Page 27 of Unveiled As The Italian's Bride
He felt a twinge of guilt. Yes, this was a business arrangement, but she was young and she would be nervous. She would not have his reserves of self-discipline and cold, hard, focused inner strength. His upbringing had made him tough and the personal experiences that had followed—his ice-cold marriage to a woman for whom he had not, by the end, had a shred of affection or respect—had made him even tougher.
But beyond that, whilst this woman sent off all the right vibes of being strong and self-contained, he sensed an oddly vulnerable side to her.
Certainly, he doubted she’d ever had any first-hand, lived experience of the world she was about to enter. The women he knew would be familiar with this life. His ex, who had grown up with a similar level of privilege, would barely have glanced in the direction of the yacht. Nor would she have trembled at the touch of that diamond necklace around her neck. She would have been storing up complaints for the staff, already assuming oversights would be made. Dante had invited her parents out of politeness and had been relieved when they had made their excuses.
‘Are you still nervous?’ he asked, tilting her chin so that she was looking at him, trying to glean what was going through her head although, in the darkness, he couldn’t make out a thing.
Kate shrugged. ‘I’ll get through it. As we both know, it’s just part of the job.’
Dante frowned, for some reason disconcerted by that, even though he knew it was absolutely the response he should have been looking for.
‘Surely there are some aspects of this that you enjoy?’ His finger was still resting lightly on her chin. ‘What about the shopping?’
‘It’s...an experience.’
‘A good one?’
‘A different one.’
‘Can I ask you something?’
‘Of course.’
‘Can I ask why the money is so important to you?’
‘You can ask,’ Kate said evenly. ‘But actually it’s none of your business.’
Dante stared, rendered speechless by a response no one had ever before delivered to him in his life.
Kate belatedly shot him a placatory smile. ‘You’re lost for words.’
‘I...’ Dante raked his fingers through his hair and gazed at her. ‘I admit,’ he conceded with an expressive gesture of defeat, ‘no one has ever spoken to me like that before.’
‘Never?’
‘Never.’
‘That’s probably because people are too intimidated to say what they really think when they’re with you.’
‘You find me intimidating?’
‘Idon’t,’ Kate said thoughtfully and honestly. ‘But I’m guessing most people do.’
‘I’ll keep a close watch on how many people curtsy and bow to me when we’re on the yacht,’ Dante said pensively, his dark eyes glinting with amusement. ‘That would be the litmus test, I guess. What do you think?’
What did she want, or more probably need, the money for?
The question lodged in his head like a burr, to be pulled out and inspected at a future time, if only to satisfy his curiosity.
‘I think you’re making fun of me, and I’m also beginning to think that that’s something you enjoy doing,’ Kate returned, but lightly. Her heart skipped a beat as their eyes tangled and held before he looked away, and she realised that they were approaching his yacht. It was huge, now that they were up close to it, warmly lit and reflecting on the sheet-calm water like an oil painting.
‘The question is...’ Dante was seduced into teasing her back ‘...doyouenjoy it as much as I do? And, for the record, I’m not making fun of you. I respect you too much for that.’
‘Then what are you doing?’
Dante remained silent for a heartbeat.
‘I’m...’
