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‘Really?’ He angled his head to stare at her. ‘I’ve never had the impression that you’re slow …’
No response.
‘My organisation needs someone like you.’ He threw her a smile. ‘Just think about it …’
‘You don’t hold back, do you?’ she whispered, fixed on his gaze.
‘Salary wouldn’t be a problem—’
‘No … Sorry … I can’t stay on in Rome.’
Her voice was flat as if reality had kicked in, extinguishing the fantasy he had spun for her. He was disappointed, of course. But defeat wasn’t in his lexicon and he wasn’t about to back off now.
‘I have to be back in the UK by this weekend at the latest,’ she went on, voicing some inner thought and unwittingly handing him a compromise.
‘Okay …’ He eased his shoulders in a shrug as if it didn’t matter to him one way or the other what she did, but his mind was scrutinising the facts—she was an intelligent woman, and he had just given her the opportunity of a lifetime. There had to be something else. Someone else? Was this feeling jealousy? If so, it had to be a first. He kept his face impassive as he delved a little deeper. ‘Of course, if you have personal reasons—’
‘I don’t. At least …’
‘Go on.’ He could hardly hold back the bite in his voice.
She clammed up. She retreated into herself leaving only the prickles on show. He eased off too. Like all good negotiators, he knew when to take his foot off the gas. ‘Well, if you could just stay until the weekend, by which time the new director should have settled in, I’d appreciate it. And of course I’d pay you well for your time …’
Nothing.
He tried again. ‘I’m sure Cordelia would appreciate the reassurance of having you around during the changeover of directors …’
Bullseye.
‘You won’t have to pay me,’ she assured him tightly. ‘I’ll happily stay on until the weekend if it reassures Cordelia. My cousin’s a wonderful actress. You don’t know how lucky you are…’
And neither did cousin Cordelia, Santino thought, dropping his gaze to hide his rush of triumph.
CHAPTER SIX
BY THE time Santino had signed the bill Kate was already regretting her decision to stay on in Rome. Giving Caddy the boost she needed to regain her confidence was one thing, but she could have remained at Caddy’s side without agreeing to work for Santino, and reporting directly to him was madness. What had she been thinking?
‘Ready?’
As Santino stood up and prepared to hold her chair Kate was forced to accept that she could never think clearly when Santino was involved. And it certainly didn’t help now when a lock of inky-black hair caught on his lashes as he looked at her. But she had to remain detached. It was either that, or break her silence and face a lifetime of regret.
‘Kate?’
‘Sorry …’ Kate grabbed her jacket, evading Santino’s attempts to help her to put it on. Buttoning it up securely, she didn’t forget the buttons at the neck of her shirt were open and fastened those too.
As Santino watched Kate fastening up her suit and her blouse, sealing the package up tight, he felt suspicion grind inside him. There had to be someone else back home. This act was too contrived. A woman didn’t turn from seductress to celibate in the space of five years with all her allure intact. Kate had all the hallmarks of a tease. It warned him to be wary and question rather than trust. But for some reason he wanted Kate; he wanted her to be different from other women.
But he only had to examine the facts to know he couldn’t afford to let her in. Five years ago he had taken what she’d freely offered, no meaningless pledges on either side. There had been no time for anything other than feeling and hunger. She had responded wholeheartedly, but afterwards he had felt emptier than before. He had known then he was yearning for something he could never have.
‘Arrivederci, Santino!’
‘Arrivederci, Federico!’ The distraction of the ebullient restaurateur’s farewell came as a relief. This was no time to be dwelling on the past.
‘Goodbye, Federico …’
Kate turned and waved. She seemed harmless enough. Or was that an act too? Was she like every other woman—out for what she could get? Was she painting herself in a rosy light so everyone would love her and let their guard down? She had begun by opening up and telling him about her life with Cordelia and Meredith, and then for no reason she had clammed up again. Why? It couldn’t be second thoughts about the job, or fear of the responsibility she had agreed to take on—she could eat the job. Which left the phone call. Who was waiting for Kate back home aside from Aunt Meredith? He needed more time with her to find out what was going on. He would much rather stick salt in the wound now and prove her treachery than continue to pursue her wearing a blindfold.
‘I thought we’d walk back to the Russie, cool off after the heat in the restaurant,’ he suggested. ‘Do you mind?’ He held the door for her, closing his eyes as she passed to better appreciate her light crushed-petal scent.
‘No, that would be great,’ she said. ‘I like to walk …’
He could tell she had relaxed a little. She even granted him a small smile as she tilted up her face to look at him. But then he remembered how professional she was about everything now; she was always on her guard.
