Italian Billionaire's Stubborn Lover (The Romano Brothers 1)

1

Adeline

Adeline Peluso tapped her stiletto heel nervously on the rust colored terracotta tile floor as she traced her perfectly manicured fingernail over her plump bottom lip. Blinking, she contemplated the choice before her. She could stay in Sicily or let go of her dreams and move on.

“Poo,” she said, frowning at her laptop where it lay open atop an ancient walnut desk that was large enough and heavy enough to double as a raft on choppy seas. Between her eyes was a small, pinched crease of consternation that had plagued her with compliments of “adorable” and “sweet” ever since she’d been a young girl. Now at twenty-nine it was no less cute, but in truth, she was actually quite frustrated.

The beauty of her surroundings, which normally worked wonders to lighten her mood, did nothing for her today. From outside the tall, open windows of her real estate office, the calming sound of waves lapping against the Sicilian shore reached her ears. But instead of making her thankful for the life she lived as it usually did, it made her wistful for the adventures she was missing by remaining on the island of Sicily.

Moving to Sicily had been a dream come true for Adeline. Its history and heritage were more diverse than even the home she’d left behind in America. It was in Sicily that she had learned how to live with gusto and verve, and she had treasured the summers she’d spent there with her grandparents. Though they were gone now, it was through their happy marriage in this beautiful place that she’d learned what life-long love looked like.

She had thought that she could capture some of the magic of their lives by moving to Sicily. It had been her childhood dream. She’d thought that she would find love and adventure. Instead, she had an empty apartment to go home to at night and her life was filled with the same bored routine that she’d left behind in America.

She needed adventure. She needed more from life. It was too amazing to sleepwalk through.

“I could find love in Spain,” she said. Crossing her legs, she tapped her toe silently in the air as she contemplated her choices.

After clicking a webpage tab for the Romano del Mare she sat back again, then frowned. Images of the once-beautiful resort hotel filled her computer screen. It was the place where her grandparents would summer every year that she’d come to visit. While her grandparents were who taught her how to live and love life, the Romano del Mare was where she had learned those things. It was a place of wonder and artful magnificence. At over 870 years old, the converted medieval monastery was grandeur in an understated old-world style. There wasn’t any glitter, gold, or tinsel. No, the resort was stately and honorable yet charming and inviting. It—and the memory of her grandparents—was what made Sicily so hard to leave. Giving up on the Romano del Mare was like giving up on the dream of finding love, and it broke Adeline’s heart.

She clicked another tab and a new page full of images filled her screen. They were again of the Romano del Mare, except that in these pictures the grand hotel had crumbling rock bricks, broken windows, and an empty parking lot. The old girl hadn’t seen a customer in nearly a decade. After the hotel’s former owners had gotten too old to handle its management themselves, they’d handed it over to a management company that had been disgraceful in its duties. They’d allowed the resort to become what it was today: a broken down memory of happier times. The Romano del Mare was now an embarrassment and an eyesore to the community, and it was why Adeline had accepted a position with Vero Immobiliare Real Estate eight months ago. They held the account for the Romano del Mare.

; Adeline propped her elbow on her desk, put her chin in her hand, and sighed. A heritage and restoration dispute had been waged for months over the property, but the hotel had finally been approved for sale—and, shockingly, for demolition. Through it all, Adeline had sent email after email to the new owners, pleading with them to restore the hotel themselves rather than let it fall to the sea or to new, big commerce.

Her eyes stung with tears. She couldn’t stay to witness the destruction of the place she had cherished most. The Romano del Mare was a symbol of everything that was good in life and the love she hoped to someday find.

It was time to leave. She would accept the position of Real Estate Ambassador in Spain, specializing in Americans buying abroad.

Clicking the Internet tab that housed the application for the position in Spain, she bit her lip and then clicked send. The application was just a formality. She already had the job. The company had personally reached out to her and asked her to apply, assuring her that they were very excited and interested in the talents that she would bring. After all, she was the most successful real estate agent in Sicily.

A light rap pulled Adeline’s attention to the door, where a tall man stood leaning slightly in. He was classically handsome with a strong jawline and a strong but flattering nose. His thick, black hair was shorter on the sides than it was on top and was slicked back in a look that was more severe than the gentle kindness of his face. His skin bore the golden touch of the sun.

“Bon giornu.” The well-dressed man took a step inside Adeline’s office. His voice was a rich tenor in need of a choir. Dressed impeccably in a three piece charcoal grey suit with tiny red pinstripes, he wore it as well as any model could, but everything about how he held himself made Adeline think he was a business man.

I know him… From where?

Adeline rose and made her way from behind her desk to greet her guest. A greeting of “ciao” was on her lips, but her spinning mind delayed it.

Then the stranger smiled, the sight charming and disarming, and everything fell into place. Adeline’s deep brown eyes flew wide, and she stopped.

“Now you come home!” she exclaimed, throwing her hands up into the air and stamping her foot. “What took you so long?” Awaiting an answer, she put her hands on her hips and gave the man a glare that could have melted gelato.

2

Nicolo

Nicolo Romano held his hand against his abdomen as he flicked a glance over his shoulder. He was surprised to find that there was no one standing behind him.

Turning to face forward, he took in the spirited woman before him. He’d been directed to her office to discuss the sale of the long-abandoned resort recently inherited by him and his brothers. Yet upon his arrival Ms. Peluso’s face flooded with color. Its hot pink blush did nothing to hide her beauty. Her petite build was slender but had all the curves of a woman. Her light brown hair was streaked with gold, and her pencil skirt showed off just enough of her supple legs to make Nicolo’s hands crave to trace over them. Even at a glance he could tell that she had a fiery soul that only the luckiest of men would get the chance to try to tame.

“I am sorry,” Nicolo said, putting a hand over his chest. “Perhaps you have me mistaken for another. I am Nicolo—”