Return of the Italian Tycoon

“Does that mean I can rip up your resignation?”

“You still want me?”

“Always and forever.”

EPILOGUE

Three months later...

“DO YOU HAVE time for a new account?”

Kayla turned from her computer monitor to face Angelo. Was he serious? It was hard to tell as he was smiling at her. Ever since the charity concert, Angelo had been a different man in the office. He’d let his guard down and put on a friendly face, but one thing that hadn’t changed was that he still expected perfection—or as close to it as anyone could get with their work.

“I don’t know. Since we succeeded with the royal pitch, we’ve been flooded with new accounts. It really put Amatucci & Associates heads and shoulders above the competition.”

“Yes, it did. And I couldn’t have done it without you.”

She knew that praise from Angelo didn’t come willy-nilly. He truly had to mean it or he wouldn’t say anything. “Thank you. But you were the driving force behind it.”

“How about we just settle for ‘you and I make a great team’?” He approached her and held out his hand to her.

She placed her hand in his, all the while wondering what he was up to. He pulled her gently to her feet, and then his hands wrapped around her waist. What in the world was up with him? He never acted this way at the office—ever.

“About this account—” he stared deep into her eyes, making her heart flutter “—if you decide to take it, it’ll be all yours.”

The breath hitched in her throat. Was he saying what she thought he was saying? “It’ll be my first solo account?”

He smiled and nodded. “I thought that might get your attention.”

As much as she wanted to spread her wings, she also didn’t want to mess up. “Are you really sure that you want to give me so much responsibility?”

“I’m quite confident that you’ll handle it perfectly. You are amazingly talented in so many ways.” His eyes lit up, letting her know that his thoughts had momentarily strayed to more intimate territory.

She lightly swiped at his arm. “We aren’t supposed to talk about those things at the office. What if someone overheard?”

“Then they’d know that I’m crazy about you.”

She couldn’t hold back a smile as she shook her head in disbelief at this side of Angelo, which had been lurking just beneath the surface for so long. “Now tell me more about this account. I’m dying to hear all about it before I make up my mind.”

“It’s a wedding.”

“Are you serious?” He nodded and she rushed on. “I don’t know. Don’t you remember all of the headaches we had with the royal wedding? I couldn’t imagine having a nervous bride lurking over my shoulder. I don’t think I’d be good at mollifying a bridezilla.”

“I don’t think you give yourself enough credit. Look at how you handled me and opened my eyes to a thing or two.”

“I know. Talk about a lot of hard work to get past your stiff, cold shell—”

“Hey!” His mouth formed a frown, but his e

yes twinkled, letting her know that he was playing with her. “There’s no need to throw insults.”

“I wasn’t. I was just stating the obvious.” She grinned at him, letting him know that she was playing, too. “We could take an office poll and see which boss they like best—pre-Italy Mr. Amatucci or post-Italy?”

“I think we’ll pass on that idea. Besides, you’re going to be too busy for such things now that you have this very special account.”

“Special, huh? How special are we talking?”

Angelo reached into his pocket and pulled out a box. He dropped down to one knee. “Kayla, I love you. Will you be my bride?”