Irresistible.
He drew apart with reluctance and stared down at her.
‘We...have things to do...’ He raked his fingers through his hair and shifted restlessly. The only thing he wanted to do was grab her hand, head for his car, which was parked less than ten minutes away, and take her back to his house and straight into his bed. ‘Clothes to buy,’ he muttered thickly.
‘My makeover. I know. Sorry. I got...’ She couldn’t keep looking at him because she would just want to kiss him again. ‘I got a little carried away...’
‘I think that getting a little carried away is allowed.’ He held her hand, linking his fingers through hers in a gesture that felt strangely intimate. ‘After all...’ he smiled raggedly ‘...it’s not as though we aren’t in the most intimate place two people could be in. Yes, getting a little carried away...’ he breathed deeply, getting a grip ‘...is definitely allowed, don’t you think?’
Sex, Cordelia thought pragmatically. That was what it was about. That chemistry between them was still alive and kicking and it wasn’t all on her side. He wanted her as much as she wanted him. She had felt it in that kiss.
There would be passion and he would be faithful and he would protect her from the slings and arrows of this new life she had to get used to. He’d made that pledge and somewhere deep inside she believed him.
And if there was no love, then three out of four would be good enough.
As he had predicted, they were welcomed into the wonderfully air-conditioned boutique like royalty. The closed sign was put on the door and she was invited to take a seat so that clothes could be brought out for her inspection.
She was downright intimidated by the cool grey walls, the marble floor, the clothes hanging on the rails. There was no comforting pop music in the background. Choosing these clothes was serious business. There weren’t thousands of items on each rail but she figured that each one would cost a small fortune. It was a minimalist, coldly clinical boutique that only opened its doors to the uber-rich.
She had never felt more uncomfortable in her life before.
A model of similar height but remarkably skinny, with long dark hair and sultry dark eyes, paraded a selection of outfits while Cordelia sat and tried hard to look riveted by the experience. Ever so often, she murmured and nodded, very much aware of Luca next to her, sprawled on the white leather sofa with his laptop to one side, flickering and demanding attention.
‘Okay,’ he announced, ‘I think we’ve seen enough.’
The sultry-eyed, dark-haired model looked visibly disappointed at this pronouncement.
Cordelia had scrambled to choose a few things and was already dreading step number two in the makeover. Did she really want to be buffed and polished?
‘We’ll take...the red dress, the long one and...’ he carelessly pointed to the pile that had been set aside to be reviewed ‘...that lot.’ Then he stood up and held out his hand to her.
‘You don’t have to come with me to the beauty place,’ Cordelia said as soon as they’d left the cool boutique and stepped out into the baking summer air.
‘I’ve decided you don’t need the spa experience after all.’
‘What? Why? I thought I had to have a complete makeover before I could be let loose into high Italian society.’
Luca flushed because, put like that, it didn’t seem to say much about him and his values.
Since when had he ever cared what other people thought? He’d been protecting her, but watching that catwalk model parade those clothes had made him realise that she didn’t need protecting, at least not when it came to whether she would fit into his world or not.
Naïve and ingenuous she might be, but on the looks front she was head and shoulders above all those women who looked exactly like the dark-haired model. He would guide her through the labyrinth of all those tedious social niceties he had grown up with but, for the rest, she could more than hold her own.
And besides...
It had surprised him to find that he didn’t like the thought of her dolled up in all those designer outfits that had been on show.
He was positively turned off at the thought of her in extravagant black outfits or small, intricate dresses that showed off everything and screamed haute couture.
‘I made a mistake,’ he muttered gruffly. He reached for her hand and they began walking away from the stunning piazza down one of the many streets that fanned outwards from the main circle.
The impressive architecture didn’t stop in the piazza. It continued down the side roads—ornate and magical. Legend had it Siena was a city founded by Senius, the son of Remus who was suckled, along with Romulus, by a she-wolf—hence its emblem.
Cordelia had managed to look up some historical facts on the drive and had lapped them up thirstily.
She would have loved nothing better than to have played tourist and seen all the sights but there would be time for that in the future and, for the moment, she was too intrigued by Luca’s change of mind to start talking about city tours.
Also, her hand was tingling where their fingers were entwined.
That kiss had lodged in her head and she wanted more. Man and wife...
How could she ever have imagined that the chemistry between them wouldn’t supercharge given the circumstances? He hadn’t looked back when he’d left after those heady three weeks. He had had his life neatly packaged but now here she was and if this was called making the best of a bad deal, then she was going to take it, because she wanted him more than she could ever think of wanting anyone.
‘What do you mean?’ They were at the car and she stood with her hand on the door, looking at him across the width of the Lamborghini. It was black, sleek and just the
