Italian Boss, Proud Miss Prim

Swinging across a beam, he dropped lightly to the floor. It was time to persuade Katie Bannister to stay. He needed her clear thinking and organisational skills. She could coordinate the various teams—if she had the courage to stay after what had happened last night.

He went to the window in his room and pushed the rotten frame with the heel of his hand until it yielded. He had to breathe some fresh air. He looked down, searching for Katie. Something told him she’d be outside. Birds were singing—the sun was shining; it was Katie’s kind of morning. Resting his hands on the cool stone, he looked in vain. Pulling back, he felt the wear of time. Like everything else the stonework required expert attention. He would ask her to find the best team of stonemasons to begin work right away—if she still worked for him.

She must work for him.

Last night he had been infected by a maelstrom of emotion, but today he could see clearly that it was an assistant he needed, not a lover. And if Signorina Bannister didn’t work out he could always sack her like the rest. Meanwhile, he’d take a shower and get rid of this dust.

Last night the choice had seemed clear. She was going home. She had proved conclusively she wasn’t cut out for this any more than she was cut out for her dead-end job in Yorkshire. Her encounter with Rigo had proved to be the worst humiliation of her life.

But the best sex.

Better than anything she could dream up, Katie conceded. But deeply humiliating; she’d never get past it. And as for Rigo? Trying to imagine what he must think of her made her shudder.

But, when she came down to breakfast and discovered a new mood of optimism sweeping the staff, she immediately put her own feelings on the back burner.

‘You have to stay,’ the housekeeper protested when Katie explained she was leaving. ‘It’s such a lovely morning,’ the older woman pressed her. ‘The best of the year so far.’ And then the clincher. ‘We have cleaned the outdoor swimming pool especially for you.’

Bare skin. Scars. More humiliation. ‘But I don’t—’

One of the maids stepped forward. ‘We are about the same size, signorina,’ she said shyly, ‘and I have a new swimming costume I have never worn.’

As the young girl held it out to her Katie knew she couldn’t refuse.

‘You’d be quite alone, signorina,’ the housekeeper quickly reassured her. ‘I’ll make sure everyone is kept away—’

‘You’re very kind—’

‘And you’re the first person to come here and give us hope,’ the woman told her frankly.

Was she going to show her weakness now? She had to be strong for these people all the time, not just selectively.

‘It would be such a shame to waste the day,’ the maid said as the housekeeper nodded agreement.

The damaged skin on Katie’s back tightened, but she would feel more than shame if she refused this kind gesture. ‘If…if I was alone—’

‘You have my word on it,’ the housekeeper assured her.

The cool water felt like satin on her heated skin, and as sunshine warmed her shoulders any remaining cares she had floated away. This was the first time since the fire that she had stripped off outside the privacy of her own home and she was surprised to find the costume the young maid had lent her fitted her so well. She had Rigo’s staff to thank for making this possible.

Submerging her face in the fresh, clean water, Katie basked in the unaccustomed luxury of having a whole swimming pool to herself. And what a swimming pool it was—if she had thought the palazzo’s leisure complex was like something out of a film, this outdoor pool was far more beautiful. Stern Doric columns marked the perimeter, while mosaics tempted her to look beneath the water to where a kaleidoscope of images told a story of ancient Rome, complete with gladiators and graceful beauties clad in flattering flowing robes. I want one of those glorious gowns, Katie thought, buying into the dream. She was beginning to believe she could forget anything swimming here.

The housekeeper had opened the shutters and folded them back, allowing him a clear view of the gardens and swimming pool. Drawn by the particular brilliance of the sunlight that day, he walked over to the window after his shower and stared out. His gaze was immediately drawn to the activity in the pool, where someone was preparing to dive in…

Katie…

She had already been swimming and her hair was slicked back. Her honey-blush skin gleamed like an impossibly perfect sculpture in the brilliant light. She had surprised him once again. He had always suspected she was concealing a stunning figure beneath her dowdy clothes—just how stunning had eluded him, he realised now. He already knew her legs were beautiful, but…A whisper from last night intruded on his thoughts. Could he forget? He had to forget—he had a pressing need for a PA and she’d make a great PA. But with her hair drawn back and her elegant profile raised towards the sky, there was no doubt she was one of the loveliest sights he had ever seen. He remembered their first telephone conversation, when her sexy voice had revealed so much about her. You could hear beauty in a voice. Why she dressed down almost to the point of disguise was Katie’s business, but he couldn’t deny he was curious. Pulling away from the window, he stretched his limbs. Even an hour without activity was an hour too long for him. He was restless with last night playing on his mind again. Katie’s responses to him…her soft whimpers…her tremulous, yet passionate plunge into abandonment and pleasure—

Maybe a swim was what he needed too.

