Page 31 of Unveiled As The Italian's Bride
‘It’s a loose statement.’ Dante had shrugged, unfazed by the cool criticism in her eyes.
‘Is that what you’ve thought of me all the time I’ve been working for you?’
‘You just said it, Kate. You were my employee. I didn’t categorise you at all, if you must know. You did an invaluable job with my daughter and that was the sum total of it. Why are you offended?’
‘Aren’t you embarrassed to be engaged to an employee?’
‘Why is this suddenly becoming an issue?’
‘Stop answering a question with a question,’ Kate had ground out in frustration.
‘No, I’m not,’ he’d said equably, which she’d found even more frustrating.
‘Is that because this isn’t really an engagement at all? Because it’s meaningless?’
‘We’re past the stage of getting cold feet.’ Dante’s voice had been low and cool.
‘I’m not getting cold feet. I just...’
‘You need to stop getting lost in detail,’ he’d advised smoothly but not unkindly. ‘Whether you worked for me or not is irrelevant. I’m notembarrassedto be seen to be engaged to an employee. That’s denigrating yourself. We’re moving forward with this arrangement and everything is settling nicely into place. Moving quarters is just the next step. Are you...’ he had raked his fingers through his hair and looked at her with his dark head tilted to the side ‘...comfortable with that? I assure you, the interconnecting door will remain locked. You needn’t fear that there will ever be any intrusion of your privacy.’
Kate had reddened. How much clearer could he advertise the fact that she wasn’t his type? That he wasn’t attracted to her?
‘We should discuss...er...’
‘Timings? The business of when the knot gets tied?’
‘Yes.’
‘Tomorrow,’ he had said. ‘I have a series of meetings until five. I can be back by six and we can either have the discussion here or I can get my PA to book us a table at whatever restaurant you would like.’ He had looked at her with sudden curiosity. ‘What sort of food do you enjoy?’
She had met his dark, interested gaze with thoughtful eyes. It had occurred to her that this pretty much summed up the strange situation—she would be tying the knot with a guy who didn’t know any of her likes or dislikes, her hopes and dreams or her moments of sadness and despair.
Then she’d thought of her chequered background. Restaurants had been few and far between. She’d smiled with genuine amusement.
‘All food.’
He’d burst out laughing, which had made the breath catch in her throat, because just for a split second he had no longer been the cold, forbidding guy with the enticing proposition. He’d been a normal, sexyhuman being, a stupidly good-looking guy with a sense of humour and a laugh that made her lips twitch and had made her want to laugh out loud as well.
A guy, something inside had told her,she could like.
Confused, she had pulled back and told him that anywhere would be fine.
So here she was now, staring in the mirror before heading downstairs to meet Dante, who would be taking her to one of the most exclusive restaurants in the city.
She looked around at the exquisite suite of rooms that would now be her home for the next couple of years. The backdrop was gold and marble for rich Persian rugs and priceless antique furniture, polished so that she could see her reflection in the grain of the wood. Beyond the living area was a bedroom dominated by a four-poster bed overlooking the landscaped gardens to the back.
Kate wondered whether his wife had slept in this very room, but then dismissed that idea, because of course he would have had her close to him, next to him, sharing his space. He might have implied that separate quarters was perfectly acceptable between a married couple of a certain elevated status, but she was sure he and his beautiful wife had not succumbed to that tradition.
He had brought her closer, in keeping with her promotion from nanny to fiancée, but she would never make it past that locked interconnecting door.
For the first time, she wondered about the woman she was replacing. What must it have been like for him to have loved and lost the way he had? To still be so enamoured of a woman that he kept a portrait of her where he could always see it?
What must it have been like for his beautiful wife to have held this powerful and sexy guy in the palm of her hand?
Kate inspected her own reflection now. She’d changed. She looked the part. Her hair was nicely layered, and expertly highlighted and glossy, and her new and ever-expanding wardrobe seemed designed to do wonders for her slender figure.
The long-sleeved, deep-blue dress was of the softest cashmere and loosely belted at the waist. Her knee-high boots were bespoke. When she wiggled her hand, the diamond glittered and sparkled. She slipped on a jacket of butter-soft leather that matched the boots and headed downstairs at a brisk trot.
