An Invitation to Sin

‘Your defence of him is to your credit.’

‘But should a man need defending from his own family?’ Taylor was beginning to understand why they drove Luca mad. She glanced up and saw him surrounded by members of the hotel management team. He didn’t even bother to conceal his boredom and she hid a smile because she sensed he went out of his way to live up to his terrible reputation.

And suddenly she realised what a clever strategy that was. Because he didn’t appear to hide anything, no one looked deeper. No one suspected there was anything more to expose, which gave him an extraordinary level of privacy.

He lifted his head and caught her eye.

Just for a moment they looked at each other and the sexual charge was so powerful she felt the punch of it from across the room.

Her stomach tightened as she remembered the way it felt to kiss him and be kissed by him.

Turning away quickly she reminded herself that a kiss, even an exceptionally skilled kiss, wasn’t trust. A kiss was a type of sensual manipulation. Trust was something different.

And trust was an indulgence she didn’t allow herself.

Extracting himself from the group of grey-suited businessmen, Luca joined her.

The chairman smiled. ‘You’ll be pleased to hear your fiancée was defending you vigorously. We were discussing your addiction to beautiful women.’

Feeling Luca’s tension, Taylor slid her arm through his. ‘I’m thrilled Luca appreciates beauty.’

‘Many women would be jealous.’

‘Perhaps. But not me. We’re with each other through choice. Love cannot be bound and held captive. It has to be freely given.’

Luca was looking at her strangely but he didn’t say anything and the chairman beckoned to an overweight man in a suit. ‘Taylor, this is Nico Gipetti, manager of our flagship hotel. You’re his idol so he’s been hoping for an introduction.’

Nico Gipetti’s face turned scarlet up to his ears as he shook her hand vigorously. ‘I love your work.’ Having stammered his way through a stream of compliments, he turned to Luca. ‘Any news from Matteo?’

‘Not a sound.’ Luca was looking at her mouth. ‘But I suppose that isn’t so surprising in the circumstances.’

The manager’s features tightened in disapproval. ‘What does he think he’s doing?’

‘I should think right now he’s probably smashing his way through all ten commandments,’ Luca murmured and then winced when Taylor drove her elbow into his ribs.

‘What Luca means,’ she said swiftly, ‘is that he’s probably keeping a low profile out of sensitivity to Alessandro’s feelings.’

‘So you have no idea when he will be back?’

Luca suppressed a yawn. ‘No, but while he’s away I intend to increase your profits by an indecent amount so I suggest you all relax and let me get on with it. I work much better alone.’

And why was that? Taylor studied him thoughtfully, wondering why he was so determined to keep himself apart, both in work and in play.

‘It’s a difficult time for the market,’ Nico snapped. ‘What makes you think you can do what we can’t? You know nothing about the hotel business.’

‘And that is precisely why I will make it a success.’ Luca paused to study the cut of the suit of a man walking past, a perusal that ended in a disbelieving shake of his head. ‘I don’t come weighed down with preconceived ideas, nor am I working from a palette of ideas that have been used a million times before by both yourselves and the competition.’

The chairman joined in the conversation. ‘Perhaps this is a good time to give us some detail. I’m sure Nico is interested to hear how you intend to add value to the brand.’

‘That’s easy. Your occupancy is down because you have no appreciation of style or beauty,’ Luca said bluntly and Taylor almost laughed at the shock on their faces.

She loved his honesty. He didn’t care what people thought, which meant he wasn’t afraid to speak the truth. Working in a profession where people rarely told the truth, she found it a refreshing change to be with someone who spoke his mind.

Sadly Nico didn’t agree. ‘Perhaps we should talk in Italian so that we don’t bore Taylor with our business.’

Luca scooped up two glasses of champagne from a pretty waitress with a wink and a smile. ‘Taylor doesn’t speak Italian—’ he handed her a glass ‘—and unlike you, Nico, I have no problem with my fiancée expressing an opinion. I’d like her to be part of the conversation.’

They put him down at every turn and yet he was bigger than all of them, she thought. He had an innate confidence, a powerful belief in himself that resisted all their attempts to diminish him. They tried to make him look small and yet each time they knocked him down he rose higher, towering above them in every way.