Her Italian Boss’s Agenda

‘I love you, I love you,’ she said. ‘But don’t stop.’

All tension and sadness seemed to melt away in kiss after kiss. She was only distantly aware of a door opening and closing behind her, but then she felt Primo draw back a little in dismay.

‘Well, well,’ said Luke’s voice.

Shocked, she whirled and saw him standing there, leaning against the wall, regarding them both with apparent amusement.

‘So you reached the finishing line at last,’ he said. ‘I thought you would if I was patient.’

‘You-?’ she said uncertainly. ‘You mean you-all this time-?’

‘I think I’ve been rather clever,’ Luke said with a grin that might have been aimed against himself. ‘That first night, when you got mad and wanted to leave, I had to find a way to keep you in Naples-’

‘Why?’ Primo asked at once.

Luke gave a crack of derisive laughter.

‘Because I knew she was the one woman who could bring you down, of course. And I wasn’t going to miss the fun. And has it ever been fun! The sight of you not knowing whether you were coming or going has been the best laugh I’ve ever had. I’ve seen jealousy on your face that you could barely control. I’ve seen you driving yourself crazy because you wanted something you couldn’t arrange to have, and you couldn’t even admit it to yourself. Did I enjoy that? You bet I did!’

Primo began to swear softly under his breath. Olympia couldn’t follow the names he called his brother, but they must have been outrageous because Luke relished every one of them.

‘Don’t!’ Olympia got diplomatically between them. ‘Don’t let anything spoil it now. Primo, whatever his reasons, your brother did us a favour.’

‘Don’t call him my brother-’

‘Of course he’s your brother,’ she insisted. ‘Only a brother would do you a huge favour and insult you afterwards, and then laugh at you and with you-’

‘You’re going to be a good influence on him,’ Luke observed. ‘You could even knock some of the nonsense out of him.’

‘Luke, you were never in love with me, were you?’ she asked hopefully.

He shrugged. ‘Maybe just a bit. But not enough to worry about. I’ve been a perfect gentleman so that you could stay here without worry, and it all worked out right.’ He grinned suddenly. ‘Mind you, there might be a problem. Your mother likes me better.’

‘I’ll bet she does,’ Primo murmured. He still eyed Luke askance, but he was calming down.

Olympia kissed Luke’s cheek and was enfolded in a brotherly hug. As he turned to go, Primo called, ‘Hey, Inglese!’

He waited until Luke looked back before saying quietly, ‘Thank you.’

‘Hah! You think you’ve won, but she’ll lead you a merry dance, and I’ll be there, laughing all the way. Starting with the altar. I want to be your best man.’

‘I wouldn’t have anyone else.’

Luke walked away.

‘Yes, I think I’ve won,’ Primo said. ‘I know I’ve won. I’ve won everything I want in the world.’

He seized her in his arms again. Neither of them saw Luke turning at the last minute. He watched them for a moment, then touched his cheek where Olympia had kissed it and murmured, ‘Maybe just a bit.’

Olympia’s conscience was troubling her.

‘What about Galina? You weren’t trying to make me jealous, surely?’

‘No, because I didn’t think I could. I wanted to save my face, so that when you and Luke announced your engagement I wouldn’t be standing there alone like a lemon.’

‘But if she’s in love with you-’

That made him roar with laughter.

‘My darling, as far as Galina’s concerned I’m an old man. She’s eighteen. I only know her because her parents are friends of mine. When she found out what was happening-and it’s hard to keep anything from that girl-she said, “What you need is window-dressing, Uncle Primo, and I’m the person to help you.” So I turned up with her on my arm, just to save my dignity. She came to my rescue again after that, but she’ll be glad it’s over so that she can go back to boys of her own age.’

‘She doesn’t really call you uncle?’

‘I swear she does. She kept coming out with it all that evening, and I had to keep frantically reminding her not to. Let’s find her so that I can tell her that she’s off duty from now on.’

They found Galina a few moments later, dancing smoochily with Ruggiero, so absorbed in him that it was with great difficulty that Primo attracted her attention. Then he pointed to Olympia, giving a thumbs up sign. Galina smiled, waved and touched the heavy gold chain about her neck. Then she hooked an arm around Ruggiero’s neck and forgot all about Uncle Primo.

As they walked away, Primo said, ‘What did you think of the chain-my thank you gift?’

‘Very pretty.’

‘Wait until you see the one I will buy you.’

In another room Luke found solitude and a bottle of good whisky.

There Hope discovered him a few minutes later.

‘I saw what happened,’ she said fondly. ‘It’s what you were planning all the time, isn’t it? You always knew it would be Olympia and Primo in the end.’

‘I guess I did. But Mamma, sometimes you have to ask yourself, if a man acts like such a clown when he’s wooing his woman, isn’t another man entitled to step in and-?’ He finished with a shrug.

‘So why didn’t you?’ she asked, holding out a glass for Luke to pour her a whisky.

‘I nearly did. There were nights when I stood outside her bedroom door while my worse and better selves fought it out. My worse self put up a brave fight-’

‘But your better self always won?’

‘Unfortunately, yes,’ he said savagely, and she laughed.

Then he sighed. ‘It wouldn’t have been any use. Primo’s the one for her, I could see that.’

‘So you played Cupid. I always knew that you were really a good brother.’

‘Don’t say that,’ he said hurriedly. ‘Think of my reputation.’

Hope laughed. ‘All right, I’ll keep quiet about it. But we both know the truth, which is that you have a kind heart, a brother’s heart.’

He grimaced. ‘Yes, it’s just a shame that it asserted itself now, and about her.’

‘Somewhere there is a woman for you. You’ll get over Olympia.’

‘Sure I will-say, in about a hundred years. In the meantime, perhaps I’d better go away for a while.’

‘Far?’ Hope asked in alarm.

‘No, only as far as Rome. A man there owed me quite a lot of money. He couldn’t pay so he signed over some property he owned. It’s likely to prove more of a curse than a blessing, as I gather it’s in a bad way. There have been no improvements to speak of for a long time, and there’s a lawyer giving him grief. He describes her as the devil incarnate, which means she’ll give me grief as well.’

‘She?’

‘Signora Minerva Pepino. I’ve already had a letter from her that practically took the skin off my back.’

‘Good. She’ll keep your mind occupied.’ She kissed him. ‘Go to Rome, my son, and come back for Primo’s wedding. Perhaps you will bring a bride home of your own.’

‘I doubt it. Be content with two daughters-in-law, Mamma.’

‘Nonsense. I want six. Now, come back and join the party.’

She departed, humming. After a moment Luke followed her and stood, unnoticed, watching the revelry. Justin was dancing with his bride, his harsh face softened by happiness. Primo circled the floor with Olympia, both enclosed in their own cocoon of joy.

Luke watched her and knew that she had forgotten him.

‘I had to go and be a “good brother”, didn’t I?’ he groaned. ‘It was bound to happen one day, but in heaven’s