Hired:The Italian's Bride

She smiled, but it was barely a curving of her lips. “That makes two of us.”

His eyes, deep and dark, rested on her. The scent of his cologne wafted from his jacket so that she felt like he was touching her even when his hands were in his pockets. “What did it for you?”

He would walk away, but perhaps that was best anyway. He didn’t need to know the story; he wouldn’t be here long enough for it to matter. “When the one person who should love you doesn’t, it tends to shape you whether you want it to or not. So I came here, and built my own life. It’s all I have, Luca.”

He nodded slowly. “And you think I will take it away from you.”

She confirmed it by simply remaining where she was, her gaze steady on his.

“I won’t.”

“I won’t let you.”

That tripped a ghost of a smile.

“What about you, Luca? Why don’t you believe in love?”

“My mother abandoned us…all of us…when we were children. I heard Gina crying herself to sleep every night. I saw my father’s anguish…and yet he still loved her. She divorced him and he gave her a settlement, but not once in all these years has she come to see Gina, or me. Or father. She walked off to a whole other life.”

“You haven’t seen her since?”

“Not once. Not even when Gina was married, or when her children were born.”

“I’m sorry, Luca.” Mari’s heart ached for him. She knew what it was to feel insignificant in the eyes of a parent. “But your father…”

“He did a wonderful job raising us, and running Fiori. But in the absence of her, Fiori became his bride. He’s fierce about keeping it under his control.”

Mari reached out and touched his sleeve. “He doesn’t trust you.”

“He thinks he does.”

Luca wanted more. He wanted something for himself. Perhaps they had more in common than she originally thought.

“So you came here to prove something.”

He nodded, again slowly. She was mesmerized by the motion. The whole evening felt somehow like she was waking from a nightmare, complete with a sense of the surreal. He had touched her, and she hadn’t flinched or been afraid. He was only here for a short time, and somehow being with him helped. She’d be a fool to question that, wouldn’t she?

“I never, never want to be in the position that father was. I don’t need any great psychoanalysis. I don’t trust love, not the long-lasting kind.”

“So you satisfy yourself with temporary flings.”

“I tried something more once. It only ended up hurting both of us. It’s better this way.”

“What happened?”

Luca hesitated and she sensed his hurt. Perhaps she shouldn’t pry. But an open Luca…it wasn’t likely to happen again. She wanted to know. It was so unlike her, but she wanted to know about him, the little details that had shaped him into the man he was. Here in the starlight it was like she couldn’t get enough.

Luca met her eyes. “I had an affair with a woman I worked with. It didn’t end well.”

“Who did the ending?”

His lips tipped up slightly, but there was little warmth in the pseudosmile. “She did. Unofficially, and for someone else.”

The quirk of his eyebrow told her as much as any words could. Her lips dropped open. “You mean you caught her with another man?”

“Indeed.”

“I see.”

“It is just better for everyone to keep things up-front and honest. No unrealistic expectations. Don’t you agree?”

At least they were on the same page. It should have been a comforting thought, but it wasn’t. Not in the least. Her brows puckered. She didn’t want a relationship, nor a fling. And yet there was something within her that wanted to explore this thing that was growing between them.

“What are you thinking, Mariella Ross, standing there in the moonlight?”

She swallowed. Held his gaze not because she wanted to but because she could not look away. “What are you thinking?”

His voice was rich silk. “I think I’m about to make a big mistake.” He took a step closer.

Mari saw immediately where this was heading and alarm bells started pealing madly. “Luca, I don’t think…”

“Relax, Mari. I’m not interested in falling in love. Love only results in people being hurt.”

She should be feeling relief. Those were her thoughts exactly. She didn’t understand why she was slightly deflated at his statement. “We can agree on that, then.”

She backed up against the stone railing, closing her eyes.

“Mari.”

When she opened her eyes he was directly in front of her, his warm gaze steady on hers.