‘I’ve had a wonderful evening, Santino, and I want to thank you for indulging me. I know it was a business meeting and I had no right to drag you off to a place of my choice, but Federico’s restaurant was everything I hoped to find when I came to Rome.’
She knew just what to say to make a good impression on him. But how much of it was contrived to make him soften towards her? ‘It was my pleasure.’ As always he hid his true feelings behind a mask of good manners. ‘I’m so glad you enjoyed yourself.’
‘Is it far to the Russie from here?’ She looked up and down the narrow street as she spoke to him.
‘No.’ His brow creased as his mind whirled with possibilities for the rest of the evening.
‘Then why don’t you leave me here and I’ll walk the rest of the way?’
‘You’ll do no such thing.’ He hadn’t expected that. He was rattled. Her independence irritated him. He wasn’t used to women striking out on their own—not when he was around. He made the decisions. ‘I can’t let you walk through the streets of Rome on your own at night.’
‘Then I’ll take a cab.’
‘You can’t just flag one down.’
‘A bus, then.’
Incredibly, before he knew what she was doing she had nimbly sidestepped him and hopped onto the running board of one of the buses that made up the city’s sightseeing service.
‘What do you think you’re doing?’ He had no option but to jump on after her.
‘Being spontaneous. Going on a bus tour …’ There was a look of determination on her face as she fished in her purse for the fare.
‘Go upstairs. Grab the front seats and I’ll pay …’ He couldn’t believe he was saying it—couldn’t believe he was travelling on a bus.
He slid in beside her. She had managed to secure one of the prized seats at the front and was fiddling with the headphones connected to the translation service. She blinked when he twitched the speakers from her ears.
‘Don’t you trust me to be your guide? I am a Roman …’
‘As if there could be any doubt,’ she told him as the bus chugged closer to the floodlit Colosseum.
It was the closest she’d come to flirting with him. That thought soothed his wounded pride and filled him with another sort of emotion altogether. Which was somewhat short-lived, because now her face was deadpan again.
It was a long time since he’d had to think about his city’s history, but for Kate he’d make the effort. He settled down and pointed towards one of the yawning gaps in the ancient walls. ‘Can you see the arena down there?’
She shuddered involuntarily. He didn’t blame her. Parts of the ancient building were practically intact. All that was missing was the roar of the bloodthirsty crowd.
She shivered again.
‘Are you cold?’
‘No, I’m fine,’ she lied. There was a chilly breeze and so he shrugged off his jacket.
‘No, thank you, I’m warm enough,’ she lied again, seeing what he was about to do.
‘You’re only wearing a lightweight suit,’ he pointed out, draping the jacket round her shoulders.
‘And what about you?’
He wasn’t aware of anything other than the need to take care of her and that was dangerous. ‘I can’t have you catching cold after a night out with the boss.’ He kept it impersonal. Time to give them both a reminder that this bus trip was only a rather unusual sidebar to a business meeting.
‘Are you worried I’ll be late in tomorrow?’ Both her voice and her grey eyes surprised him by turning warm with amusement and his lips tugged with pleasure at the thought that she was going to be working for him—for a few days at least. He couldn’t remember feeling this way about work, or about a woman, ever.
As they passed another ancient ruin she reached for her headphones. ‘You’re supposed to be my tour guide,’ she reminded him as she started to untangle them.
‘And so I am …’ He gently prised them from her fingers. And had to fight the urge to hold onto her hands a little longer.
‘We’re passing the Temple of Vesta,’ he informed her to break the sudden tension. He put the headphones on the seat between them, easing away to put some space between them. Did she ever think about that night? And how was he supposed to remember his history with that sort of erotic distraction playing on his mind?
He kept it short. Rome was so closely packed with antiquities they’d be on to the next one if he didn’t keep it brief. ‘The temple was a cruel place. Girls as young as six were chosen from some of the best families in Rome and taken to live at the temple. Their young lives were stolen from them—’
Kate’s heart contracted as Santino started to explain the ancient traditions and her mouth had turned completely dry by the time she managed to force out, ‘Really?’
Thankfully Santino didn’t appear to notice her sudden change of attitude.
‘The Vestal Virgins were selected for their beauty …’ He paused as she turned to look at him.
‘Go on, don’t stop,’ Kate prompted.
There was a time when she had said those words to him under very different circumstances and it was hard for him to concentrate on the history lesson when her fragrant breath was sweeping his mouth. He had to stop himself staring at her lips. ‘The Vestals’ task was to keep the fire burning inside the temple.’ As her fire had burned inside him for five long years. ‘Each of them spent ten years in training, ten years as Vestals and ten years training novices before they were allowed to leave the temple. Then they could get married—’
‘And live happily every after?’
