An Invitation to Sin(42)

He’d helped her deal with that slimy bastard Rafaele and she, in turn, could turn on her charm for the board.

So far their plan was working magnificently.

‘So, Taylor, I admit we never saw this happening. Luca has never shown any degree of responsibility in anything he does. He’s chosen to live his life on the fringe of this family.’ The air on the sunlit terrace of the Corretti flagship hotel was thick with cigarette smoke and disapproval of Luca.

Taylor, who knew exactly how it felt to feel disconnected from the family you’d been born into, disliked the pompous chairman on sight. ‘I’m confused.’ She smiled her most feminine smile and had the satisfaction of seeing him blink, dazed. ‘You say Luca has no sense of responsibility and yet he’s built a staggeringly successful business worth a fortune.’

‘Luca appears more interested in the models he employs than he is in taking business seriously.’

‘I disagree. Luca is a man who works hard but also plays hard. He appreciates beauty. To be able to achieve the level of success he has achieved and yet still have fun seems to me to indicate a man who appreciates the importance of work-life balance.’

‘Your defence of him is to your credit.’

‘But should a man need defending from his own family?’ Taylor was beginning to understand why they drove Luca mad. She glanced up and saw him surrounded by members of the hotel management team. He didn’t even bother to conceal his boredom and she hid a smile because she sensed he went out of his way to live up to his terrible reputation.

And suddenly she realised what a clever strategy that was. Because he didn’t appear to hide anything, no one looked deeper. No one suspected there was anything more to expose, which gave him an extraordinary level of privacy.

He lifted his head and caught her eye.

Just for a moment they looked at each other and the sexual charge was so powerful she felt the punch of it from across the room.

Her stomach tightened as she remembered the way it felt to kiss him and be kissed by him.

Turning away quickly she reminded herself that a kiss, even an exceptionally skilled kiss, wasn’t trust. A kiss was a type of sensual manipulation. Trust was something different.

And trust was an indulgence she didn’t allow herself.

Extracting himself from the group of grey-suited businessmen, Luca joined her.

The chairman smiled. ‘You’ll be pleased to hear your fiancée was defending you vigorously. We were discussing your addiction to beautiful women.’

Feeling Luca’s tension, Taylor slid her arm through his. ‘I’m thrilled Luca appreciates beauty.’

‘Many women would be jealous.’

‘Perhaps. But not me. We’re with each other through choice. Love cannot be bound and held captive. It has to be freely given.’

Luca was looking at her strangely but he didn’t say anything and the chairman beckoned to an overweight man in a suit. ‘Taylor, this is Nico Gipetti, manager of our flagship hotel. You’re his idol so he’s been hoping for an introduction.’

Nico Gipetti’s face turned scarlet up to his ears as he shook her hand vigorously. ‘I love your work.’ Having stammered his way through a stream of compliments, he turned to Luca. ‘Any news from Matteo?’

‘Not a sound.’ Luca was looking at her mouth. ‘But I suppose that isn’t so surprising in the circumstances.’

The manager’s features tightened in disapproval. ‘What does he think he’s doing?’

‘I should think right now he’s probably smashing his way through all ten commandments,’ Luca murmured and then winced when Taylor drove her elbow into his ribs.

‘What Luca means,’ she said swiftly, ‘is that he’s probably keeping a low profile out of sensitivity to Alessandro’s feelings.’

‘So you have no idea when he will be back?’

Luca suppressed a yawn. ‘No, but while he’s away I intend to increase your profits by an indecent amount so I suggest you all relax and let me get on with it. I work much better alone.’

And why was that? Taylor studied him thoughtfully, wondering why he was so determined to keep himself apart, both in work and in play.

‘It’s a difficult time for the market,’ Nico snapped. ‘What makes you think you can do what we can’t? You know nothing about the hotel business.’

‘And that is precisely why I will make it a success.’ Luca paused to study the cut of the suit of a man walking past, a perusal that ended in a disbelieving shake of his head. ‘I don’t come weighed down with preconceived ideas, nor am I working from a palette of ideas that have been used a million times before by both yourselves and the competition.’