Hired:The Italian's Bride

Mari checked her watch: 9:00 a.m. Oh my God. She’d slept straight through, with none of the nightmares that had haunted her lately. Any lingering thoughts were crowded out by the knowledge that full-day staff were in the hotel and she only had yesterday’s clothes to dress in. She should have used her head last night.

But nothing about yesterday had been about logic or sense.

“Good morning,” Luca said from the doorway to the bedroom.

She scrambled up to a seated position. “Luca, I’m so sorry. I slept…”

“Here all night,” he finished, a smile on his lips. His elbow leaned casually against the door frame. “Slept nearly fifteen hours.”

“I must have been more tired than I realized.” He was acting like this was normal, for Pete’s sake! And seeing him brought back everything that had happened yesterday with a vengeance. Including kissing him, crying on him, realizing she loved him…

And in the silence she felt a blush creep up her neck and bloom in her cheeks. Somehow she had to get out of this situation with a modicum of grace. In the bright light of day it was clearer than ever that revealing her true feelings would be a mistake. She just needed time to figure out exactly what was what.

“I think that sleep might have been a long time coming,” he replied lazily.

A knock sounded at the door. Mari lifted her eyebrows in his direction. He merely shrugged.

“You grew restless a while ago. I ordered up breakfast. You must be starving…you didn’t have any dinner.”

He opened the door while Mari hastily pulled on her clothes, jamming her hair back into the clip she’d worn yesterday. As she came out of the bedroom, one of their staff wheeled in a cart adorned with silver domed trays.

“Thank you, Geoff.” Luca handed a bill to the server who nodded, then smiled in Mari’s direction.

Mari frowned as the door shut with a quiet click. “I don’t want this getting around the staff. What are they going to think of me up here in your suite?”

“You’ve been here before.”

“Not looking like this. Not coming out of your bedroom.”

Luca moved the cart closer to the dining table. “Don’t worry, I’m used to it. It always blows over.”

Mari’s mouth clamped shut. Luca was used to these situations. She was not. If he was trying to put the morning in perspective, he was doing a stand-up job.

“I’m sorry about yesterday. I shouldn’t have unloaded on you.” She felt obligated to apologize. Suddenly there seemed to be a new awkwardness between them. Now that it was over and done with, perhaps he was feeling embarrassed at being privy to all her secrets. She couldn’t say she blamed him.

A shadow crossed his features.

“It’s fine. It’s good that you did. I imagine it feels better to have it out. I understand, Mari, I really do.”

Why was he acting so differently? Yesterday he’d held her hand and she’d told him her deepest troubles. He’d leaped to her defense and he’d held her in his arms as she’d cried. Now…God, now he was treating her like she was one of his flings. One of the women he kept on his arm.

Her mouth soured. She’d thought she’d been right to put her trust in him, but his casual treatment of her this morning was a letdown. She’d wanted to mean more to him. Which was silly because she already knew in her heart they had no future. He’d come right out and said so. He didn’t do love.

“Come, eat. You must be starving.”

“I need to go home and change.” Mari stood and smoothed her slacks.

“There’s no need. I had some things sent up from the boutique. You’re welcome to use the shower here.”

Mari gritted her teeth.

He was treating her like…like nothing monumental had ever happened between them! He was taking charge and deciding what she’d do and when. And damn it, she was done being on anyone’s timetable!

He lifted the lid on a platter. The smell of French toast reached her nostrils, the tantalizing scent of vanilla and cinnamon and maple. Her stomach growled. In all the uproar, she hadn’t eaten last night. It would serve him right if she sat and ate the whole serving!

“I would have thought that privilege was one reserved for your affairs,” she remarked caustically, putting her hands in her pockets and clenching her fingers tightly.

She’d told him everything last night, everything about Robert and her fears and today he treated her as a polite stranger. There was only one explanation.

It had been too much. Her baggage was too much for him and it had been foolish to think that Luca could handle it. As much as she’d wanted to believe in him, she’d expected far more than he could give. She wasn’t sophisticated and uncomplicated. She was a mess and he was politely backing away.