Return of the Italian Tycoon

But what would happen when this trip was over? What would their relationship be like when they returned to the reality of their Madison Avenue office? Or worse yet, what if he found out that she’d been working on the fund-raiser instead of devoting all of her attention to her work?

“Relax. Everything will be okay.” Angelo raised her hand to his lips and pressed a gentle kiss to the back of her hand.

Her stomach shivered with excitement. Throwing caution to the wind, she uttered, “When you do that, relaxing is the last thing on my mind.”

“In that case...” He pulled her close and with her hand held securely in his, he rested his arm on his leg. His voice lowered. “You can get as worked up as you like now.”

His heated gaze said a hundred things at once. And all of them made her pulse race and her insides melt. He wanted her. Angelo Amatucci, the king of Madison Avenue, was staring at her with desire evident in his eyes.

If she were wise, she would pull away and pretend that none of this had happened. But her heart was pounding and her willpower was fading away. She’d been resisting this for so long that she was tired of fighting it—tired of denying the mounting attraction between them.

Maybe this thing between them wouldn’t survive the harsh glare of the office, but that was days away. They were to remain in Italy until the royal couple had all of the inquiries answered and their decision made. In the meantime, what was so wrong with indulging in a most delightful fantasy?

Once again, Angelo seemingly read her mind—realizing that she’d come to a decision. He turned to her and leaned forward. His lips were warm as they pressed to hers. Her eyes drifted closed as her fingers moved to his face, running over his freshly shaved jaw. His spicy aftershave tormented and teased. It should be illegal for anyone to smell so good. A moan bubbled up in the back of her throat.

The car stopped, jostling them back to the here and now. Angelo was the first to pull away. Disappointment coursed through her. Her eyes fluttered open and met his heated gaze.

“Don’t look so disappointed. There will be time for more of this later.” He smiled and her discontentment faded away. “Remember, I have a surprise for you.”

“Did I forget to tell you that I love surprises?”

He laughed. “I was hoping you would.”

She glanced out her window, finding nothing but lush greenery, flowers and trees. She struggled to see around Angelo, but with his arm draped loosely around her, she couldn’t see much.

“I can’t see.” She wiggled but his strong arm kept her next to him—not a bad place to be, but she was curious about their location. “Where are we?”

“My, aren’t you impatient? You’ll soon see.”

She couldn’t wait. Though she still had problems to resolve, for just this moment she let them shift to the back of her mind. She might never have this kind of experience again, and she didn’t want to miss a moment of it. And it had nothing to do with the surprise that Angelo had planned for her.

It had everything to do with the man who could make her heart swoon with those dark, mysterious eyes.

* * *

Mud. Seriously.

Angelo frowned as he sat submerged in a mud bath. He felt utterly ridiculous. This was his first trip to a spa, and though he’d set up the appointment for Kayla, he’d thought he might find out what he was missing. After all, Halencia was known for its world-renowned spa. It ought to be renowned for the exorbitant prices and, worse yet, the cajoling he had to do to get an appointment at the last moment. He’d finally relented and name-dropped—the prince’s name certainly opened up their schedule quickly. But it had been worth it when Kayla’s face lit up.

He glanced sideways at her as she leaned back against the tub’s ledge with her eyes closed. Her long red wavy hair was twisted up in a white towel, safe from this muck. She definitely wasn’t the prim-and-proper girl that he’d originally thought her to be when he’d hired her as his temporary assistant. No, Kayla definitely had a bit of a naughty, devil-may-care attitude. And that just intrigued him all the more.

“I’m sorry.” Angelo didn’t know what else to say. “I guess I should have done more research before making the reservations, but we were so pushed for time with the royal pitch that it just slipped my mind.”

Kayla lifted her head. “It’s really no problem. I’m enjoying myself.”

“But how was I to know that they would set us up for a couple’s spa day?”

Her eyes lit up. Her smile stretched into a grin and her eyes sparkled with utter amusement.

“Hey, you aren’t inwardly laughing at me, are you?”

“Who? Me? No way.” She clutched her bottom lip between her teeth as her shoulders shook.

He wasn’t used to being the source of entertainment, but she certainly seemed to be enjoying herself. He supposed that made it worth it. Although, when he’d found out what was involved in the deluxe package, he did think that she was going to balk and walk away. But he’d been worried for no reason.

Kayla wasn’t shy. In fact, she could be quite bold. The memory of her in hot pink lacy underwear before she’d stepped into the mud had totally fogged up his mind. Although, when he’d had to strip down to his navy boxers, he’d been none too happy. How could he have overlooked the need to bring swimsuits? Talk about taking down each other’s defenses and getting down to the basics.

“What are you thinking about?”