Return of the Italian Tycoon

“Nothing.” His jaw tightened. And he planned to keep it that way. “You’re forgetting one important thing.”

“And what’s that?”

“The villagers are the part that makes the village special.”

A smile eased the worry lines on her face. “I’m glad you were paying attention while on our tour. And if the bride is willing, I think the villagers should play a prominent role in the festivities.”

“And along the route there could be large royal flags waving in the breeze—”

“No. That’s too impersonal.” Her eyes sparkled. “What if we hand out small complimentary flags to the onlookers to welcome the newest member of the royal family?”

Angelo paused as he considered the idea. “I like it. It’ll be a sea of color.”

“I also thi

nk the chapel should be included in the pitch.” Before he could utter a word, she rushed on. “The place is so beautiful. Sure it needs some work, but it has such a romantic feel to it. Just imagine it filled with roses— No, make that lilies. And the glow of the candles would add to the magic. Can’t you just imagine it all?”

“No.” He didn’t believe in magic or romance. They were just fanciful thoughts. “I can’t imagine anyone wanting to get married in such a dump—”

“It’s not a dump!”

He ignored her outburst. “Besides, you’re forgetting that I talked to the new owner and she wants nothing to do with the wedding.”

“And that’s it...you’re just giving up? She could change her mind.”

What was Kayla getting so worked up for? He wasn’t making up these problems. “The chapel is crumbling. We are not putting it in the pitch. The royal couple would laugh us out of the room if we presented it—”

“They would not.” Her words were rushed and loud. “They’d love its charm.”

His muscles tensed. He hated conflict. “We’re not using it!”

Her fine brows drew together as she crossed her arms. “You’re making a mistake!”

He wasn’t used to people challenging his decisions and they certainly didn’t raise their voice to him. This argument was ending now. “This is my company—my decision! We’re not including the chapel.” When she went to speak, he added, “End of story.”

She huffed but said nothing more.

For a while, they worked in an uncomfortable silence. He kept waiting for Kayla to rehash their disagreement, but she surprised him and let it go. He didn’t know how much time had passed when they started to communicate like normal again.

Angelo rubbed his jaw. “Perhaps our best option is to take all of these photos and do a workup of each setting. We can have sketches made up of how each wedding scenario would work. Nothing sells better than letting the client see it with their own eyes. I’ll have the art department start on it right away. They’ll be on solid overtime until our meeting with the happy couple.”

“You never said— Where is the meeting? At Nico’s villa?”

“No. The meeting is in Halencia. It’s an island not far from here.”

“Oh, how exciting. You must be nervous to be meeting a real prince and his bride.”

“Me? What about you?”

“What about me?”

“You’re part of this team. You’ll be going, too. I hope you have something in your suitcase suitable for a royal meeting. If not, perhaps you can find an outfit or two in the village.”

Kayla’s mouth gaped open and he couldn’t help but chuckle. She looked absolutely stunned. Surely she didn’t think that he’d put her to all of this work and then leave her behind. He was never one to take credit for another person’s work, and he wasn’t about to start now. Kayla deserved this honor.

But he sensed something else was on her mind. He could see the subtle worry lines marring her beautiful complexion when she didn’t think he was looking. He had no doubt she was still smarting over his unilateral decision to scrap the chapel proposal. She had to accept that he knew what he was doing.

Just then a cell phone vibrated, rattling against the tabletop. Not sure whose phone it was, Angelo headed for the table in time to witness Kayla grabbing her phone and turning it off without bothering to take the call. She’d been doing it a lot lately.