Back In The Italian's Bed (7 page)

It took far too long for his words to register. She stiffened. ‘No, I’m waiting for a Signor Santarelli.’

‘My assistant. He made the booking.’

Jenna swayed a little as that sank in and she grabbed for the newel post, smooth and reassuringly strong beneath her unsteady fingers. ‘That can’t be. There are supposed to be three guests.’

‘There will be, later. For now it’s just me.’

His gaze never left hers and, unbidden, a sizzle of heat flared in her veins even though his expression was sombre, not seductive. In fact, he looked as grim as she’d ever seen him. Not angry or haughty, but as if he carried the weight of the world on those wide shoulders. He looked weary around the eyes too, like he’d been getting far less than the usual few hours’ sleep he needed in order to function.

‘You can’t stay here.’ Jenna didn’t care how much money she’d lose by turning him away. She couldn’t have Fabrizio under the same roof. It would be like rubbing salt into an open wound. This was her fresh start – a place with no memories of Fabrizio to haunt it. ‘What were you thinking?’

‘That I wanted to see you.’ He lifted his hand as if to touch her face and she shrank back. Instantly he stiffened and she almost convinced herself that was pain she saw flicker across his face.

‘You can’t just walk in here and expect to take up where we left off.’ Her tone was bitter, her throat raw with pain.

‘I never expected anything so simple.’ He paused and she had the oddest sensation he hesitated, searching for the right words. That couldn’t be right. Fabrizio was assured and persuasive, never lost for words.

‘You’d better go.’ She made to step past him, her eyes on the front door, when he stopped her.

He didn’t use force, just reached out and grazed her wrist with the back of his hand. Instantly her senses went into overdrive and she stumbled to a dead stop. Her chest rose and fell quickly, mirroring her agitation. She had to fight to keep her eyelids from fluttering shut at the delicious torment of that light-as-air caress.

Despair filled her. Even now she had no defences against him. She’d tried and tried but nothing, not time nor distance nor anger had worked.

‘Please, Jenna. We have to talk.’

Her head jerked around, dragged by the pleading note she’d never heard from Fabrizio.

This close, his eyes glowed with a heat that threatened to incinerate her. She tried to pull away but stood, rooted to the spot. Finally, swallowing hard, she nodded.

‘In here.’

Reluctantly she led the way to the room off the hallway. Her legs felt stiff, like she’d forgotten how to put one foot in front of the other.

‘I approve,’ he murmured behind her and she spun around to see him surveying the watered lemon silk on three walls, the full-length book-cases taking up the other one, and comfortable lounges grouped before the fireplace and near the window. ‘You’ve made this very inviting.’

Any other time she’d have been thrilled by his praise. When she’d bought the villa with the money she’d inherited from her parents and her hefty new mortgage, this room had been dark and neglected. It had taken lots of hard work and careful planning to turn it into a luxury retreat on her modest budget.

At least she’d had more success with her makeover than she had at eradicating Fabrizio from her thoughts.

‘You didn’t come here to discuss my taste in furnishings.’ She planted her hands on her hips, trying to hide the way her blood ricocheted too fast around her body just at the sight of him.

‘How did
you
come to be here? You were supposed to be working for De Laurentis.’

Her eyebrows rose. Fabrizio sounded almost accusing, as if she’d cheated him somehow.

‘I told you, I didn’t want to work in a large, city hotel.’ Not that he’d remember that. He’d been too caught up in his own demands to consider what she wanted. He hadn’t listened to her at all when he’d thrown out his offer, no, his demand, that she work for him in Rome. ‘My dream has always been to work somewhere small enough to provide a special, memorable experience for guests.’

She didn’t confide that the true catalyst for her resignation was a broken heart. Exciting as the job was that Luca De Laurentis had offered, Jenna had known she had to escape, find somewhere far away from the cosmopolitan cities frequented by Fabrizio. This ramshackle old villa set in the Tuscan hills had been a godsend, even if it had used up every cent she possessed and put her in a lifetime of debt.

She had her dream, she reminded herself fiercely. That was all that mattered.

‘That explains how long it took to find you.’

‘Find me?’ she parroted, frowning.

Of course he looked for you. It’s no coincidence he’s here.

Yet the idea of Fabrizio searching her out again seemed ridiculously improbable. He’d watched her walk out his door and hadn’t lifted a finger to stop her. He hadn’t uttered a word.