‘No, Rigo, no…’

He stopped dead in his tracks. He had only walked halfway down the pool, but she was recoiling from him as if he meant her harm. The last thing he had intended was to frighten Katie, but the moment she caught sight of him she had catapulted out of the pool and now she was stumbling backwards with a towel clutched tightly to her chest.

‘I didn’t see you, Rigo,’ she gasped.

Was he such a terrifying sight? It was certainly terror in her eyes. He took a step back with his hands raised, signalling his intention to come no closer. Still she backed away. If she didn’t stop soon she’d fall over the sunbed—

He breathed a sigh of relief when she felt the bed behind her knees and stopped, but now she was feeling awkwardly behind her for a wrap she’d left there earlier, and only he could see she was in real danger of tumbling into the pool.

‘No! Stay back!’ she shouted in alarm when he moved to save her.

‘What the hell’s wrong with you? I’m not going to touch you.’

Ever again, he added silently. If this was Katie Bannister’s reaction to him, imagine if they’d had sex.

None of this made sense. She’d seen him naked. She’d held him. He’d let her go without once trying to stop her. He was respectably attired this morning in swimming shorts with a towel slung around his neck. He couldn’t understand her bizarre behaviour and was growing increasingly resentful. But still her safety was uppermost in his mind. ‘Stay where you are before you fall in. I’m going to reach for your robe,’ he told her firmly, ‘while you don’t move a single muscle. Do you understand me?’

He wasn’t even sure she could hear him, so he put his promise into action, moving slowly and deliberately. ‘And now I’m going to hand it to you.’

Part of him said this was ridiculous, while another part of him was too busy seeking an answer to the mystery to walk away. Katie, meanwhile, remained stock-still, staring at him in wide-eyed dread.

He held out her wrap at arm’s length. She took it from him. Dragging it on, she belted it tightly, tweaking the edges as if not a single part of her could be on view.

Had last night done this to her? He would never forgive himself if that was the case, though he could fathom no reason why it should. She had been a willing partner all along, up to the point where a natural conclusion was facing them both, and then, because she for whatever reason had drawn back, he had let her go.

‘When you’ve showered and dressed I’d like to see you in the library,’ he said evenly. ‘Anyone will tell you where that is

. Say, twenty minutes—half an hour?’ His look also added, if you still work for me? But he didn’t labour the point.

He didn’t stop walking until he reached the entrance to the palazzo, when he turned to see Katie still standing where he’d left her. He wondered if he would ever forget the look on her face. You would have thought she had been in danger of her life.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

WHEN Rigo left her at the poolside it took her a long time to settle, mentally and physically. Since the fire she had longed to be invisible and had almost achieved that goal—until this trip to Rome, when Rigo had forced her to face reality again. Deep down, she was grateful to him. There was still such a lot of life to be lived. Even before the fire her appearance had placed her in the pigeonhole marked good girl, plain girl, quiet girl, studious girl, which did nothing to douse the fires inside her. Last night Rigo had been right to point out she had needs like everyone else. Her needs were exactly the same as all the pretty, vivacious girls with great figures and unblemished skin.

There had been one short interlude when she had found an outlet for her passion in training to be an opera singer. Music had given her a means of expression until the fire stole her voice away. She had never thought to experience passion again until Rigo proved her wrong. And now she was at another crossroads, Katie realised. She could go back to Yorkshire and pick up her old life, or she could stay on in Italy as Rigo’s PA.

When she had buried her face in the hospital pillows and cried the first time she saw the scars on her back the doctors had told her she would have to be brave. Take it one step at a time, they had advised. Life was a series of steps, she had discovered since then. You could take them bravely, or you could refuse to take them at all.

So the past had got the better of her?