A Night of Royal Consequences

* * *

If her feelings had been mixed up before, they were ready to explode by the time she walked down the steps of the civic building to find Luca waiting outside. Lounging back against a sleek black car, he was staring at her with the lazy confidence that suggested he knew exactly what had happened at her job interview. Of course he knew.

Firming her jaw, she quickened her step towards him. The sooner they got this over with, the better. She’d had her suspicions at the start of her interview. It hadn’t taken her long to realise she was never going to get the job, and the director of tourism was just curious to meet her. Even he’d admitted she was everything they were looking for; gregarious and well informed, she had read up on the history of the famous illuminations from the nineteenth century to the present day.

‘And I know every nook and cranny of the town,’ she’d assured him, explaining she’d visited Blackpool on numerous occasions.

‘In short, you’re perfect for the job,’ he agreed, just before he shuffled awkwardly in his seat and explained that the vacancy was no longer available.

So why see her at all? Callie had wondered, until the director of tourism had added, ‘Don’t look so disappointed. I’m told you have a glittering future ahead of you.’

‘What did it cost you?’ she challenged Luca tensely. She’d come to a halt in front of him, and was determined to get the truth out of him, whatever it took.

‘Cost me?’ He frowned.

‘How much did it cost you to spoil my chances for that job?’ she demanded tight-lipped.

‘Nothing,’ he admitted.

‘You’re lying,’ she said quietly.

/> ‘I think you should calm down,’ Luca remarked as he opened the passenger door of his car. ‘Climb in.’

‘Not a chance.’

‘Please.’

She started to walk past him, but he caught hold of her arm. ‘Where do you think you’re going?’ he asked. ‘You can’t go back to the shop. It’s all boarded up.’ His voice was still low and even, but it had taken on an edge. ‘Your landlady is spending the night in a very comfortable local hotel while my builders complete their repairs.’

‘Your builders,’ she snapped. ‘That says it all. Your hand in my failure at interview just now. And you say you’re not controlling? What else do you have in store for me, Luca?’

Releasing her arm, he stood back. ‘I provided a faster solution for your landlady than her insurance company could hope to offer, and that is all. As for your job interview, how are you going to work as a tour guide when you’re heavily pregnant? I can’t risk the mother of my child being exposed to people who might exploit her to get at me. Your situation has changed, Callie, whether you like it or not.’

‘It certainly has,’ she agreed. ‘I was free and now I’m not.’ She was furious. ‘How did you get an appointment to meet with the Director of Tourism so fast?’

‘His secretary recognised me.’

‘Of course she did. Since your enthronement you’re all over the news. “The world’s most eligible bachelor”,’ she quoted tensely, ‘who just happens to have a pregnant and discarded mistress on the side.’

‘Very dramatic,’ he said.

‘Dramatic? Since you came into my life, everything’s been dramatic—’ She bit off her angry words, remembering that without Luca she’d probably be dead and so would their unborn child. Hormones again, she realised. Definitely hormones. The next thing she knew there were tears in her eyes. She drove them back. ‘You said it cost you nothing to stand in the way of me getting that job. What did you do, Luca? You must have said something?’

‘I did,’ he confirmed, shielding her as the wind blasted them. ‘I offered reciprocal marketing of our two very different holiday destinations.’

‘There must be more.’

‘There was,’ he confirmed evenly. ‘I told him I wanted you to work for me.’

‘What?’

‘Get in the car.’

She was shivering violently. It was freezing cold. They stared at each other, unblinking. They both knew there could be no walking away this time. Callie had very little money left, and nowhere to stay tonight. Even a simple boarding house at this time of year, when the illuminations were drawing crowds to the resort, cost far more than she could afford to spend.

‘Where will you take me?’ she asked.

‘I thought you had a sense of adventure.’