‘Why are you here, Fabrizio?’ She stood tall, one hand planted on the back of a massive wing chair. She told herself he couldn’t know she needed the support for her wobbly legs.

For long seconds he held her gaze from across the room. He shoved his hands deep in his trouser pockets, looking far too sexy and appealing for her peace of mind.

‘I came to tell you I was wrong.’

Wrong?

Fabrizio was the ultimate macho Italian male, confident and certain of his own infallibility. She didn’t think such a word was in his vocabulary.

While she was trying to absorb that, he closed the space between them and suddenly his hands were there, threading his fingers through hers. She shivered as her body locked down, shocked by the depth of her response.

‘I was wrong not to take you with me to that family celebration.’

Jenna bit her lip. ‘It wasn’t just about missing out on the party.’

‘I know. It was because I dismissed you.’ He breathed deep. ‘I hurt you, deeply, and for that I apologise,
tesoro
. You deserved better from me.’

Jenna’s eyes widened as she took in his intent expression. ‘You’re right. I did.’ For a moment she hovered on the brink of hope, then made herself face reality. Overdue as it was, it wasn’t his apology she needed. ‘But I’ve moved on.’ She tried to withdraw her hands but his hold was unbreakable.

She frowned. ‘Fabrizio?’

‘It was a first for me, you see, and I didn’t deal with it well.’ He laughed, the short jab of sound harsh and unsettling in the breathless room. ‘Didn’t deal with it well, now that’s an understatement! It threw me for a loop. It was all so completely new.’

‘Fabrizio? What are you talking about?’ Jenna had never seen him look or sound like this.

His eyes gleamed in a way that snatched her breath.

‘The way you make me feel,
tesoro
. The way you’ve made me feel from the first, even in Venice when I missed my meeting. I saw you sitting alone at that café and I couldn’t walk past. I had to spend the day with you.’

And the night. And every night after while the magic had lasted.

But Jenna knew it had been an illusion. He’d reduced what they shared to just sex.

‘I won’t be your mistress again, Fabrizio.’ Her low voice was unsteady. She couldn’t take much more.

‘It’s not a mistress I want.’

‘Then what do you want? Forgiveness?’ Finally Jenna managed to jerk her hands free and backed away, putting space between them. ‘I accept your apology. All right? Now I want you to leave.’

‘I can’t.’ His voice was low and urgent. ‘I tried keeping my distance and it was the biggest mistake of my life.’ He stopped and hauled in a breath that lifted his whole chest. ‘I love you, Jenna, and I can’t hide from it anymore.’

‘Love?’ Her eyes stretched wide. Her heart thundered in her chest. ‘You don’t love me, Fabrizio. You don’t know the meaning of the word.’

Sharply he nodded. ‘
Sì
. That was the problem.’ A wide hand gesture emphasised his words. ‘I was used to sex and simple, undemanding companionship. I wasn’t used to
feelings
.’ He frowned, his gaze piercing. ‘I didn’t want to admit what you made me feel, or that you meant more to me than any woman ever had.’

‘You had a fine way of showing it.’ Jenna told herself she wouldn’t fall for his easy words, no matter how tempting.

He nodded and ploughed his hand back through his glossy dark hair, leaving it in gorgeous disarray. ‘I’m ashamed of that, Jenna. When my sister asked if I was bringing you to the party, there was suddenly no escaping what you meant to me. How important you were to my happiness. It hit me out of the blue and it scared the hell out of me.’

He spun on his foot and paced across the room and back. ‘I hadn’t let myself think about it before, and when I did my first reaction was to deny it.’

Jenna swallowed hard, trying to take in his explanation. Was it possible?

The idea of Fabrizio floundering and scared didn’t seem real.

‘You called me your mistress because you were scared of me?’ She folded her arms. ‘That doesn’t seem likely.’

He shrugged, his hands spreading. ‘It was a knee-jerk reaction. I wasn’t ready to settle down with one woman for the rest of my life.’

Jenna stared. ‘Settle down?’ Had she missed something? ‘You never mentioned that.’ She felt dazed, as if she’d walked into a foreign place where dreams, even outrageously improbable ones, could come true.

