Florence, where her father was in hospital, felt so far away. It was an hour or so by plane and she visited as much as she could. So did her brothers, and of course Mia was there and the family home in Luctano was nearby...but at night, when she couldn’t sleep, Ariana always thought of her father alone.

  There was a break in the conversation that Gian did absolutely nothing to fill. A pregnant pause was something Ariana was incapable of. If there was a gap she felt duty-bound to speak. Any lull in proceedings and she felt it her place to perform. Gian, she felt, would let this silence stretch for ever and so of course it was she who ended it. ‘Gian, there is a reason I am here...’

  Of course there was!
>
  Her slender hands twisted in her lap. She was nervous, Gian realised. This was most unlike Ariana, who was usually supremely confident—arrogant, in fact. It dawned on him then what this urgent appointment might be about. Did she want to bring her latest lover here, without it being billed to the Romano guest folio so as to avoid her father or brothers finding out?

  It was often the case with family accounts, but if that was what Ariana was about to ask him...

  No way!

  There was no question he would facilitate her bringing her latest lover to stay here! ‘What is it you want?’ Gian asked, and she blinked at the edge to his tone.

  ‘I have decided that I want a career.’

  ‘A career?’ His features relaxed and there was even a shadow of a smile that he did not put down to relief that she wasn’t intending to bring her lover here. It was typical of Ariana to say she wanted a career, rather than a job. ‘Really?’

  ‘Yes.’ She nodded. ‘I’ve given it a great deal of thought.’

  ‘And your career of choice?’

  ‘I would like to be Guest Services Manager here at La Fiordelise. Or rather I would like to be Guest Services Manager for your VIPs.’

  ‘All of my guests are VIPs, Ariana.’

  ‘You know what I mean.’

  He had to consciously resist rolling his eyes. ‘Why would I simply hand you such a position when you have no experience? Why would I let you near my VIPs?’

  ‘Because I am one!’ Ariana retorted, but then rather hurriedly checked herself. ‘What I am trying to say is that I know their ways. Please, Gian. I really want this.’

  Gian knew very well that whatever Ariana wanted, Ariana got—until she grew bored and dismissed it. Ariana should have been put over her father’s knee many years ago and learned the meaning of the word ‘no’. There was no way on God’s earth that she was going to play careers at his hotel. So, rather than go through the motions, he shook his head. ‘Ariana, let me stop you right there. While I appreciate—’