An Invitation to Sin(55)
‘My dream is to get on with my life without being bothered and you’ve just—’
‘I’ve just made that happen.’ Glancing in the rearview mirror, he took a sharp right and ducked into the private underground car park reserved for the executive team of the hotel.
He parked the Ferrari next to a battered, ancient car.
‘What on earth…?’
‘Move.’
And she did. But being Taylor She didn’t do it without demanding answers.
‘Where are we and what are you—?’ She broke off and stared at the couple that had just climbed out of the battered, ancient car parked next to them.
‘Give her your jacket, your sunglasses and the baseball cap.’
‘But—’
‘Accidenti, do you ever do anything without arguing? You are enough to drive a man to an early grave.’
‘I’d haunt you.’ Visibly confused, she pulled off the hat, the glasses and her jacket and handed it to the woman, who immediately put them on.
Luca narrowed his eyes. ‘Not bad. From the back she could be you.’
‘I know. It’s seriously freaky. How did you do it?’
‘I found a Taylor Carmichael double. She earns her living being you so she owes you a few favours.’ He took off his own jacket and sunglasses and handed them to the man. ‘Remember what I said. Straight home. Follow my security guards. You don’t stop. Don’t look at anyone. And drive too fast—that’s what I’d do. You’re sure you can handle the car?’
The man nodded and Luca sighed and reluctantly handed over the keys to his precious Ferrari. ‘This had better be worth it. Is everything in the back?’
‘Just as you instructed.’
‘Then go.’
The couple drove off in the Ferrari and Luca yanked open the door of the battered car. ‘Maledezione, is this piece of junk even roadworthy? I’ve owned toothbrushes with more impressive engineering.’ He hauled a bag out of the back of the car and thrust it at her. ‘Put this on. And do it quickly before someone drives into this garage.’
Taylor opened the bag gingerly. ‘A wig?’
Busy pulling on his own wig, Luca ignored her. ‘I hope you appreciate the lengths I’m going to for you. Do I look hot as a blond?’
She glanced at him and gave a choked laugh. ‘You look…unbelievably weird. the hair doesn’t match the suit.’
‘The suit! I have to get rid of the suit.’ Reluctantly, Luca stripped off the exquisite Italian suit he’d changed into following his altercation with Rafaele. ‘I can’t believe I’m doing this for you.’
‘Why are you doing this for me?’
‘Because you said it’s what you want more than anything and I wanted to make that happen for you. I wanted you to have fun.’ His eyes met hers and he saw the shock there and he knew she was seeing the same thing in his eyes because the only fun he was usually interested in having with a woman involved getting naked. ‘Cristo, you ask too many questions. Can’t you just enjoy an evening out without dissecting it?’
‘Thank you.’ She whispered the words and there was a sheen of something that looked scarily like tears in her eyes as she stepped towards him and pressed her lips to his. ‘No one has ever done anything like this for me before. You’ve made me feel really special.’
Luca jerked back, rocked by emotions he hadn’t expected and had no idea how to deal with.
Maybe this had been a bad idea.
He had no problem with making a woman feel special as long as it was only for a short time, but he didn’t want to make one feel so special she decided to stick around. ‘Really special’ sounded suspiciously like a warning alarm that in normal circumstances would have had him running. But he couldn’t run because he was the one who’d arranged this.
‘I’m not surprised no one has done it before. The wig itches and the car is unlikely to make it out of the car park.’ Unsettled by his own feelings, which he had no intention of analysing, he took refuge in humour. ‘Get dressed.’
Checking that there was no one in the small car park, she shimmied out of her trousers and Luca set his teeth. He wondered if he were the only one thinking about sex all the time. He couldn’t look at her without wanting to strip her naked.
‘I said get dressed, not undressed.’
‘One comes before the other.’