Hired:The Italian's Bride

The words were hollow. He was leaving the rest of the job to her. He believed in her ability to run his hotel. She supposed she should be happy about that, but instead it simply felt wrong, doing it without him.

“I also spoke to my father today and we’re making you the permanent manager of the Fiori Cascade.”

It was what she’d wanted, what she’d aimed for since moving to Banff and taking the administration job. Now it felt like the consolation prize. When had she started wanting more?

She looked down at her knees. She knew when. When she’d stopped giving Robert all the power and she’d started living for herself.

“Thank you, Luca. It’s…it’s what I wanted and I appreciate your faith in me. I won’t let you down.”

Luca stared at her dark head and wondered how the hell he’d screwed this up so spectacularly.

He should have kept things as he had this morning. Cool and businesslike.

Mari was important to him. Somehow he’d let her become important and that wasn’t fair to either of them. And he’d tried to remind himself of that all day. Instead he’d lost his head when he’d seen her come up those stairs looking so elegant in her gown. She moved with an easy, subtle grace that spoke of a little shyness. But Mari was not coy. She did not play games. And he’d wanted her on his arm as he’d never wanted any other woman to belong to him. Not even Ellie.

And he’d kissed her and touched her and ached to make love to her so badly he’d nearly lost himself. Until he realized he didn’t have the right to hurt her. And he knew her well enough now to know that to love her once and leave her behind would be the most selfish thing he could do.

The best thing he could do for her would be to give her what she’d wanted from the beginning…the running of the hotel. It didn’t matter that he wasn’t completely happy himself. His father’s summons had irritated him from the first moment. He was tired of being at the beck and call of his father and knew now he wanted more. Yet…his first loyalty was to his family and to the Fiori empire. He’d made his choice years ago. He couldn’t have both.

“You could never let me down, Mari, never.” No, he was the one letting her down and it hurt like hell.

He fingered the ring on his hand, the gold one with the lily emblazoned upon it.

“That ring is important to you, isn’t it.” Her voice was quiet now, the soft tones burning through him like a brand. “I’ve never seen you without it on.”

He nodded, resting his hands on his knees. Perhaps if he explained about the ring she’d understand why he had to go. “My grandmother gave it to my grandfather. It went on to become the Fiori crest—beauty, loyalty, strength.”

“You have such a history, Luca, I envy that.”

“Sometimes it’s not all that it seems,” he replied quickly, then shook his head. His issues with Fiori weren’t Mari’s to solve. “I just mean that with it comes responsibility. I have a duty to my family, and it’s the life I was given, as well as the life I chose. It anchors me.”

“But…”

He had to be very careful. He’d give anything not to hurt her yet he knew he must. He should have known better. He got up and walked to the end of the table, stopping and closing his eyes for a moment.

When he turned back he held out his hand and she took it. He marveled again at how soft and small hers was compared to his.

“We both knew I wasn’t here forever, and we both knew my job would take me away.” He inhaled, bracing himself for a small truth he could spare. “We also know that what we shared is special. You are special, Mari.”

“You’ll forget all about me.” She turned her head away. “I’ll just be another one of those women you once knew.”

“Don’t do that. It cheapens what we’ve shared.”

She peered back into his face. “You actually sound like you mean that.”

“I do.” He lifted her fingers and kissed them. “I care about you so much. And yet…the time has come as we knew it would, and I must go back to my life and you are here in yours. There really is no other choice. I simply want us to part without bitterness, but with a respect for what was between us. For you to know that it…”

He paused. He could get through this. Even if explaining it was one of the hardest things he’d ever done.

He met her gaze with his and made the decision to be as honest as he could. “To know that it meant something to me.”

“You are making it very difficult to be angry with you,” she choked, half a laugh and half a sob.