Return of the Italian Tycoon

“He was?” Angelo stepped between Kayla and the young man. “What do you want to know?”

The young man glanced down, not meeting Angelo’s direct gaze. “I...I was just curious if the rumor was true that they might pick Monte Calanetti for the wedding.”

“It is. Is there anything else?”

Dino shrugged his shoulders. “I guess not.”

“Good. Kayla has work to do now. If you’ll excuse us.”

“Uh, sure.” Dino leaned to the side to look at Kayla. “I’ll see you around.”

“Bye.”

Angelo took a seat next to Kayla. “It seems you’ve found yourself an admirer.”

“Who? Dino?” She shook her head. “He was just interested in what I knew about the royal wedding, which wasn’t anything more than he’s heard through the grapevine. How’s the pitch for the wedding coming?”

“Good.” Liar.

He wasn’t about to admit that he, Angelo Amatucci, couldn’t come up with a dynamic pitch that would turn the prince’s and his bride’s heads. No way. What would Kayla think of him? No. Scratch that. He didn’t want to know what she’d think. She’d probably laugh at him.

“I’m glad to hear it’s going well. I know that I’m not the only one who’s anxious for the pitch. Imagine a royal wedding. The whole world will be watching it and you’ll have played a big part in it.”

“Not a big part.”

“You’re too modest. You’re like the village hero now.”

Just what he needed was more pressure. He swallowed down his uneasiness. “You’re assuming that the prince will choose this village, and that’s a big leap.”

“But why wouldn’t they pick Monte Calanetti? From the little I’ve seen, I think it’s a lovely village.”

“That’s just because you didn’t grow up here.”

Her green eyes widened. “You really didn’t like living here?”

He shook his head, but he wasn’t going to get into the details of his childhood or his strained relationship with his parents. Kayla had already been privy to more about his private life than anyone else ever. But something told him that his family secrets were safe with her.

Not in the mood to talk anymore about this village or dwell on the fact that he’d wasted two days without coming up with anything striking or fascinating, he decided to turn the conversation around. “How is the work going?”

CHAPTER NINE

COULD SHE PRETEND she hadn’t heard Angelo?

Kayla had spent a large chunk of time at this poolside table. With most of the guests either off sightseeing or attending other engagements, it was a peaceful place for her to jot out more ideas for the Van Holsen account. But after going back and forth between the art department and the very demanding client, they were still missing the mark.

It didn’t help that her ideas for the Van Holsen account had stalled. For the past half hour or so, she’d been jotting out ideas for the fund-raiser back in New York. The event was their last hope to keep the after-school program going for so many at-risk kids and it was weighing heavy on her mind. There were still so many details to iron out.

And as exciting as it was to be working with Angelo Amatucci on what could be the project to catapult her career, she couldn’t forget the children. They were relying on her to make their lives a little better by raising money to keep their facility open.

“Kayla, did you hear me?”

The sound of Angelo’s voice startled her back to the here and now. “Sorry. I just had a thought.”

“About the account?”

She nodded. “It’s coming along.”

“Why don’t you tell me what you have so far and we can work on it together?”