Green eyes bored into hers and he brought her hand to his chest. ‘Are you ready for this?’
She nodded decisively and squeezed her fingers around his.
She could do this. She would do this.
On the drive over, he’d given her the low-down on the guests attending that he knew personally and told her in more detail what she could expect from the weekend, which basically consisted of a lavish display of wealth dressed up as a celebration. Events were kicking off with a champagne reception hosted by the father of the bride in the castle’s sprawling gardens, to be immediately followed by a seven-course meal.
Neither of them had mentioned the kiss again, or where it might lead, if indeed it would lead anywhere.
It was time to get down to business and Aislin had forced her mind-set into focusing on that above all else,
and it was a focus she was determined to keep.
The valet who had guided them to their parking space coughed discreetly and indicated for them to follow him inside, while another valet whisked their cases away.
As they set off, hands clasped—after all, this was show time—a two-seater sports car and a stretch limousine slowly drove past them in succession.
Inside they were led into a huge reception room where a handful of waiting staff with trays of filled champagne flutes stood discreetly, and a glamorous couple in full evening wear chatted to a small group at the far end of the room.
Aislin cringed inwardly and fought the fresh burst of panic clawing at her throat. Her casual outfit, as chic as it was, now made her feel massively underdressed.
She was never going to fit in.
‘That’s the bride and groom,’ Dante said into her ear as they approached them.
Shivering at the brief sensation of his breath against her skin, Aislin forced a smile to her face as the couple spotted them and broke away from the group to greet them.
Alessio and Dante gripped wrists and pulled each other in to embrace tightly and exchange kisses on the cheek, the tactile Latin nature unashamedly displayed. She noted there was a slightly greater distance between Dante and the bride, who he introduced as Cristina, and then Aislin was yanked into an embrace by Alessio and an equally effusive one from Cristina. They both grabbed her hand to examine the ring on her finger.
‘You’re a dark horse, Dante,’ Alessio said with a laugh. ‘Springing a guest on us at the last minute. When Cristina said you were bringing your fiancée, I thought she had misheard you.’
Cristina flashed the whitest teeth Aislin had ever seen at her fiancé and laughed. ‘One day you will learn that I am always right.’
‘Don’t worry, I’m learning.’
‘Good!’
That they spoke in English could only be for Aislin’s benefit and she was grateful to them for it, and grateful for the warmth of their welcome. She could only hope their guests were as welcoming.
After making small talk for a few minutes, Cristina said, ‘I’m sure you must be keen to get to your room, so why don’t I get one of the staff to show you up so you can get freshened and changed before the reception starts?’
‘That would be lovely, thank you,’ Aislin replied, thinking the singular use of the word room was a linguistic flaw. She had a pretty summer dress to change into for the champagne reception and meal.
Cristina beckoned a uniformed member of staff over and Alessio pulled Dante to one side.
They switched to their native language but Aislin sensed by their body language that they were discussing the business deal. Alessio had the look of a man apologising.
She got the chance to ask Dante a few minutes later when they followed the member of staff up the first flight of cantilevered stairs and through the warren of corridors to their rooms. Their hands were clasped again, the show of affection they needed to perform being one that didn’t allow them to drop their guards for a moment.
‘Yes, he apologised,’ Dante confirmed. ‘Alessio is ashamed of his father’s behaviour.’
‘I assume he’s tried to change his mind?’
‘He has but with all the wedding preparations Alessio hasn’t been able to sit down with him and discuss it in the detail it needs. Riccardo knows that going with my competitor will give them less profit. My terms were more generous but he is proving very stubborn on the matter.’
Dante welcomed the discussion of business, a distraction from the feel of Aislin’s much smaller hand in his.
He’d had to concentrate hard on Alessio’s latest apology and not think about Aislin for the whole two minutes Alessio had taken him from her.