His lips quirked up in a smile that did outrageous things to her insides. ‘I hadn’t got to that yet. But since you mention it, I want to share my life with you, Jenna. Permanently.’

He stepped close and lifted his hand to feather a caress across her cheek. The tenderness of that gesture threatened to make her knees collapse.

‘Fabrizio!’ She couldn’t prevent the needy whisper and his smile widened.

‘Be mine, Jenna. Marry me.’

‘Marry you?’ Stunned, she stared up into an expression suddenly turned serious.

‘
Sì
. All these months apart have only proved what I was too cowardly to admit before, that I love you. I can’t live without you. I want you as my wife.’ His hand slid down her arm and meshed with hers. His grip was firm but somehow sustaining.

It took a long time to find her voice. Even the touch of his hand didn’t feel quite real as she stared up at him. ‘You want me to marry you when you can’t even introduce me to your family?’ That still stung.

As did the glimmer of humour in his eyes. ‘Ah, about that. You’ll meet them soon enough. My assistant booked accommodation for three people. My mother and sister will be here next week, after we’ve had time to sort ourselves out.’

‘They’re coming here?’ It was one shock piled on another. She shook her head, trying to absorb it all.

‘They want to meet you. They want to help plan the wedding.’

Jenna drew herself up, frowning. Her emotions were all over the place, indignation vying for prominence with hope, fear and disbelief. ‘You were so sure I’d say yes that you told them we were marrying?’

‘No, my love.’ His hand squeezed hers and her heart tumbled over, making a mockery of her doubts. How wonderful that sounded.
My love
. ‘I told them how I felt and that I wasn’t sure if you’d have me. My mother, being my mother, was sure I’d convince you, and decided it was time to meet her future daughter-in-law. But my sister said she was coming so she could watch me squirm. She said she hoped you’d make me work for what I wanted.’

‘I like the sound of your sister.’ Right now she needed an ally. Fabrizio was turning her world on its head and she was scared to believe all this was real.

He nodded, a hint of a smile in the grooves bracketing his mouth. ‘I’m afraid you two are going to get on far too well.’

Slowly he drew her to him, and Jenna found herself in the circle of his arms. Suddenly her indignation bled away. In truth this was exactly where she wanted to be.

‘I love you, Jenna. I want to be with you for the rest of my life.’

‘I…’ Even now, with her heart almost bursting with joy, she hesitated. ‘It’s all a bit overwhelming and sudden.’

Fabrizio nodded, but he didn’t smile. ‘We have all the time we want. The rest of my things will arrive next week.’

‘More suitcases?’

‘And office equipment.’ He took a deep breath. ‘I plan to work from here. I’m assured you’ve got internet access. And I’d pay to rent the space. And for accommodation for my assistant. But he won’t arrive for a month. I’m taking a break from business till then.’

Jenna gawped. Fabrizio take a break from business? It was unheard of.

‘You want to work from here? Run your business from a guesthouse? But I’ll be working. I’ll be busy with guests.’

‘Which will give me time to see to my own business.’ He paused, his voice deepening. ‘And we’ll have the nights together.’ That bass note vibrated across her flesh, making it tingle in sensual awareness.

‘But we’re deep in the country. Nowhere near Rome!’

Fabrizio shrugged, his mouth pulled up at one side in the sexiest half smile she’d ever seen. ‘What does one wear in the country? You’ll have to teach me,
tesoro
. I suspect not my usual suits. And I will have to insist on repairing that sorry excuse for a driveway. My poor car.’ He shook his head mournfully.

‘You’re serious!’ Jenna breathed in shock. ‘You really want to live here with me?’

He nodded, hauling her close, till her body melded with his hard frame and her head rested on his shoulder. ‘I can’t let you go. Even if it takes the rest of my life for you to return my feelings. I want to be with you.’ The words rumbled up from deep within him so she felt them as well as heard them.

‘You don’t have to wait, Fabrizio.’ She arched back, meeting his eyes. Suddenly she was happier than she’d ever thought possible. It felt like the sunshine outdoors had somehow found a way to stream straight into her heart. ‘I’ve loved you from the moment I looked up to see you at my table in Venice. I’ve never stopped loving you.’

‘
Amore mio
! You love me? You loved me since then?’ His eyes blazed, his arms tightening around her.

Yet his expression held a hint of doubt. ‘Are you certain? After the way I treated you?’