‘Irony, Kate?’
As if she had just realised there was a very small space between them she pulled back, and he turned away. In his head the bitter side of life had overtaken the sweet, exposing it for what it was—a panacea, a lure, a chimera, a deception. ‘The life of a Vestal wasn’t without risk.’ His voice hardened. It was as if he had to spoil it for her. ‘If one of them broke her vow of chastity she was buried alive in Campo Scellerato, the Field of Villains, and her lover was flogged to death in the Forum.’
‘That’s horrible.’
‘That’s Roman history. You can’t hold me directly responsible.’
‘I think I know that, Santino.’
Her cheeks were flushed, but she held his gaze. The fact that she stood up to him was a novelty and gave him a charge.
‘I can’t believe people could be so cruel.’
‘Oh, they can, believe me.’ He held her gaze long enough to get a reaction and was curious when it slid away as if she was hiding something from him. They sat in silence for quite a while after that and then she surprised him by touching his arm.
‘You look sad,’ she said. ‘Is something wrong?’
‘Sad?’ Disappointed yet again by a woman, perhaps. He shrugged it off. ‘Momentary lapse.’ But when he stared into her eyes this time he noticed how her glance wandered to his lips. They were so close together their lips were almost touching. Instead of pulling away she remained quite still. She expected him to kiss her. She wanted him to kiss her. But he would choose the time, not Kate.
His rebuff made her tense and withdrawn, and she didn’t sit still again after that.
‘How far is it to the Hotel Russie now?’ she said as the bus turned a corner.
She was already restless as it slowed in preparation to take on board another group of tourists and he could tell she was itching to get off. ‘We can walk there in about ten minutes from here, if that’s what you want to do?’
‘Yes, please. I do …’
She was already up and waiting for him to get out of her way so she could make good her escape. He stood and let her go past him in the narrow aisle and then she hurried down the steps. The moment they stepped onto the pavement she was looking up and down the street as if trying to orientate herself.
‘Which way is it?’ she murmured, half to herself.
‘I’ll take you.’ But she didn’t even hear him. She was off like a hare from the trap and when he caught up with her he had to point out she was going the wrong way. She turned without comment and he had to swing into a brisk walk to keep up with her.
But there was only so much dogged independence he could take. He let her get ahead, and when she finally realised he wasn’t there any more and stopped to look for him he held up his hands, palms flat. ‘I don’t know what’s got into you, Kate. I only hope it doesn’t get in the way of your work.’
‘I haven’t let anyone down yet,’ she assured him, keeping her eyes fixed on her goal—which was the Russie.
‘Don’t make this a first,’ he warned. ‘When I hire the best I expect top class results.’
‘You’ll get them.’ She walked faster. ‘I’ve no intention of letting you down.’
‘Good,’ he said, striding casually along by her side. ‘Just checking.’
It would have suited Kate at that moment to bury her head beneath the pillows at the hotel and forget the evening with Santino had ever happened. It was agony wanting Santino to like her when that made her so weak. Like her? She was kidding herself; she wanted him to want her.
So much for their dinner date being nothing more than a business meeting! If she could be honest with herself for just a moment she would be forced to admit that for her it had been so much more. She had wanted him to kiss her. She had wanted to let her defences down. That was how dangerous Santino was. And he had played her like a master. She couldn’t get away from him fast enough now, and turned the instant they reached the hotel entrance.
‘Goodnight, Santino, and thank you again for a lovely evening.’
He ignored the hint, and, leaning across, opened the door for her before the doorman had a chance, and then he stepped inside and insisted on escorting her to the lift.
As they waited for the elevator Santino felt as if the volcano Kate had been stepping around all night was ready to blow. She had agreed to give him a few days of her time, nothing more. It was an insult to his pride.
She had wanted him to kiss her, and was still smarting from the fact that he hadn’t. But he wouldn’t allow himself to be lured into a honey trap by a woman he suspected of deception. Whatever happened between them would be on his terms. Whatever she was hiding he would find out. Until then it pleased him to observe and bide his time.
It was on occasions like this he realised that his childhood had imbued him with certain advantages. The sudden departure of his mother and death of his father had forced him to learn how to survive on his wits. He had become unusually perceptive, which accounted for his meteoric rise in the world of business. That and the fact that he’d had nowhere to go but up.
He wasn’t about to throw everything away on a woman—even if that woman was Kate Mulhoon. He was always alert to the possibility of scandal, or a trap, and Kate was condemned by her own hand. She had been quite prepared to kiss him when there was clearly someone waiting for her back home. And if she had considered betraying that individual, why not him?
‘Santino—’
